nightmares of john adams is your introduction.t was it about the founding father, what was it about john adams in particular that you focus on that makes you think this is the way the country was meant to be? guest: adams and the statement that i quote and president washington, they are all very worried that what they called at that point political effect which became political parties, it would begin to not unite the people but divide people. that elected officials would have a greater loyalty to their party than to their country and i'm afraid that's too often what we are seeing in washington today. it stops things from getting done. but they have enormous fights between the big population states and the convention. wanted congress to be totally reflective of population. the house of representatives had the smallest states and wanted equal representation, and i'm proud of the state of connecticut representatives, delegates of the constitutional convention, came up with the great compromise which looked at two chambers, a house a

there are many things john adams did. one important thing, he really kind of organize the massachusetts constitution like structurally. a lot of things did end up resembling the federal constitution. just looking at the constitution, it is organized into nice section with different breaks and things. earlier constitutions, a lot of them weren't lists of provision. they were not grouped, and any organized way. so in that regard i think we can thank john adams for playing a key role there. the federal constitution is easy to read. you can find what you're looking for pretty easily. >> writes, thanks jim. i know we are are at 7:15 p.m. now pretty wish we could talk longer a lot more questions are on the board here. i want to thank you, for historf this history post. : : : >>

, abigail adam, john quincy adams.got her hands in every volume for sure. she's all over it. she had a good question and want to -- we know about the relationships between washington and lafayette, washington and hamilton. we know of a lot of these things but should ask what are the other voices in him? what other relationship, people who haven't read the book, are the things they should be looking out for to get away from the things that they know, the things that you really interested in? >> i think the first thing is it's almost impossible to overemphasize how much of an influence washington had on lafayette. he was the most important thing that lafayette always had in a front of his mind. but there were others. there's like reynolds was an enlightenment philosopher when he was very young and when you're trying to pick through this, this obvious question is difficult answer but when does lafayette first match onto the notion of liberty and equality as being a thing that somebody to strive for and fight for? when doe

like john adams, joe biden had no idea the french were upset.e john adams, our current president had the benefit of cell phones and the internet. jill biden didn't know because he's a mental decline, there are a lot of things he doesn't know including when our allies are furious with us, starting with withdrawing their ambassadors. he was asked to explain all this, why did that biden administration cut france out of the nuclear submarine deal, his response was amazing. he said joe biden did this because he was completely unaware there was a problem in the first place. >> president biden asked me about it and i told him --ar >> you told joe biden -- >> he asked me, he said what's the situation and i explained exactly, he had not been aware of that. he had not been aware of what had transpired. >> tucker: once less time you heard someone from the u.s. government admits the president was completely clueless? he had not been aware of what had transpired. you're probably not shocked by that, joe biden was visibly confused throughout the entire presid

. >> there's a famous quotation from john adams that he cited and a lot of history books and he said that it is one third and one third and one third, one third the reporting one third that was against it in one wanted to be neutral and in fact, he was not talking about the american revolution when he said that, he was talking about the french revolution believe it or not in the historian students study the soils movement showed that about 20 percent or just slightly less than 5 percent of the working population, ended up as loyalists and the spectrum within the loyalists community refer those actively performed against them for much less than that. and people on the other side is simply wanted to remain neutral. some of the comments that i may today become a would suggest that you were not allowed to remain neutral one of the secrets of the cause pretty you are forced to the local level to take a position and if you weren't willing to endorse the commitment to the principles of independence the pressures on you that eventually force you to change your mind or the town or perhaps lea

she's an archivist at the historical society and an expert on the adams family, john, abigail and johncy adams >> the whole group. >> she's got her hands in every volume, for sure. she's all over it. she had a good question. i wanted to expand it which is that we know about obviously the relationship between washington and lafayette washington and hamilton. we know a lot of these things. she asked, you know, what are the other voices guiding him? who should we look at? what other relationships? people who haven't read the book, what other things should they be looking out for to get away from the things they know, the things you were really interested in. >> well, i think the first thing is that like to -- it's almost impossible to overemphasize how much of an influence washington had on lafayette. he absolutely was like the most important thing that lafayette always had in the front of his mind. but there were others, right? so there's like the [inaudible] who was a philosopher when he was very very young. when you're trying to like for example pick through this, it's a very obvious q

