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The darkest stain on his legacy, on the
other hand, is surely the notorious
Alien and Sedition Acts. Though he
did not craft these laws, President
Adams was persuaded to sign them into
law in 1798, widening the rift between
him and his Vice President and onetime
friend Thomas Jefferson, who was
fiercely opposed to the measures. The
four separate Acts increased the number
of years of residence needed for aliens
to become citizens (from five to
fourteen); authorized the president to
deport any resident alien considered a
danger to the United States; authorized
the president to deport any resident
alien whose home country was at war
with the US; and outlawed the publishing
of writing against the government that
was "false, scandalous and malicious,"
essentially making it a crime to
criticize the government. Of the
four Acts, the first was repealed in
1802; the second and fourth expired in
1800 and 1801 respectively; but the
third, the
Alien Enemies Act, remains in
effect to this day.
Why would someone who already knows the
bare bones of the story of John Adams
want to watch HBO's miniseries about the
man? This quality production brings the
history alive in a way no mere summary
of events ever could. There are the
glimpses of the early law career and the
drama of an eighteenth century courtroom.
There is the build up to the Revolution,
with rabble-rousing Samuel Adams urging
his cousin to put his growing influence
to good use. There are the debates in
the Continental Congresses, egos and
ideas clashing over whether the
injustices inflicted by the British were
sufficient to justify separation and war.
There are the conflicts between Franklin
and Adams in France, and the
philosophical disagreements between
Jefferson and Adams, friendly at first
but erupting eventually into full-fledged
political rivalry.
And there is Abigail
Adams, John's beloved wife and "dear
friend," sharing his struggles and
helping him refine his writing and ideas.
She supports his involvement in the
monumental events of the time, raises
their children and runs their farm
singlehandedly while he is away on
diplomatic mission to Europe, is charmed
and then disillusioned by Thomas
Jefferson. The viewer is left with the
impression that had she lived in our
time, Abigail Adams would have been a
formidable politician or intellectual in
her own right. The superb performance of
Laura Linney in this role perfectly
complements Paul Giamatti's in the title
role, for which excellence both actors
duly received Emmy Awards.
The eleven other Emmy
Awards, including one for Outstanding
Miniseries, one for Outstanding Writing
for a Miniseries or Movie, and one for
Tom Wilkinson in the role of Benjamin
Franklin, attest to the overall quality
of the miniseries. The overall casting (another
Emmy) is fantastic, and extra special
mention has to go to prosthetics and
makeup (yes, another Emmy) for bringing
home the harshness of life in the
eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries. In defiance of the popular
practice, when filming a period piece,
of making everyone stunningly gorgeous,
the world created here is both dirty and
dangerous. Small pox blisters and
rotting teeth give this production added
authenticity, and remind us all to be
happy to be living in the twenty-first
century. As a friend of mine remarked,
modern dentistry is an excellent
argument for capitalism all by itself.
Yet despite the harsh
living conditions, the eighteenth
century was a time of great optimism.
These men and women really felt the
world could change for the better, and
that they could be an integral part of
that change. This sense of hope and
excitement about the future is captured
nicely in a scene set in Paris after the
Revolutionary War has been won. It is
1783 and Abigail Adams has joined her
husband in Europe. Accompanied by Thomas
Jefferson, they are attending the launch
of the first untethered manned flight of
a balloon, seeing humankind break the
bonds of gravity that had previously
kept us anchored to the Earths surface.
It is a joyful celebration of our
potential to embark upon great quests
and see them through to their successful
completion.
A quick Wikipedia search
uncovered a spattering of historical
inaccuracies in the seven episodes, but
none serious enough to dampen my
enthusiasm for this fine work. HBO
deserves a lot of credit for bringing us
great, quality programming in recent
years, shows like
Rome and
Deadwood, and for my money, they
have done it again with
John Adams, recreating this
crucial time in the history of
humanity's continuing struggle for
freedom.
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