John Adams

I watched the first two episodes of HBO’s John Adams last night and I was amazed! Not just with the performances of Paul Giamatti or Laura Linney, but with the dialogue (a lot of it taken directly from letters and transcripts) and how intricately the period is portrayed.

It is incredibly fascinating to see the personalities of each of our founding fathers. Many, like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are far different than you might expect (at least how they are portrayed in the mini-series based on David McCullough’s bestselling book). Not to mention John Adams himself, who was so integral to the creation of our country, from building support among the thirteen colonies to fight the British in Boston to leading the creation of the Declaration of Independence.

The circumstances that led to the birth of America were far more complex than I was ever taught in school. I never understood just how fragile the process of creating an independent state from the British was and just how high the possibility of failure was. I completely took for granted just how monumental the event of creating a new political state from scratch was in human history.

I’ve always been a bit of a history buff, but have never really been that interested in the Revolutionary War, well not since the seventh grade at least. There is a certain human element that is so rarely communicated in the study of history. I mean, when was the last time your were emotionally engaged in history?

I have to say that I was thoroughly enthralled with the mini-series so far and feeling more patriotic than I can ever remember.