of course, people will come up to john adams essay, you must be so proud of your son, and john adams would say, he had a mother too. i like to think of him as actually the son of abigail adams. >> there is a resemblance to abigail, isn't there? >> i think so. >> one of the treasures in this room is right here. what is this? >> this is the desk on which the treaty of paris was signed . >> which ended -- >> the american revolution . >> who signed it? >> if we look, we can see john adams, benjamin franklin, and john jay. >> is that the original treaty of paris we are looking at? >> this is a copy , but the desk is real . >> the desk is the absolute desk that everyone sat at and signed. this desk was also used in a new miniseries, executive produced by author stacy schiff. >> that's correct. we were certainly interested in the series because it explores the life of benjamin franklin in paris. right at the time that he became a diplomat and accomplished some extraordinary things that brought france into the american revolution and allowed us a clear advantage . >> to get this desk over to

when i think of john quincy adams, of course, i of john adams. and the role he had in his son's life. and of course, people would come up to john and they would say, well, you must be so proud. your son and john adams would say he a mother, too. so i to think of him as actually the son of abigail adams. there is a resemblance to abigail and there is. well, one of the treasures that is in this room is right here. what is this? this is the desk on which the treaty of paris was signed, which ended the american revolution. the american revolution? who signed it. well, if we look, we can see john adams. benjamin franklin and john jay. is that the original of paris that we're looking at? this is a copy. but the desk is real. the desk is the absolute that everyone sat and signed. now this desk was also used in a new miniseries. yes. executive produced by author stacy schiff. that's correct. and we were certainly interested in this series because it explores a life of benjamin franklin in paris right at the time that he became a diplomat and some extraor

there is this letter where john adams talks about it, and john adams says something to the effect of, we know he wasn't born in america, we know he is an englishman and has only been a few years, but he has real american merit, which is the term adams used, real american merit, it is well-known that gates is a pretty strong radical in support of american cause, despite being from england and being an englishman by birth. and you can make an argument, too, that he is the most experienced officer in the continental army when the war breaks out, certainly has a lot more years of experience than washington does. the two of them are sort of in the running for most experienced officers, when the war begins. and he has made adjutant general as the chief administered officer of the army because he has all this experience as a staff officer from his time in the french and indian war serving under stan wicks, and monckton. a lot of administrative experience, so he is really dialed into the position, so he begins his position as adjutant general, in massachusetts, after his appointment in 1775.

is not in congress, on busy, but he his political allies of john adams and benjamin franklin, who are trying to push congress to get to independence. there are a number of letters that survive for gates rights to adams and franklin saying you need to do this and that. is giving benjamin franklin advice on how to get john dickinson on board, who is notoriously a holdout on independence. he insisted that britain can never be trusted. freedom is impossible unless you have independence. he says, who cares about setting up the government? you get freedom first, then worry about the government. not the best approach, but that was his approach. congress, of course, in july 1776, will declare independence. by that point, he has been promoted to major general. over the course of the revolutionary war he is going to have a lot of highs and lows. a high at saratoga, of course, where he is going to oversee a crucial victory at saratoga capturing burgoyne's army and others. he deserves at least some credit for it. two years later he has a big battle of camden, which really ends the military career

he's really he's not in congress, but his political allies of sorts of john adams and benjamin franklin, who are trying to push congress to get to independence. and there are a number of letters that survive or gates writes to adams and franklin saying, you need to do this and to do that. he's giving benjamin john benjamin franklin advice for how to get john dickenson on board, who is notoriously a holdout on independence. and he insists that britain can never be trusted. freedom isn't possible unless you have independence. and he he says, who cares? setting up the government, you got to get into it. get freedom first and then we'll worry about the government, which now is the best approach. but that was his approach in congress course in july 1776 will declare independence. but that point a month earlier in june 1776, he had been promoted major general in over the course of the revolutionary war. he's going to have a lot of highs and a lot of lows, have a high at saratoga, of course where he's going to oversee an absolutely crucial victory at saratoga, capturing army and others. debate

the system we know of from federalists and with people like like john adams and jefferson and james madison so on. and the second party system had yet to be created with people like andrew jackson and henry and those guys, and eventually abraham. so this was a moment of transition where no one knew what was going to happen the country. approaching its 50th anniversary and. that was something of an achievement because everyone knew america was an expert mean. that's the word that was often used. how would the experiment work? would we make it to 1826? and that also would the values of the founding fathers continue on in the generation? so there was a lot of concern about that even regardless of the sectionalism just were we continuing the story that we started in 1776 or so? monroe invited lafayette under. those circumstances that was a figure of unity he was a living and scholars will actually use this term relic of the american revolution as the positive sense that he was decrepit but that he was a living. remind you're a walking reminder in a sixties probably than some of the people here