. >> you ground your book in the founding fathers like the nightmares of john adams. so what was that about john adams in particular so that they should think this is the way the country was meant to be?nd and president washington. worried what they called which became political parties would begin not to unite the people that they would have a greater loyalty and i'm afraid too often that is what we would see in washington today stopping things from getting done but between the dead population states for congress to be reflective of population those to have equal representation i'm proud to say to that connecticut representatives, that came up with the great compromise with the two chambers of the house and the senate one with an equal number ofto senators as it turns out that is the most graphic example to enable the creation of the country much more difficult and painful compromises particularly with the issue of slavery and i can talk about that more if you wantk but that is the immoral way but that is where they were at that time. host: with your own experience y

he said you mentioned adam says in john adams and he tweeted out with jessica's question. there any lessons or takeaways that you took from lafayette? >> just a very small thing because we don't have much time. the thing about, okay there is a tendency that people often have two subconsciously believe that things like progress and reform change for the better are just things that happen. look back on history. history is really progress. you don't worry about things will get better because progress will take care of it capital p progress but aren't things better for this group in that group? yes and you want to know why, because people fought for it and people went out and did something about it and the very people who you think are like radicals today and he would say to them why are you making such a big deal about it? we will do? we will do? we will do anchorman to reform and even incremental reform doesn't happen without lots of people making it happen. lafayette was somebody who from the very beginning of his life and to the end of his life was constantly using his mon

. >> with john quincy adams having his adventures, lafayette earlier, gave us a good story. >> okay, so his back story is that he's a rich orphan that grew up in the equivalent of the sticks. he lived in the manor house with a small village, but he's from just a small village even today isn't a popular part of france whot moves to paris and winds up marrying into one of the richest and most powerful families in france second only to the bourbon dynasty the family themselves in terms of their wealth and power and importance and place. lafayette enters this world and it's just he doesn't quite fit in. he is very clearly through a growth spurt where he was sort of physically awkward transitioning so he comes into in tohang with these rich kids d this is a tale that we are familiar with and somebody that has come into a rich high school and is now suddenly trying to hang out with the jocks and the captain of the football team and the head cheerleader that is marie antoinette and isn't quite able to do it. when he gets drunk he gets kind of falling down drunk and becomes the butt of peopl

in a lot of ways it was more of a constitution because john adams drafted -- didn't like pennsylvania -- the convention changed a bunch of things but one thing -- many things he did but one important thing, he really organized the massachusetts constitution structurally, a lot of things did end up resembling the federal constitution but looking at the constitution, it's organized and sections with different breaks and things, earlier constitutions, a lot of them purchase lists of provisions they want sort of grouped it especially organized way so in that regard, i think we can thank john adams people aree. he did read, you could find what you're looking for pretty easily. >> thanks, i know we are at 715 now, i wish we could talk longer. i'm sure a lot more questions on the board here but i want to thank you for tuning in and thank you for coming to us live from arizona. >> download c-span's new app and stay up-to-date with live coverage of today's biggest event from live streams of the house and senate for key congressional hearings to white house events and supreme court oral argumen

john quincy adams notes john tyler's nose and a couple of his entries in fact you could even say at some point john quincy adams almost became obsessed with john tyler's nose among other things about the accidental president of the present without a pardon. but judge tyler passed on much more than his physical characteristics. key to understanding him and key to understanding how his addiction to pollock six developed. tyler it was very close to his father. his mother died when he was seven years old and the young boy took it hard as you might expect. he developed >> ailments and his father worried about him both because he was sickly and a nervous child small and frail. the turning point of sorts occurred when the future president was about ten years old the story at the very least it's probably embellished. i kept it out of the book critic edited out of the book the incident involved a scottish schoolmaster taught john tyler and several other boys in the neighborhood school not far from greenway seemed to take special delight and wrapping his students in knuckles when they forgot their

