William Daniels Quotes

John Adams The eagle.

Thomas Jefferson The dove.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin The turkey.

John Adams The eagle.

Thomas Jefferson The dove.

John Adams The eagle!

Thomas Jefferson (considers) The eagle.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin The turkey.

John Adams The eagle. The eagle is a majestic bird!

Dr. Benjamin Franklin The eagle is a scavenger, a thief and coward. A symbol of over ten centuries of European mischief.

John Adams And the turkey?

Dr. Benjamin Franklin The turkey is a truly noble bird. Native american, a source of sustenance to our original settlers, and an incredibly brave fellow who wouldn't flinch from attacking a whole regiment of Englishmen single-handedly! Therefore, the national bird of America is going to be...

John Adams The eagle!

Dr. Benjamin Franklin The eagle!

John Adams (to God) A second flood, a simple famine, plagues of locusts everywhere, or a cataclysmic earthquake, I'd accept with some despair. But no, you sent us Congress! Good God, Sir, was that fair?!

John Dickinson Come, come, Mr. Adams, you must see that it's hopeless? Let us recall General Washington and disband the Continental Army before we're overwhelmed.

John Adams Oh yes indeed, the English would like that now, wouldn't they?

John Dickinson Why not ask them yourself, they ought to be here any minute.

Edward Rutledge And when they hang you, Mr. Adams, I hope you will put in a good word for the rest of us?

Samuel Chase Face facts Mr. Adams. A handful of drunk and disorderly recruits against the entire British Army? The finest musket men on earth. How can we win? How can we even hope to survive?

Abigail Adams (in John's imagination singing) John, John! Is that you carrying on John?

John Adams Oh, Abigail! Abigail--I have such a desire to knock heads together!

Abigail Adams I know dearest. I know. But that's because you make everything so complicated. It's all quite simple, really: (singing) Just tell the Congress to declare independency/ Then sign your name, get out of there and/ Hurry home to me

John Dickinson (laughing) Mr. Lee, Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Rodney, Col. McKean, Dr. Franklin, why have you joined this... incendiary little man, this BOSTON radical? This demagogue, this MADMAN?

John Adams Are you calling me a madman, you, you... you FRIBBLE! You and your Pennsylvania proprietors, oh, you cool, considerate men. You hang to the rear on every issue so that if we should go under, you'll still remain afloat!

John Dickinson Are you calling me a coward?

John Adams Yes... coward!

John Dickinson Madman!

John Adams Landlord!

John Dickinson LAWYER!

John Adams The Declaration will be a triumph, a triumph I say. (pauses) And if it isn't, we still have 4 days to think of something else.

Austin Tucker Now I don't know what you want but if it's money, I'll give you ten thousand dollars to keep me out of it. You don't mention my name, you don't come looking for me. All I want is to stay out of it.

Joseph Frady Sorry, Mr. Tucker, you've got information I need. Money doesn't mean anything to me. This story's gonna mean more to me than ten thousand dollars.

Austin Tucker Fella, you don't know what this story means.

John Adams I have 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 ten years, King George and his Parliament have gulled, cullied, and diddled these colonies with their illegal taxes! Stamp Acts, Townshend Acts, Sugar Acts, Tea Acts! And when we dared stand up like men, they have stopped our trade, seized our ships, blockaded our ports, burned our towns, and spilled our BLOOD! And still, this Congress refuses to grant ANY of my proposals on independence, even so much as the courtesy of open debate! Good God, what in hell are you waiting for?

Mr. Braddock Ben, what are you doing?

Benjamin Well, I would say that I'm just drifting. Here in the pool.

Mr. Braddock Why?

Benjamin Well, it's very comfortable just to drift here.

Mr. Braddock Have you thought about graduate school?

Benjamin No.

Mr. Braddock Would you mind telling me then what those four years of college were for? What was the point of all that hard work?

Benjamin You got me.

Edward Rutledge Remove it, or South Carolina will bury, now and forever, your dream of independence.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin John, I beg you, consider what you're doing.

John Adams Mark me Franklin, if we give in on this issue, posterity will never forgive us.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin That's probably true, but we won't hear a thing. We will be long gone. Besides, what will posterity think we were? Demigods? We're men, no more, no less. Trying to get a nation started against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed. First things first John, independence America. If we don't secure that, what difference will the rest make?

John Adams Jefferson, say something.

Thomas Jefferson What else is there to do?

John Adams Well man, you're the one who wrote it.

Thomas Jefferson I wrote all of it, Mr Adams.

John Adams There it is Rutledge, you have your slavery, little good may it do you. Now vote, damn you!

Edward Rutledge Mr. President, the fair colony of South Carolina, says Yea.

Mr. Braddock Well, when did you decide all this?

Benjamin About an hour ago.

Mr. Braddock Wait a minute, you talked to Elaine this morning?

Benjamin No, she doesn't know about it.

Mr. Braddock Uh, you mean she doesn't know you are coming up to Berkeley?

Benjamin No, actually she doesn't know about us getting married yet.

Mrs. Braddock Well when did you two talk this over?

Benjamin We haven't.

Mrs. Braddock You haven't?

Mr. Braddock Ben, this whole idea sounds pretty half baked.

Benjamin No, it's not. It's completely baked. It's a decision I've made.

Mrs. Braddock But what makes you think she wants to marry you?

Benjamin She doesn't. To be perfectly honest, she doesn't like me.

Mark Wallace Come on, baby.

Howard Manchester Well that, if I may say so, is a very revealing usage. Calling her baby, at this point, shows you're prepared to do her thinking and her deciding for her. Now I warn you solemnly, Marcus. You're denying Joanna the right to be her own paradoxical self.

Mark Wallace Howard, you're the largest pocket of untapped natural gas known to man.

John Adams (reading a note tossed down from Jefferson) "Dear Mr. Adams, I am taking my wife back to bed. Kindly go away. Your obedient, T. Jefferson." Incredible!

Dr. Benjamin Franklin (chuckles) You know, perhaps I should have written the Declaration. At my age there's little doubt that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Treason is a charge invented by winners as an excuse for hanging the losers.

John Adams (scoffs) I have more to do than stand here all day listening to you quote yourself.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Oh, John, that was a new one!

Richard Henry Lee You've come to the one colony that can get job done: Virginia. The land that gave us our glorious commander in chief, George Washington, will now give the congress its proposal on independence. Where Virginia goes the south is bound to follow. And where the south goes, the middle colonies go! Gentlemen, a salute to Virginia, the mother of American independence!

John Adams Incredible, we're free and he hasn't even left yet! What makes you think you can do it?

Richard Henry Lee (singing)My name is Richard Henry Lee; Virginia is my home

Benjamin I'm just...

Mr. Braddock ...worried?

Benjamin Well...

Mr. Braddock About what?

Benjamin I guess about my future.

Mr. Braddock What about it?

Benjamin I don't know. I want it to be...

Mr. Braddock ...to be what?

Benjamin ...Different.