the government had to arrange, john quincy adams was president by this time. he had to arrange a navy frigate, uss brandywine selected for that name because of lafayette's wounding of brandywine. he couldn't afford what it would take to take his treasure haul back to france under a regular commercial route. so he did a lot of shopping. he was gifted everywhere he went. >> his economic circumstances had changed a bit when he was the rich young 19-year-old who had come here to the post-french revolution person would was not quite as wealthy as he once had been. let me put it that way. is that polite enough? >> my question, actually, is that while the americans were highly enthusiastic, delirious with joy at his tour, the french were not. can you comment on that? >> france had gone through a number of changes since then and he had even been in jail for a while. so his circumstances are quite different than when he was like the boy wonder as a 19-year-old coming over here. but he never lost his commitment to liberty. he never lost his commitment to ending slavery

editors of democratic republican newspaper who criticize the federal's administration of president john adamsst frequently cited prosecutions have involved benjamin franklin who edited aurora newspaper and john daly burke and james smith newark's time piece newspaper who arrest and underwent federalist alleged to have been federal common law. congressman mathew lyon owned a vermont newspaper and thomas adams and william durell who respectively edited boston's independent chronicle newark's mount pleasant register were prosecuted under the sedition acts that were benjamin fairbanks and david brown of massachusetts, supported the construction of a liberty pole. luther baldwin hyde of newark new jersey were indicted for criticizing president adams in a tavern. other prosecutions included those of william of philadelphia and greeley of new york's argus comic charles holt of the new london and anthony haswell from the vermont gazette. state legislator for circling petition circulated in the sedition act as work thomas cooper who edited the gazette james t counter publish the prospect before the u.

most famous book of all is john quincy adams. picture in his location of capitol building. of course, andrew jackson won the popular vote and got majority in the congress and they didn't let john quincy adams accomplish very much and so adams left office, woodiest , and theyarrested all of him le house of representatives and he had been elected senator by the state legislature in massachusetts but willing elected to the house of representatives, he was elected by the people and he always considered that to be the greatest honor he had ever received. became famous and known as old man eloquent, but he was sitting there at that seat when he had a stroke and carry intoed the speaker's office where he died, members of congress with proper attire in his desk at the speaker's office. he was plan to go giver a speech. they were giving him medals to the general in the mexican war. he thought that was the most unrighteous war and nobody should get a medal for serving in an unrighteous war. his ghost is still trying to give the speech in statuary hall. i like to go to house receptions

. >> john adams and. [inaudible]. >> so july 4, 1826, on the 15th anniversary john adams and thomas jefferson, old archrivals on the second and third presence, they both died. and you have all of the speeches celebrating of course the revolution from the declaration. declaration through the 1820s is a big booming business, speeches and memorials and commemorations all of the time and this is again at the building of a public history memorials and monuments are super important it is how people make their identity and remember it and all of these civic rituals and all of these ways of sort of building a cultural identity printed one of those commemorations happened in 1920, because of course 200 years since the lighting of the pilgrims. so one thing to keep in mind is up until 1820, the pilgrims were celebrated but mostly in new england and that his if you're in charleston's, you're like the pilgrims who. why is this important to me and in 1820, partly through the work of the sky daniel webster, the pilgrim

he was the equivalent to john adams or sam adams.n the delancies shut them out of the assembly, that is a big problem. they are sacrificing new yorker's liberty. they are going to imprison him. that makes him essentially double down. you made it worse and we are go to keep going. and from his perspective the delancies keep digging and digging a hole. he will keep moving forward and forward and forward and it really works. he becomes a very skilled political operator. before it was the livingstons. does mcdougal see what he does and use it? >> i think he does. >> there are a lot of them. a lot of them are called robertson. they are not as fierce supporters but they support mcdougal and the opposition to him. the way they do is they take advantage of the press and hold these meetings in taverns. they give really good speeches. john warren scott happened to be one of the lawyers who the delancies poked fun out. he is a very good speaker. he is able to mobilize support. although mcdougal is at the top, he has people underneath them. it i