. >> this for marion, what would you say john adams most important contribution and why was he chosenbe the first white president. sina actually adams most important contribution was made early in the game in 1760s, and early 70s, even see this in the film in the play of 1776, he's recognizing that americans is inevitable and that america was looking for a messiah that would never come. and later on, he becomes vice president because he gets the second number of votes after washington and the election of 1789. and he hates the vice presidency and he said has the most ridiculous idea ever invented in the minds of man and one of the things that some listeners might be surprised by is that the first presidents, washington, adams and jefferson. and madison, they did not regard the presidency as the capstone of their careers, they regarded it as an epilogue. and adams thought his greatest contribution came in the revolution in washington thought it was during the war to win the war and jefferson believed his greatest contribution was the declaration of independence and that is the leading

to say you ground your book and deduction in the founding fathers and what was that about theing john adams in particular that you you country was meant to>> adams and president washington were all very worried that, theyd that point political parties would begin to not unite the peohing done but to divide people and elected officials would hav a greater loyalty to their party and to countryen what we are seeing in washington today. they had enormous -- between the populationshey wanted congress toflective o they havela the smaller te proud of the state of connecticut representatives and delegates at the constitutional convenha compromise between the house and the senate. an equal number of senators are from all states. this is the best example of how a enabled the creation of the country and was much more difficult particularly out the issue of and i can talk about that more if you >> remembering about they it seems like yo has been one insertion of not comfortable place but th it pl >> guest: well it is true both fo of american government which is part of what got me interested as a young

john quincy adams having all of his adventures in europe give us a good tenet story. >> okay so his back story he is this noble he is a rich orphan grew up in the equivalent of the sticks. he was a lord he lives in the manor house the big house of the small village. but is from a small village and today even a particular populated part of france, who moves to paris and winds up marrying into one of the richest and most powerful families in france. they are second only to the bourbon dynasty the royalty in place of wealth and lafayette enters this world. he just doesn't quite fit in. his manners are bit more bumbling. he barely clearly went through a growth spurt were he was physically awkward as he is going puberty and transitioning into being someone who could carry around he was kind of a bigger guy. and so he comes into this world and he has to hang with basically the rich kids. this is kind of a tale we are all very familiar with. someone who's come into a rich high school and is now suddenly trying to hang out with the jocks and the captains of the football team and hang out with th

you did research on colonial america and the early american republic to be more likely to think john adams was a great president. we, today, perhaps harshly criticize him. the act criminalized as the united states is gearing up for a potential war with france, it was entirely political on adam's opponents that were affiliated with jefferson. lyndon johnson, another president who is certainly going to be a controversial one. they generally like his domestic policies but find a lot to desire in his prosecution of the vietnam war where he conceals a true extent of united states involvement from the public. and makes a number of tactical decisions that potentially undermine the chances of the united states prevailing. in 1997 publish rating the presidents pray they take a poll of 719 people. ninety-seven of these individuals were professors of american history or political science for the other individuals to be some public officials, attorneys, and so forth. they are asking their samples to rate presidents on five different dimensions. leadership quality, accomplishments and crisis management

did research on colonial america in early american republic, you'd be more likely to think that john adams was a great president and we today perhaps criticize him partially for the alienation act criminalizing it the united states was for potential war with france and entirely it was political on adams opponents that were affiliated with the justices and lyndon johnson, and of the president a controversial one greatest color say the generally they liked his domestic policies find a lot to desire and the prosecutions of the vietnam war where he concealed of the true ascent of the united states involvement with the public had made a number of tactical decisions that potentially undermine the standards of the united states prevailing. and in 1997, published reading the presidents, they take up a lot of 719 people, 97 of these individuals were professors of american history or political science and the other individuals would be public officials, attorneys, and they are asking them to write presidents on five different dimensions, leadership qualities, accomplishments and private management,

