working with comparisons: john adams, thomas jefferson …...1 c. barrera 2012 working with...
TRANSCRIPT
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Working With Comparisons:
John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and
the Rhetoric and Art of the
American Revolution
From HBO’s John Adams mini-series based on the biography by David McCullough
Episode 1: “Join or Die” (The Boston Massacre)
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Name ________________________________________ Date _______________ Class _________________
Viewing Guide- John Adams (miniseries) Episode 1- “Join or Die”
Boston 1770
1. What is the significance of the “Tory” sign on the skeleton hanging off the trees in
the opening sequence?
2. Characterize John and Abigail Adam’s relationship when Abigail looks at John and
immediately knows that he has lost his case.
3. Characterize John Adams as a father.
4. John Adams hears a distant crowd yell, “fire!” What does John initially think this is?
5. Describe Samuel Adams’ reaction to the massacre.
6. What is the significance about Crispus Attucks death?
7. Why was the bloodied visitor at the Adams’ house? Speculate why he was bloodied.
8. What warning does Abigail Adams give John Adams about defending Captain
Preston?
9. Explain Abigail Adams statement, “They will say you are the Crown’s man!”
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10. What is Captain Wilson’s explanation for the massacre?
11. What is Sam Adams’ political motive for having a procession after the massacre?
12. Contrast Paul Revere’s sketch of the Boston massacre with reality.
13. Explain Abigail Adam’s comment to John, “Mask your intelligence with more
patience than those less intelligent that you.”
14. Mr. Goddard, the first witness, admits the crowd carried clubs. Why does he admit
this?
15. Mr. Goddard testifies that Captain Preston was located where when the shooting
began?
16. How does the crowd exert pressure on Mr. Holmes, the second witness?
17. Does Mr. Holmes admit that the crowd shouted to fire to the soldiers before the
shooting began?
18. How does John Adams persuade Richard Palmes to testify at the court?
19. Where does Richard Palmes testify as to the location of Captain Preston during the
shooting?
20. When did Palmes testify that he heard Captain Preston command the men to fire?
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21. What suggestion does Abigail Adams give John Adams about his statement as she is
editing it?
22. In his closing speech, what is John Adams’ main argument?
23. The jury’s decision is:
24. How does Samuel Adams feel about John Adams after his cousin won the case that
set the British soldiers free?
25. Did John Adams use ethos (morals), logos (logic) or pathos (emotion) to make his
case?
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Name ________________________________________ Date _______________ Class ________
CLOSE READING: Comparison and Contrast between
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
Directions: Read the passage from David McCullough’s biography John Adams that
compares John Adams to Thomas Jefferson. As you read, take notes on the graphic
organizer. Identify the specific characteristics of each man.
Characteristics John Adams Thomas Jefferson Physical
Characteristics
Interests
Views of
mankind
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Characteristics John Adams Thomas Jefferson Personal
writing
Interaction
with people
Views of the
homeland
Other notes
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Teaching Notes
Selected screen-captured images from the episode with explanations can be found
at this link.
If you have an HBO subscription, the series can be accessed at this link.
iTunes has the episode for less than $5.oo at this link.
Amazon.com has the episode for download at less than $4.00 at this link.
Answer Key for the Viewing Guide
Boston 1770
1. What is the significance of the “Tory” signs on the skeleton hanging off the trees in
the opening sequence?
Tories are those that are loyal to the crown of England. There is rebellion in the air in
Massachusetts.
2. Characterize John and Abigail Adam’s relationship when she looks at John and
immediately knows that he has lost his case.
They knew each other deeply both personally and professionally. He would call her
his greatest confidant.
3. Characterize John Adams as a father.
He could be both affectionate and distracted as a father. He would spend years away
from his family.
4. John Adams hears a distant crowd yell, “fire!” What does John initially think this is?
Because he runs to get a water bucket, he thinks the town is ablaze.