and is equivalent to someone like john adams. so when the delancys shut them out of the assembly, that is a problem. they are sacrificing new yorkers' liberty, so we have to check on that. and the strong response, they're going to imprison them, just makes them essentially double down. like, you've just made it worse for yourself, so we'll keep going. and from his perspective, the delancys keep digging and digging and digging a hold for themselves, so he'll keep moving forward and forward and forward and it really works. so he becomes -- he's a very skilled political operator, but he doesn't come on the scene until the late 1760s. before then, there wasn't really. >> and do you think that he -- before, it was the livingstons and they had the deferential, traditional style approach to politics and deferred to leaders. they're not actively campaigning, but the delancys open up access to new yorkers from all over and does mcdougal seize what he's done and use it for their own end? >> i think he does. the livingstons, they're still a

it had to be humility for john adams because he struggled so mightily with it. most famously self regarding of all the founders. called his rotunda d and wanting to call the president has a lot -- his elected majesty. constantly beating himself up for his own vanity but overcoming it in his reconciliations with mercy otis warren and thomas jefferson. that was how i made the choice. adam: one of the most straightforward choices, your chapter on resolution. centered around george washington. washington famously, in his upbringing, his education, his self-education, really explicitly plant the pursuit of virtue in a stoic sense at the center of his self comportment. tell that story. jeff: washington becomes even greater on close examination. he is the most respected, the most revered leader of his time because of his self-mastery. he is so self-conscious in struggling throughout his life to master his temper and his emotions so that he can achieve that calm self-mastery. he read it not in the original but in seneca and a great translation. and in the spectator, the

and john adams keeps a diary when. he travels to philadelphia as a delegate, the continental congress and he travels through new york and he spends in new york than anywhere he spends over a week in manhattan. and it's almost who's waiting for him almost as soon as he enters city. so standing there with bells on, it's alexander mcdougal because he sees a kindred spirit in adams and both the adamses, the other delegates from massachusetts and, they strike up a friendship, a political friendship and a union. and what mcdougal he spends almost every day with. adams he takes them everywhere. he introduces him to all of the right people. he tells what's going on in new york city politics, says there's two parties here. there's the party you don't like. you like. and then there's us. and they strike up a real sort of a real friendship. and adams is keeping this diary. and he writes that all of the places he went and all of the people that he met and mcdougal appears in almost every entry that well. mcdougal took us to john w

so if you want and then john adams, would you say that john adams is a key founder of the united statese is absolutely. john adams signed a treaty in the united states of america is not in any sense founded on the christian religion. look, i'm not listen, we've got to get you in an oklahoma history class because the next line is, let's talk about oklahoma history, because oklahoma is 48th in the country when it comes to education. it's ranked 48th in the country your critics say the money that you're spending on the bible, on putting bibles in every classroom you've asked for other ways to better educate the students because they're very worried about where oklahoma is ranked in the education system. what do you say to that? >> we are in the middle of a turnaround here because we are following president trump's agenda. this is the agenda for the entire country. we have school choice. we have merit pay. we are rejecting this left wing ideology in the classroom. we are promoting american exceptionalism. look, we are pressing students forward to see academic outcomes improve. we've seen re

john adams very much wanted to keep the job.they are in the 21st. there are newspapers that call john adams pretty awful things. and there were terrible things thrown in jefferson's corn early. there were new englanders and new england newspapers that they were certain if jefferson was elected president, he would be personally go into their homes and steal their bibles. >> reporter: john adams lost that election and conceded. >> jefferson calms the election of 1800 the second american revolution. and it was precisely because for the first time in this country there was a change in political party at the very top of government. and it was peaceful. it was a peaceful transfer of power. that's powerful. >> reporter: that had never happened before, but it set a precedent. it lasted until our time. introducing the wendy's krabby patty kollab burger. it has fresh never frozen beef that's — wait for it — square! are you ready? i'm ready! and i'm ready! for the krabby patty kollab meal you're craving - gotta be wendy's. >>> whatever hap

he is serving on diplomatic duty abroad, as is john adams. so neither of them were in attendance here. didn't stop thomas jefferson, by the way, from referring to this convention as an assembly of demagogues. while a bit of an exaggeration, i think as long as we are not too cynical, you can understand jefferson's comments. that is that there is a pretty impressive assembly of individuals who are in attendance. ben franklin is there. james madison, of course, of virginia, is there. it would have been hard to imagine the philadelphia convention ultimately in terms of its ability to secure some level of support without george washington's support. washington being someone that was widely trusted. he was the american. he was someone who laid down power when he had the opportunity to take it up. if you were worried about this turning into a power play, a power grab, something anti- populist in that sense, that presumably, george washington, his presence and support, would give you some comfort, some sort of pause that, in fact, that isn't what it