>> i would say john quincy adams said something to that effect in his diary. he wants to become president of the united states and the pricing is dire in 1824 don't address this now we are just a bunch of lying hypocrites. the united states is going to fall apart or what -- a part of me kind of deserve it is the wave he looked at it. people are saying this is the end of the revolution -- >> that is what jefferson is saying. that's a statement because that's a statement that is solicited from him that everyone quotes to mr. holmes. that's why holmes tried to get a statement out of jefferson, the founder of the party saying this is a big concern. so i think there are people saying that but more of this could be the end and it's kind of more of the sigh of relief. i think one of the arguments of the anti-slavery era all these things that happen just before this that travels in the edinburgh review ended up to one is the declaration of independence has a lot of high civilians in 1819 eco-'s are kind of a reason that is not that big of a deal that's when you think

truman, john quincy adams, ronald ray gab or miss cleo? adams. kennedy: you'd be wrong! >> dang it. kennedy: reagan. his astronomer claimed i was responsible for attending all press conferences -- takeoff and landings and air force one. good job, everyone. congratulations to you, leslie marshall, for looking up all the questions in the rundown and getting them right -- [laughter] gary and olivia, great sports. olivia, welcome to the show. >> thank you so much. kennedy: thank you. cards don't lie. coming up, prince william taking a shot at the with billionaire space rah race, his hypocrisy is so big, jeff bezos could see it from mars. cat tim the of, she's in studio, going to take the air out of the air, next. ♪ ♪ at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner with access to financial advice, tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. how to have an epic adventure. vanguard. step one. get outside. step two. nope. that's it. no more steps. when everyone feels we

historians could come from different interpretation but despite the recent belief and our current facts, john adams our second president assured us acts are important and they are real so let's look and see what people said and interpret from that. >> okay the answer pretty much answers and that question that is on here. just to expand on this question, this is specifically for doctor rothman, what do you think is the best for local historians and educators to reveal the difficult stories your book tells, i know you touched on that, is there anything on that that you would add. >> i would i think that the local historians probably have similar kinds of political pressures but more leeway to get the stories across. i guess what i recommend local historians and educators as well is the story of active slave trade, it is a brutal one and involves a lot of violence and involves a lot of pain-and-suffering offer profit. what does it say flattering things of how the country operated for about the positions of african-americans in this country under slavery. but i do think that's one way to get the story

for me it is the nullification of citizens united or corporations united where because i'm a john adamsendent, i believe that there's nothing more than the two party system, two parties acting in concerned effort in opposition to each other. in other words, they've been playingal us all. does independence outnumber the democratic and republican party. [inaudible] trina sinned and usurped our constitution. >> host: thanks, tony. >> guest: i 100% agree we need to overturn and i say that in my book, but the problems predate citizens united and if you were to be able to overturn citizens united, which by the way would be difficult in the current structures that the money would find other ways even if they couldn't do it directly as united enabled. citizens united isn't that old of a decision. we should be overturning for sure, and you are completely correct. i think that independents should get the other. i think that republicans and democrats should get together and i hope that you will all check it out and consider helping moving the country forward. we are being played and manipulated to

he said you mentioned adam says in john adams and he tweeted out with jessica's question. are there any lessons or takeaways that you took from lafayette? >> just a very small thing because we don't have much time. the thing about, okay there is a tendency that people often have two subconsciously believe that things like progress and reform change for the better are just things that happen. look back on history. history is really progress. you don't worry about things will get better because progress will take care of it capital p progress but aren't things better for this group in that group? yes and you want to know why, because people fought for it and people went out and did something about it and the very people who you think are like radicals today and he would say to them why are you making such a big deal about it? we will do? we will do? we will do anchorman to reform and even incremental reform doesn't happen without lots of people making it happen. lafayette was somebody who from the very beginning of his life and to the end of his life was constantly using his

be able to seize the gunpowder and maybe even arrest and read revolutionary thinkers could be adams or john hancock in one result, is this. the shots heard around the world maybe. how did that happen but anyway we know that one of the first shots and american revolution is fired when the british regulars meet up with colonial militia from massachusetts on lexington green and shot the fire. who fired that first shot, nobody knows exactly rated but what in the british say, the colonists. and the colonists say they fired. yes, the british. it's remiss that the war begins in this militia union so refreshing and militia union was basically anyone in 1660, they would meet up roughly once a month and they would drill and they would train traditionally like the national guard. most american colonists do have some experience with a gun, with a musket more so than your average british soldier. partially they were fighting these americans but they're not formal military fighting and they are finding in lines. shots are fired, not only the do the colonists lose the british when here but this is a profo

