1776 Critique

The film 1776 was set to cover the events surrounding the acknowledgement, for the newly form America which consisted of the thirteen colonies, the need for independence from Great Britain. It also addressed the occurrences leading up to the process of the creation, acceptance and signage of the Declaration of Independence. The main purpose of the film was centered around the delegates identifying the need for independence. This was a successful Broadway musical comedy that was adapted to film to explain the process of achieving independence. The issues the film raised was the need for independence from Great Britain, the was support efforts and anti-slavery clause which addressed the process to either acknowledge slaves as free men or

The film was written to entertain and enlighten its audiences. There were several musical portrayals within the film that were entertaining; however, they were not historically correct. One instance of this was John Adams duets with his wife. That was not recorded as being accurate. According the Massachusetts Historical Society, they’ve maintain the historical proof of the writing that occurred between John and Abigail Adams. While the songs and messages communicated were informative and entertaining, it did not occur. They only served as symbolism of the letters that have been recorded as historical facts between Adams and Abigail. The letters between the two did reflect dialogue that occurred surrounding saltpeter and straight pins. Abigail was requesting straight pins while John Adams was making his case for saltpeter. Another aspect of the movie that was not accurate was the number of men present within the continental congress at the time of the actual signage of the Declaration of Independence. The movie depicted there were a total of 31 delegates on hand for the actual acceptance of the Declaration of Independence, yet history clearly identified that more than 50 members of the continental congress was present. Another misconception within the movie in one of the earlier scenes that revealed an irritated Adams at the sight of Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. It suggested that Adams disliked Lee and that wasn’t true. According to the Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, he referred to Lee as “A man with whom I respect and admire and called him the tall, masterly Virginian.” Another misstep within the film quoted Richard Henry Lee with saying that he had to leave the continental congress to return to Virginia to serve as its governor. That was not only false, but