few artists have done more to live out the prophecy of john adams than johnny cash. throughout his life, he created a catalog of profoundly powerful works that cannot be ascribed to a single genre. at different times, he was country blues, rock and roll and gospel at all times. johnny cash was uniquely american. he was a trailblazing transform, a national and trendsetting figure. before jay-z dropped the black album, hip hop supergroup n.w.a. wore black l.a. raiders, baseball caps or the pioneering heavy metal rock band black sabbath, emerged on the scene. johnny cash was the man in black. his substance, his swagger and his style inspired generations of artists from every genre imaginable. more importantly, however, johnny cash was a one man music minister whose lyrical theology closely connected it appears to the gospel of matthew chapter 25 verses 35 and 36. for i was hungry and you gave me something to eat. i was thirsty. and you gave me something to drink. i was a stranger. and you invited me in. i needed clothes and you clothed me. i was sick and you looked afte

few artists have done more to live out the prophecy of john adams than johnny cash. throughout his life, he created a catalog of profoundly powerful works that cannot be ascribed to a single genre at different times. he was country blues and rock and roll and gospel at all times. johnny cash was uniquely american. he was a trailblazing transformer, national and trendsetting figure before jay-z dropped the black album hip hop supergroup nwa war, black l.a. raiders, baseball caps, or the pioneering heavy metal rock band black sabbath, emerged on the scene. johnny cash was the man in black. his substance, his swagger and his style inspired general editions of artists from every genre imaginable. more importantly, however, johnny cash was a one man music ministry whose lyric all theology closely connected. it appears to the gospel of matthew chapter 25 verses 35 and 36 for i was hungry and you gave me something to eat. i was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. i was a stranger. and you invite me in? i needed clothes and you clothing. i was sick and you looked aft

so that is what is at stake here john quincy adams calls it a critical.t's critical if you're interested in the united states as united states. the postwar downturn the economic downturn was for much of her by 1785 in 1786. not all but most people had a presumably a bit better than they had had before. nationhood is really a fundamental question. so let's look at these three areas as he specifically with the problem is. i'll start first with the central o government the government under the articles of confederation. as i said it is a product of its time. if you were trying to throw off what you regarding onerous central authority then you do not want to replace this with anotherr onerous central authority. right? you look at the confederation congress the emphasis is on the congress by the way. on the legislative not the executive. an advisory board that has executive decisions but the focus is on the legislator, the congress you might say sort of people power. it is very, very weak. it has to by this time the 1780s literally of bag members to attend it

john adams was the first guy to bail out on that with thomas jefferson.guration of grover cleveland after being defeated by benjamin harrison and they have to go to the capital. they didn't like each other very much but understood the importance of the symbol to the united states. >> dana: it is a symbol to our allies and adversaries. we have a different foreign policy situation now that president trump will inherit in just about two months. >> bill: there is the motorcade as we wrap up our coverage here and hand off to our colleague harris faulkner and continuing coverage. see how long the meeting goes and watch for the tone and words once that meeting concludes. >> dana: you know what we like about these people? the they're on time. harris faulkner is next. >> harris: together this hour we have a front row seat to history. it

when john adams learned that the human desire to be desired and affirmed was essential, he wanted to make all offices hereditary, that is how concerned he was. facebook boggles the mind. that technology rewards the self-mastery. the antithesis. the outrageous in moderation. the algorithms are so designed to feed on our basest passions and emotions, that it requires unusual levels of self-mastery and really weird projects actually to practice this. what other forces? let's ask ourselves, what was it that led to the understanding of happiness in the 1960's to be transformed from being good to "feeling good." and greed is good and you do you , let it all hang out. culture does not affirm the liberating virtues of self-mastery and self-restraint and resisting immediate gratification. why that happened, i don't have a really clear answer to. david brooks has some good thoughts. he blames freud and this is addition of character for personality. as well as he thinks the transition in pop culture to a vision of human nature as being fundamentally good rather than fall and may have contribute

and i think, you know, adams john adams being, you know, somewhat conservative thought that that was unnatural, that that was a revolution too far. maybe and so, yeah, this idea of of a woman taking up a torch, destroying a city, it was bad enough that men were doing it. but the fact that a woman was doing it, too, meant that you know, and this is what conservatives were warning they were loyalists or conservative revolutionaries. right. like once you revolt against your sovereign, you create anarchy and you end up like potentially destroying all of the categories that we hold sacred, whether they are racial hierarchies, social hierarchies and gender hierarchies. right. and so this idea that that women might be participating as incendiary as well, just showed that, you know, once you open the pandora's box of revolution, you know you're going to get all sorts of horrible things happening that that these conservatives did not. you know, we're trying to contain basically. so would you kind of sum this up in saying that women engaging in violent acts, they're not just protesting. they'r