mary alice adams: i'm not sure what this is. johnbeen a city commissioner for 10 years and blames city and state officials for failing to spot the problem on their own and to alert residents once it was detected. mick -- mary: i was getting very angry about it because our residents should know. but i didn't know the magnitude of it because i kept again asking. we need somebody to educate us on what these things mean. we have elderly people in the community who don't understand what a per, part per billion is. john: the crisis in benton harbor has echoes of another case of lead-tainted water running out of the faucets of a poor majority-black michigan city. the state reached a $600 million settlement with the residents of flint for its role in that city's lead crisis, which emerged in 2014. adams' daughter grew up both in flint and benton harbor. mary: my baby being epileptic, i didn't know that it could actually do greater harm with a condition like that. and her, between flint and here, she was like getting a double portion of lead.

in particular, the nightmares of john adams is your introduction. so what was it about the founding fathers, what was it about john adams in particular that you focus on that makes you think this is the way the country was meant to be? >> yeah, well, i mean, adams, in the statement that i quote, and president washington in his farewell address, they're all very worried that what they called at that point political effect, which became political parties, would begin to not unite the people to get something done but divide the people. and that elected officials would have a greater loyalty to their party than to their country. and i'm afraid that's too often what we're seeing in washington today. and it stops things from getting done. but they had enormous fights between the big population states at the convention which wanted congress to be totally reflective of population, naturally. the house of representatives, they had the smaller states that wanted equal representation. and i'm very proud to say the connecticut representatives, sherman and ellsw

nightmares of john adams is your introduction.ut the founding father, what was it about john adams in particular that you focus on that makes you think this is the way the country was meant to be? guest: adams and the statement that i quote and president washington, they are all very worried that what they called at that point political effect which became political parties, it would begin to not unite the people but divide people. that elected officials would have a greater loyalty to their party than to their country and i'm afraid that's too often what we are seeing in washington today. it stops things from getting done. but they have enormous fights between the big population states and the convention. wanted congress to be totally reflective of population. the house of representatives had the smallest states and wanted equal representation, and i'm proud of the state of connecticut representatives, delegates of the constitutional convention, came up with the great compromise which looked at two chambers, a house and senate, o

ladies and gentlemen, my guest tonight is an emmy and golden globe winner you know best from "john adamsg! >> stephen: hi, paul giamatti. nice too see you is that nice too see you again. it's been a long time since i've seen you in person. we talked over zoom in the covid interviews which had their own charm. >> yes is that creative moments under pressure. >> yes. >> stephen: welcome back. quite invigorating. >> stephen: you've done it all, comedy, tragedy, tv, film, stage. >> sure. >> stephen: when did paul giamatti say i'm going to check that out? >> i remember doing something in high school. i kind of accidentally ended up in a play because a guy i knew thought i was a funny guy, so he said, will you be in this play with me? it was a goofy play where we played 30 different characters. i fell into it. it was accidental and i loved it i d a great time, yeah. >> stephen: so 1995 was the debut of you on broadway, right? >> i think so, yeah. >> stephen: do you remember what the play was? >> "arcadia," i was a time stopper play. >> stephen: really. billy crudup was in it. >> stephen: victor

john adams speaks for a whole host of the founding generation when he said no man can risk life or limb without the concurrence of the voice. they thought intervention was one of the worst things the crown could do. it was a big part of american identity. we know about the stand back then taxation without representation. the colonists were also outraged that stamp act made it so that violations -- as opposed to jury trials here. the second continental congress listed england's interference of trial by jury among the grievances in the declaration of the causes of necessity to take up arms in 1775. it's in the declaration of independence as well. the right to trial by jury is the most valued of all civil rights. each state guarantees a trial by jury in a criminal case, partial to consideration. this was so fundamental. it was the rare area where you look at the federalists agreeing with each other. alexander hamilton said friends and adversaries, if they agree and nothing else, concurrent least in the value upon trial by jury. as he put it, the distinction meant most between the federal i