Someone oughta open up a window

Here I am sitting on a stoop.

Stoop kids afraid to leave or stoop. Everyone today you are invited on a field trip. If there is anyone historic location that Nick Keptich has seen more than any other, it is probably this one.

Except he had never been there before.

Now if you have ever spoken to Nick about the revolutionary war era or about movies, or about William Daniels or really for any length of time, or if you have listened to more than just a few episodes of Civics 101 you have probably heard him mention this one film. If I had a switch, Hannah that could turn off my love for the musical 1776, I would flip it. But I don't have that switch.

Nick and I were in Philadelphia for a conference. And we had spent days and days talking about American democracy. About the origin story of this nation. So Nick and I get to the last afternoon of that conference. And I said hey what if we visited the very place where everything ended and everything began.

“And what if you explained that story via your favorite movie of all time Nick?”

It was not a heart cell. So here we are. Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where many of the delegates of the second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776. You are also invited into the mind of Nick Keptich, how this movie and this story took hold of him

and what it means to him right now. This is Civics 101. I am Hannah McCarthy and Nick Keptich is beside himself.

This is the most excited I've never been here before.

You've never been here. I've never been here. I went to the mood or museum of medical oddities, but I didn't go here. And I feel like have you been here before? Never.

Oh my god. What movie did you watch more than any other in your whole life? Princess Pride. That's a good one. I had that too.

When I was about 10 years old I was living in New Hampshire. My dad ever since some rough behavior about me not getting to watch the monkeys episode. I wanted to watch. They still loved me. M-O-N-P-E-E-S.

That's right. The TV show the monkeys. So anyway, my dad was like no more TV that's it. And from that point until I left home, I didn't watch TV. We didn't get any channels.

We did have a VCR. You did. What? What? What do you mean?

What did you do?

“What did you do when you weren't allowed to watch an episode of the monkeys?”

I flipped out when I was told I couldn't watch the monkeys. And that was the end of it. It was in stages.

First, we can only watch the Cosby Show and family ties.

So then what would happen is within those got banned. And then it was everything's banned. But I went to this friend's house, Christine, dear friend of our family. And she had a tape that said 1776. And I was like oh what's this?

She said it's a musical about the declaration of independence. When a king becomes a tyrant, he thereby breaks the contract binding his subjects to him. Now so. And I borrowed that tape from her every night for like a year. And then for Christmas, she gave me my own tape of it.

And there are some years I just watched it every day. I loved it's a musical. I thought it was funny. I thought it was great. And I loved the acting.

I loved the music.

“And I watched it more than any other film in my life.”

And this is where it was filmed. Independent salt. But it's also where the declaration of independence was signed. Famously the same. Of the filming of 1776 and some other thing that happened.

So the opening scene of the movie is John Adams is in that tower right there. That bell tower that we can see sort of staring for Lauren Lee and McNair, congressional custodian is calling up. Like Mr. Adams, you got to get down. We got a vote in this Congress.

And we have a very important issue. And it's like I can just imagine. What burning issue are we voting on today? And the big issue. It's not independence.

On whether or not the militia is required to wear matching uniforms. And he storms downstairs. First into the independence all.

It's saying how useless things are in Philadelphia.

The nation will never come to the conclusion.

It's never going to happen. And then he says the one thing we have to do is vote yes for independence. To dissolve our allegiance to the British crown. And the whole movie is about that struggle to get the declaration of independence ratified. Written and ratified.

This famous song is called "Cinown John." But he has a vote for independence.

“William Daniels, who a lot of folks might know is what's the teacher's name?”

And boy meets world. Mr. Feeney. Why didn't you watch TV, Anna? Okay. Boy meets world after the monkeys.

Okay. Boy meets world is how I learned the monkeys existed. So everything comes full circle. There's an episode where the monkeys show up. Oh my god.

Well, they needed to work after their show was canceled. Yeah. William Daniels plays the arassable stubborn John Adams, who is obnoxious in dislike. And the whole movie is them lurching towards this bizarre concept of independence. Independence.

Independence. Independence. Independence. See. Well, someone shut that button up.

Never. The villain in the movie.

“So the protagonist of the hero is John Adams.”

Missing his beloved wife Abigail, who he writes letters to, and says how much he loves her. And where is Abigail? She's in Quincy, Massachusetts. Abigail is at the farm and brain tree, everybody.

Brain tree, Massachusetts. Where Hannah McCarthy. Rua. So you know, Quincy is the city of president. I didn't know that Quincy was the home of the Adams.

Because in the movie, she says the farm here in brain tree is failing. The chickens in the geese have all done. It appears the farm here in brain tree is failing John. The chickens in the geese have all died.

The apples never survived the late.

So John Adams wants independence. Congress says no. Or the Congress says useless. They can't even. There's a big debate about whether she have that windows open or closed.

And if it's because it's so hot in Philadelphia in that summer. And they can't agree on to open. Because if they open the windows, the flies will all come in. And if they close it, it'll be hot, but it'll keep the flies out. And the point is how in efficacious a Congress is.

The line is John Adams storms in and says, I've come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace. That two are called a law firm. And that three or more become a Congress. And by God, I have had this Congress.