5. Describe Samuel Adams’ reaction to the massacre.
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He is irate and calls the soldiers murderers. John has to restrain him.
6. What is the significance about Crispus Attucks death?
He is not only the first to die in the Revolutionary War but he is African-American.
7. Why was the bloodied visitor at the Adams’ house? Speculate why he was bloodied.
He was asking John Adams to defend him in court. Adams has reputation as a fair
man. The crowd possibly recognized him from the night before and beat him.
8. What warning does Abigail Adams give John Adams about defending Captain
Preston?
Adams will become the most despised man in Boston if he does so.
9. Explain Abigail Adams statement, “They will say you are the Crown’s man!”
John could be viewed as a man more loyal to England than to the colonies.
10. What is Captain Wilson’s explanation for the massacre?
His men were abused by the crowd, who was throwing objects. He gave no orders to
fire. He was standing in front of his men. After violence began (from the crowd), the
men acted in self-defense.
11. What is Sam Adams’ political motive for having a procession after the massacre?
He wants to mobilize the colonists towards revolution.
12. Contrast Paul Revere’s sketch of the Boston massacre with reality.
The drawing has the British Troops shooting directly into an orderly crowd, this isn’t
the way it probably happened.
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13. Explain Abigail Adam’s comment to John, “mask your intelligence with more
patience than those less intelligent that you.”
She understands her husband’s genius and sincerity. She also knows that his
impatience and temper will have others ignore the genius and think him obnoxious,
arrogant and pedantic.
14. Mr. Goddard, the first witness, admits the crowd carried clubs. Why does he admit
this?
He believes that anyone native to Boston will understand that the clubs are what
workingmen in Boston, who make rope, have to carry.
15. Mr. Goddard testifies that Captain Preston was located where when the shooting
began?
He was behind his men, the British soldiers.
16. How does the crowd exert pressure on Mr. Holmes, the second witness?
They come close to him as he testifies in an intimidating manner.
17. Does Mr. Holmes admit that the crowd shouted to fire to the soldiers before the
shooting began?
Yes. He states, they said “Fire, damn you, Fire.”
18. How does John Adams persuade Richard Palmes to testify at the court?
Adams visits him at his place of work appealing to not having innocent men die in
Palmes’ name.
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19. Where does Richard Palmes testify as to the location of Captain Preston during the
shooting?
In front of his men, not where a Captain would order a shooting since he is in the
line of fire.
20. When did Palmes testify that he heard Captain Preston command the men to fire?
Only after the first shot.
21. What suggestion does Abigail Adams give John Adams about his statement as she is
editing it?
Take out all the quotations by great men. You do not need to quote great men to
prove you are a great man…all this proves is his vanity.
22. In his closing speech, what is John Adams’ main argument?
Judge by the facts and evidence. The men had to defend themselves.
23. The jury’s decision is: “not guilty.”
24. How does Samuel Adams feel about John Adams after his cousin won the case that
set the British soldiers free?
Respect. He feels John will now have a reputation for impartiality and this will be
useful for the rebels when they will need him to deal with the British Government in
the future.
25. Did John Adams use ethos (morals), logos (logic) or pathos (emotion) to make his
case?
He used all three. Have students cite specific examples.
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Answers to the Close Reading Exercise:
Directions: Read a passage from David McCullough’s biography John Adams that
compares John Adams to Thomas Jefferson. As students read, have them take notes on
the graphic organizer.
The text can be found here: http://books.google.com/books?id=E9TOxypjZY4C
Scroll forward to page 111.
