John Adams and......more importantly Abigail Adams

[Karl]

The general from Ohio.

LOL

[The General]

Karl,

I'm out this way right now. I'm at my parents' house in Reading.

Given sufficient advance notice, it can easily be arranged.

Eric
_________________
"If you want to have some fun, jine the cav'ry!"

[Karl]

Sounds good Eric.

See you tomorrow.

LOL

Let me know when you will be in the area my friend.

I can show you the place where Washington stood on Iron Hill (see map) and looked at the British.....looking back at him from Grays Hill.

Let me know if by some odd chance you can come down and I'll give you a tour.
If not, anytime you can make the time Eric.

Regards,

Karl

[James_Longstreet]

The Map-Boy Strikes again
_________________
I Remain
Your Ob't Servant
Allan
Time sets all things right. Error lives but a day. Truth is eternal.
A Great Civilization is not Conquered from Without until It has Destroyed Itself from Within

[hawkeyejohn]

The mini-series and the discussion here has caused me to go back to McCullough and read John Adams. I will admit it is a good read and opens up a whole new character from American history that I knew little or nothing about. 1776 must just have set wrong with me.

[Karl]

I just watched "Painting with Words on HBO.
A profile on David McCullough.
In it, he went to the archives that held the Adams collection of letters and diaries.
He sat at the table and the archivist showed him a letter that John wrote on July 3rd, 1776 to Abigail.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to google it and see if I can find the prtion of the text that was so amazing.
But even moreso, was the reaction ofn the two men as McCullough read it aloud.

If, however, you would like to watch, it will be on HBO Thursday morning at 8:45 and 10 or so tomorrow morning.

Off to search Google.

Regards,

Karl

[Karl]

I found a portion of it the letter here.
But he elaborates on what this will mean to future generations and the detail he expounded on was amazing.
Here is a portion....

"So back to the library I went where I found: “The Book of Abigail and John, Selected letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Edited by Butterfield, Friedlander, and Kline; Harvard University Press, 1975.”

Therein, on page 139, is a letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams from Philadelphia dated July 3, 1776. “Yesterday the greatest Question was decided, which ever was debated in America.... A Resolution was passed without one dissenting Colony ‘that these united Colonies, are...free and independent States.’”

In a continuation or perhaps a second letter of the day to Abigail, John Adams says (p.142), “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. —I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”

[Karl]

Here it is.

He said this the day before the official singing.

"I am apt to believe that it (July 2) will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore."

http://www.yorktownsquare.com/2006/07/john_adams_yesterday_the_great.php

Needless to say, watch this piece on HBO if you can.

"Painting with Words"

Regards,

Karl

[Hog_Flambe]

Is it me? Or does anyone else hear "voice overs" while reading anything published for David McCullough?

Damn you to Hell, Ken Burns!

I make joke.

As for John and Abigail. Put aside, for a moment, the history they played a part in shaping. In my mind, their greatest accomplishment was seeing it through to the end.

Together.
_________________
"The revolution will not be televised."