For 10 years King George and his parliament have gold collied and did all these colonies that there are legal taxes. Stamp acts, towns and acts, sugar acts, TX. I'm almost done. And when we've dared stand up like men.

They've stopped our trade, sea starships, blockaded our ports, burped our towns and spilt our blood. And still, this Congress refuses to grant any of my proposals on independence. Even so much as the courtesy of open debate.

The president of the second connetal Congress was John Hancock.

You know him, right? Got a big little name. So fat George and London can read it without his glasses. John Hancock was like in the real world. He was a T-smuggler.

His whole family was a bunch of T-smugglers from Boston. But anyway, John Hancock is the president of the connetal Congress. Adams and his crew are trying to get independence passed. And they can't do it. And the villain of the movie is John Dickinson from Pennsylvania.

Who's a loyalist? Who's like, "Have you no love for the country that bore you for like mother England?"

“Is that all a pride and affection you can muster for the nation that bore you?”

For the noblest, most civilized nation on the face of this planet. There's only 13 colonies. They only need seven votes to declare independence. And they can't do it. Because John Adams is obnoxious and disliked.

And John Dickinson is leading the oppositions. They know we shouldn't declare independence. There's only 11 represented colonies at the Congress. Why is that? George hasn't shown up and New Jersey hasn't shown up when this movie opens.

So they just need what? What's the majority of 11? Six? Yeah, six votes, but they can't do it. And then Georgia shows up and Georgia is not sure where it wants to stand.

Who is that?

Dr. Lyman Hall of Georgia.

“Dr. Lyman Hall of Georgia, he shows up and he doesn't know where to go.”

Doesn't know where to stand. And Ben Franklin shows up from Pennsylvania. Now, then, attend as friend of friend, our declaration come hitty. There's three delegates from Pennsylvania and the movie. John Dickinson, who's anti-independence, Ben Franklin, who is very four independence.

Ben Franklin is the second biggest character in the musical played by Howard De Silva.

He's like the best. He's a very good Franklin. I told my dad when I grew up, my dream was to be an actor who played Franklin. It's not too late, Nick. But he was like, "What about John Adams?" And I was like, "No."

And he kept noting that all the roles I wanted to play were rather plump old men. He's like, "Don't you want to be like, Jesus?" And Jesus Christ, he was like, "No, I'll be here." That's who I want to be. But they come upon a plan, which is let someone else in Congress propose,

because no one likes John Adams. And they get Richard Henry Lee. If Virginia, Richard Henry Lee makes the proposal, and then it's shall we vote yay or nay on the proposal for independence.

And at this time, New York never votes yesterday.

They abstain. Curdiously. New York abstain. Good. Mr. Morris.

Why does New York constantly abstain? So you've got a tide vote, six foreign dependence, six against independence. John Hancock, he's from Massachusetts, he's pro independence. If they vote, they can get it to pass. As a maneuver, that's actually the part of the move that I really care about.

John Dickinson of Pennsylvania says, "Any vote for independence has to be unanimous." All 13 colonies have to say we want to be independent. And then it gets to the president. Yes or no.

And the president says, "It has to be unanimous."

“And why? Why should the vote for independence be unanimous?”

Because they envision a future in which these individual colonies will be of one nation. Yeah. And even more painful. Tancock says, when John Adams is like, "What if you're doing his sunk us?"

He says, "Can't you see that any colony that doesn't want to be independent will be forced to fight on the side of England? Will be setting ourselves brother against brother, that our new nation carries on itself the mark of cane."

So then they're like, "Well, if it's got to be unanimous, it's never going to happen."

So then John Adams comes up with a stall. Total stall. How can we declare independence without having some sort of written declaration? Our purpose is goals, ditto, etc., etc., he's totally stalling. And he says, "Well, we need to get the approval of a France or Spain,

and such a document would remain consistent with European delicacy." So they agreed to write a declaration, "Now who's going to write it?" So the committee of livingston, Roger Sherman, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson. So the committee of five. Jefferson writes it, and then the declaration is brought here to be debated.

And then the big swing in the musical is that there is a grievance in the declaration, which was cut out.

“Does anybody who's listened to any of our episodes and the declaration knows?”

It was cut out and it was about opposing the slave trade. The King George has done that. The South says, "If you don't get rid of that grievance, we're not going to sign your little piece of paper, and independence is gone forever." We have no choice, John.

The slavery clause has got to go. Franklin, what are you saying? So John Adams is convinced to tell Jefferson to scratch it out. And then there's one more little hurdle. Everybody's finally convinced to become independent, except Pennsylvania,

run by John Dickinson, and also keep in mind this whole time. Britain is smashing the hell out of us in battles, just destroying General Washington. Every other scene, George Washington's like messenger comes in and brings a misive of terrible news.

I besieged the Congress to dispatch the war committee to this place, in the hope of restoring some of the order and discipline we need to survive. Your obedient. Gee, Washington. But here's another favorite part of mine.

As when Adams is just complaining about the South, who's, you know, and Dickinson and all these people. And Ben Franklin says, "These men, no matter what we think of them, are not ribbon clerks to be ordered about. They're elected representatives to Congress,

they are like the cream of their colonies.

Whether you like it or not, they are two-be part of this new nation

you hope to create.

“So learn how to live with them or pack up and go home."”

We're going to take a quick break.

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