The passage begins in the fifth paragraph with “At thirty-three, Thomas Jefferson was
the youngest of the Virginia delegates…”
Have students read until four pages later ending before they read the opening sentence
of the paragraph that begins, “If there was a tide in the affairs of men…”
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Answer Key for Close Reading Graphic Organizer
Characteristic John Adams Thomas Jefferson Physical
Characteristics
Stout, stood four-squared to the
world, bald
Lean and long-limbed, stood
arms folded to chest, full head
of hair
Interests Improvised tools, mathematics,
Horsemen, science, horticulture,
violin, inventive
Views of
mankind
Important to understand
mankind, not interested in
improving it
Interested in improving
mankind
Personal
writing
Diaries and letters
Neat account books
Interaction
with people
Blunt, direct, assertive
Gracious, sparkled, abhorred
dispute, soft-spoken
Views of the
homeland
Devoted to Massachusetts
Referred to Massachusetts as
“my country”
Devoted to Virginia
Referred to Virginia as “my
country”
Other notes Answers may vary
Answers may vary
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Name ________________________________________ Date _______________ Class ________
Quiz on the Close Reading Assignment- Comparison between
“John Adams and Thomas Jefferson” from David McCullough’s John
Adams
Directions: Read the excerpt from the biography John Adams "John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson" (pp. 111-115) by David McCullough and answer the question with
either Adams or Jefferson as the answer.
1. At six feet two-and-a-half inches, he stood taller than all but a few and towered over
someone like John Hancock, who at five feet four was perhaps the shortest man in
the assembly. ____________________
2. He was a superb horseman, beautiful to see. He sang, he played the violin. He was as
accomplished in the classics, mathematics, horticulture, architecture, and in his
interest in and knowledge of science, he far exceeded his friend. He dabbled in
"improvements" in agriculture and mechanical devices. ____________________
3. He was blunt and assertive. ____________________
4. He had a full head of thick coppery hair. His freckled face was lean like his body, the
eyes hazel, the mouth a thin line, the chin sharp. ____________________
5. With him there was seldom a doubt about what he meant by what he said.
____________________
6. Who said, "During the whole time I sat with him in Congress, I never heard him utter
three sentences together." ____________________
7. His irrepressible desire was to seize hold of (life) it, and at times, his was to be the
path of Don Quixote. ____________________
8. When he spoke of "my country," he usually meant Virginia. ____________________
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9. He had been born to respectable wealth achieved by his father, a man of rugged
vitality, tobacco planter and surveyor, and to an unassailable place in the aristocracy
through his mother, Jane, who was a Randolph. ____________________
10. He was devoted to the ideal of improving humankind but had comparatively little
interest in people in particular. ____________________
11. He had a need to fill pages of his diaries with his innermost thoughts and feelings.
____________________
12. He was not inclined to believe humankind improvable, but was certain it was
important that human nature be understood. ____________________
13. With him there was nearly always a slight air of ambiguity. In private conversation he
"sparkled. ____________________
14. On his daily rounds by horseback, surveying his crops and fields, where as many as a
hundred black slaves labored, he would commonly ride ten miles, without ever
leaving his own land, ____________________
15. He was stout, stood foursquare to the world, shoulders back, and was nearly bald.
____________________
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Answer Key to Quiz-
Quiz on the Close Reading Assignment- Comparison between
“John Adams and Thomas Jefferson” from David McCullough’s John
Adams
Directions: Read the excerpt from the biography John Adams "John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson" (pp. 111-115) by David McCullough and answer the question with
either Adams or Jefferson as the answer.
1. At six feet two-and-a-half inches, he stood taller than all but a few and towered over
someone like John Hancock, who at five feet four was perhaps the shortest man in
the assembly. JEFFERSON
2. He was a superb horseman, beautiful to see. He sang, he played the violin. He was as
accomplished in the classics, mathematics, horticulture, architecture, and in his
interest in and knowledge of science, he far exceeded his friend. He dabbled in
"improvements" in agriculture and mechanical devices. JEFFERSON
3. He was blunt and assertive. ADAMS
4. He had a full head of thick coppery hair. His freckled face was lean like his body, the
eyes hazel, the mouth a thin line, the chin sharp. JEFFERSON
5. With him there was seldom a doubt about what he meant by what he said. ADAMS
6. Who said, "During the whole time I sat with him in Congress, I never heard him utter
three sentences together." ADAMS
7. His irrepressible desire was to seize hold of (life) it, and at times his was to be the
path of Don Quixote. ADAMS
8. When he spoke of "my country," he usually meant Virginia. JEFFERSON
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9. He had been born to respectable wealth achieved by his father, a man of rugged
vitality, tobacco planter and surveyor, and to an unassailable place in the aristocracy
