Once in a great while, in the midst of the tidal wave of so-called “reality”
TV shows and the continuous onslaught of violent, raunchy, gruesome and
lame humored, homogenized movies and cable fare, something actually real
and educational comes along that strikes chords in the American people and
set them off to further their education about their own roots ~ our shared
roots as American citizens, regardless of our age, skin color, religion or
social status. In 2008 HBO offered an 8-hour miniseries portraying John
Adams and his role in the American Revolution. The production, based on
David McCullough’s best-selling biography on one of the most famous
signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the nation’s second
president following his stint as first vice president under George
Washington, was a huge success. It induced an influx of interest in both
Adams the individual and early U.S. history in general. I remember visiting
the Adams’ family historical complexes south of Boston a year or so
following the HBO airing and the National Park Service staff emphasized
how visitor attendance had skyrocketed as a result.
With all of the gemstones in documentary vaults, such as those produced by
Ken Burns, PBS, the History Channel, and others, I have long wondered
when or from where we will get one that gives ample coverage and credit,
and due justice and appreciation to one of the most essential core groups in
American, and World History ~ those 56 men who signed the Declaration of
Independence. Maybe it begins here.
Most of us know a little about the most popular of the signers: Thomas
Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Adams and his Bostonian cousin Sam, and
their fellow Boston compatriot John Hancock. But what of the others? What
kind of men were they? Where did they come from and where did life after
the Declaration lead them? As our country in 2013, thanks to three branches
of government that all seem to be in agreement that the Constitution doesn’t
really matter much anymore, spirals in confusion and subversion, wouldn’t it
be the perfect time to revisit the life stories of those who actually had the
audacity to call themselves free even before a war had been won to secure
that declaration?
Some may have heard during a trivia game or on a trip to a related historic
site that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on the same day: July
4th, 1826, a fitting and ironic tribute to two friend ????????????????????)??????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????)5??????e?
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