1776 Synopsis

The Place
Philadelphia -- The Chamber and an Anteroom of the Continental Congress; a Mall; High Street; Thomas Jefferson’s rooms; & certain reaches of John Adams’ mind.
The Time
May, June & July, 1776

The Story

Act I:

Scene 1: The Congress
Late May, hot, the chamber buzzing with flies. John Adams calls for support of his proposal on independence. He’s ignored ("Sit Down, John!") Frustrated, he steps outside and calls upon God for help. ("Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve"). Apparently ignored by the deity as well, John next conjures his wife, Abigail, who’s at their farm in Massachusetts, their constant written correspondence forming the basis of their "dialogue." ("Till Then")

Scene 2: The Mall
John finds the venerable Benjamin Franklin and complains bitterly that no one listens to him; evidently his is "obnoxious and disliked." Franklin suggests that he let some other, more popular Congressman propose independence -- and, as if on cue, Virginia’s flamboyant Richard Henry Lee appears and accepts the assignment. But though he must first ride down to Virginia to request that colony’s approval, he’s confident that he can succeed. ("The Lees of Old Virginia")

Scene 3: The Congress
Two weeks later. John waits impatiently for Lee’s return. When the Virginian finally appears he does indeed have the sought-after proposal. What follows is a series of parliamentary maneuvers from both the pro-independence forces (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Virginia) and the antis (Pennsylvania, Maryland, North & South Carolina and Georgia). This debate is complicated by the departure, due to illness, of a member of the Delaware delegation, thereby changing that colony’s vote from "yea" to "nay"; by the appearance of the New Jersey delegation (formerly absent) which joins the pro-forces; and the constant and infuriating abstention of the New York Delegation.

Finally, when it looks as though the colonies favoring independence are about to carry the day, Pennsylvania’s John Dickinson, the leader of the antis, moves for unanimity, a proposal that surprisingly carries. With certain defeat staring John Adams in the face, he suddenly improvises a proposal that before they can vote, there must be a declaration "of some sort" to explain to the world the reasons for the separation from England. This motion is headed for defeat until Thomas Jefferson, heretofore silent, makes a brief but impassioned plea for John’s declaration, and the proposal succeeds.

A committee to manage the declaration is appointed, and Jefferson, over his fervent objections (he was on his way home to see his newly-wed wife), is chosen to write it. ("But, Mr. Adams")

Scene 4: Jefferson’s Rooms
A week later. Jefferson cannot write; his thoughts are elsewhere. He is visited by Adams and Franklin who try to prod him on, but they get nowhere. The, a young attractive woman enters and falls into Jefferson’s arms; it’s his wife, Martha. It seems John has sent for her, figuring the sooner his problems were solved, the sooner theirs could be, too. Discretely, the two older men depart.

Outside, on High Street, Franklin leaves Adams alone -- he has a dinner date -- and John, feeling lonely, again conjures his wife, Abigail. She mildly reproaches him for not inviting her to Philadelphia, too, and, exchanging endearments, their common need for one another’s affections emerges. ("Yours, Yours, Yours")

In the morning, Franklin returns and, through an upstairs window, she and Adams catch sight of Martha Jefferson. Admiring her, they invite her to join them. When she does, the two men try to learn some of the details of the preceding night, and, playfully pretending to tell them al, she actually tells them very little. ("He Plays The Violin")

Scene 5: The Congress
Adams and Franklin set about trying to achieve the required unanimity. Franklin works on James Wilson, the swing-vote in his own delegation, but to no avail. Adams confronts Sham Chase, the portly Maryland Congressman who opposes independence because he lacks faith in Gen. Washington’s ability to win a war against superior English forces. With bad timing, the young Courier from Washingston arrives with a dispatch describing the total chaos that exists the Continental Army’s training ground in New Jersery. Rashly, Adams doubts this dispatch’s accuracy and dares Chase to accompany him to New Jersey to see the truth. With Franklin agreeing to go with them, the Congress adjourns; most of the Congressmen leave.