through his mother, Jane, who was a Randolph. JEFFERSON
10. He was devoted to the ideal of improving humankind but had comparatively little
interest in people in particular. JEFFERSON
11. He had a need to fill pages of his diaries with his innermost thoughts and feelings.
ADAMS
12. He was not inclined to believe humankind improvable, but was certain it was
important that human nature be understood. ADAMS
13. With him, there was nearly always a slight air of ambiguity. In private conversation,
he "sparkled.” JEFFERSON
14. On his daily rounds by horseback, surveying his crops and fields, where as many as a
hundred black slaves labored, he would commonly ride ten miles, without ever
leaving his own land. JEFFERSON
15. He was stout, stood foursquare to the world, shoulders back, and was nearly bald.
ADAMS
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Common Core Assessment: Art, Speaking and Listening
After viewing the videos, listening to the NPR audio story and viewing the art, consider
the following:
How did artists portray historical figures and events from the history of the
American Revolution? Why might an artist choose to depict such events or figures in a way that did not
exactly happen as depicted? Examine each artwork for imagery detailing the event and explain ways in which
artists stretch the line of truth and fiction for inspiration. In addition, compare the
Paul Revere drawing and the Trumbull painting. How does the artist share a message with you? How did these paintings persuade citizens during the Revolutionary period as
well as contemporary viewers to take action? (SL.11.2, SL.11.3)
Listen to this NPR story on artist John Trumbull and Art of the Rationalist Era
"The Art of War: An Illustrated '1776'" NPR. National Public Radio, 4 Oct. 2007.
Web.
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14969025>.
View this slideshow on Art from the Rationalist Era (with additional footage of
Trumbull and Adams from the HBO series: John Adams)
Barrera, Carlos. "John Adams and John Trumbull." YouTube. YouTube, 30 Sept.
2011. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdqsL9PApcE>.
View Paul Revere’s engraving,
"Paul Revere's Engraving." Boston Massacre Historical Society. Boston
Massacre Historical Society, 2008. Web.
<http://www.bostonmassacre.net/gravure_large.htm>.
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Practice for Standardized Assessment:
Written Assessment: The College Board explored Thomas Jefferson’s legacy in the
2010 AP English Language and Composition Examination. Click the links below to access
the material from the College Board’s website.
(Question 2) The Prompt (page 9) excerpt from Benjamin Banneker’s “Letter to Thomas
Jefferson,” rhetorical analysis
(Question 2) The Rubric
(Question 2) Sample Papers and Key
(Question 2) Analysis
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Additional Resources
1. "Slavery and the Making of America: Episode 2." PBS. PBS, 2004. Web. 01 Aug.
2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/>.
(From YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVt0vXmDXh0 (the
profile is in the 1st part of segment)
2. 1776. Dir. Peter Hunt. Perf. William Daniels and Howard Da Silva. Columbia
Pictures, 1972.
Scene “For God's Sake John, Sit Down”
Scene “But Mr. Adams”
3. John Adams. Dir. Tom Hooper. Perf. Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. HBO, 2008.
Scene “John Adams at the Boston Massacre Trial
Scene “Thomas Jefferson and John Adams’ Faith in Humanity
Scene “Friends”
Scene “The Letters of Adams and Jefferson
4. Thomas Jefferson. Dir. Ken Burns. Perf. Blythe Danner, Ossie Davis and
Gwyneth Paltrow. PBS Home Video, 1997.
Part 1
Part 2
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Screen Shots from the miniseries John Adams
Images from Episode 1 “Join or Die” (Boston Massacre)
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