Only the Conservatives -- Pennsylvania’s John Dickinson and Wilson, Delaware’s Reed, the entire South, and others -- remain. Relieved that, not only is Adams gone, but the heat and flies have abated, they loftily express their philosophy. ("Cool, Cool, Considerate Men")

When they too, go, only McNair, the Congressional custodian, his helper, and the young military Courier are left in the Chamber. Pressed to relate his war experiences, the teen-age soldier describes the aftermath of the Battle of Lexington. ("Momma Look Sharp")

Act II:

Scene 1: The Congress; an Anteroom
Jefferson waits alone, listening at the Chamber door; his Declaration is being read to the Congress by Secretary Thompson. Unable to disguise his nervousness, he closes the door to wait.

Adams and Franklin enter, joyous over what they saw at the military training ground in New Jersey -- evidently the troops showed more promise than reported, enough to persuade Chase to add Maryland’s vote to the "yea" column. Adams reassures Jefferson that there’s nothing to worry about, the Declaration in a masterpiece. ("The Egg")

Scene 2: The Congress
When the Declaration has been read, the President of the Congress, John Hancock, asks if there are any changes to be proposed. Nearly every hand in the chamber shoots up. The debate lasts three days, with one Congressman after another asking for the addition or subtraction or rephrasing of a particular passage; Jefferson, dispirited, acquiesces to all of them.

When it appears the changes are finally accomplished, only then does Edward Rutledge, the elegant South Carolina Congressman, rise to attack the passage that condemns slavery; to them in the South, slavery is their "peculiar institution and a cherished way of life." When Jefferson and the New England delegations protest that slavery must nevertheless end, Rutledge searingly accuses them of hypocrisy. ("Molasses to Rum")

The entire South walks out; with only a little more than a day to the final vote, the cause appears totally lost. After most of the Congressmen leave Franklin tells Adams that the slavery clause must be cut, that independence is the goal: "For if we don’t secure that, what difference will the rest make?" Adams remains defiant, creating a rift between him and his friend.

Sitting apart, Adams once more conjures up his Abigail, expressing to her his discouragement. She gently admonishes him, reminding him of who and what he is. ("Yours, Yours, Yours" [Reprise]) With renewed vigor he revitalized Franklin and Jefferson who go off to work on he naysaying Congressmen.

The Courier returns; this time Washington conveys to the Congress his own despair at not hearing from them: "Is anybody there? Does anybody care?" Left alone in the chamber, Adams ponders these phrases and their deeper meaning. ("Is Anybody There?")

Scene 3: The Congress
The next morning; July 2. Even though Georgia’s Lyman Hall has had second thoughts and has broken with this fellow Southerners to join those in favor of independence, and the mortally ill Caesar Rodney of Delaware has courageously ridden back from Dover to break the tie in that delegation, the Carolinas remain steadfast: with the slavery clause included in the Declaration, they will never vote to approve it. Desolate, with no other option left to them, Adams and Jefferson relent and cut the clause.

Now only Pennsylvania remains in the "nay" column. Dickinson and Franklin cancel each other out leaving James Wilson, the devoted ally of Dickinson, as the swing vote. But when it appears that his vote will forever brand him as "the man who prevented American independence," his wilts; he "just didn’t bargain for that." To the astonishment of all, his "yea" vote is recorded; the proposal on independence has finally been adopted.

July 3: the Declaration is ready for signature. But before it can be accomplished, another dispatch from Gen. Washington arrives. The eve of battle in New York is at hand; the Continental Army has only 5,000 men to stand against 25,000 redcoats: "Dear God, what brave men I shall lose before this business ends." The Congressmen darkly contemplate their situation; if the war is lost, by signing such a document they will certainly be hanged for treason. But the die is cast.

July 4: with McNair sent off to ring the bell, the Congressmen sign. One by one. (Finale)