Considering what today is, I thought it might be appropriate to put up a board to this one.
Witherspoon states that the original draft has no mention of God. What about "That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights" (it's inalienable, no matter what some obnoxious Harvard graduate says).
When an historical film deviates from established history, is that a "changed premises" nit?
Although the film showed only one (the senior)delegate per colony except where the the colony was divided (Pennsylvania, Delaware), a junior delegate was appointed to the Declaration Committee (Massachusetts, Virginia, New York) and strangely, New Jersey, in fact there were anywhere from three to nine delegates from each colony, though not all of the served at the same time.
Although Franklin did use a sedan chair carried by prisoners during the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he did not use one in 1776.
Although Judge Wilson had been a law clerk under John Dickenson, he was neither mousey nor living in Dickenson's shadow. He was an outspoken advocate of Independence. His dilemma was that expressed by the Dr. Lyman Hall character in the movie. He was for Independence, but he was representing people who were not as enthusiastic. Fortunately, in representing Pennsylvania, he was close enough to his constituents that he was able to sway them in time for the crucial vote.
Martha Jefferson did not come to Philadelphia during June 1776. Tom did absent himself from the Congress, and possibly from the city for a little over a week at that time.
Stephen Hopkins (Rhode Island) did not wear a Quaker hat, although he did keep his head covered. The confusion occured because John Trumbull, the artist whose depiction of the signing had a poor memory. When asked several years after completing the painting to identify some of the figures, he remembered that Hopkins always wore a hat, and mistook John Dickenson in his Quaker hat for Hopkins.
One thing that they did get half-right was that Andrew McNair was apparently the only full time employee of the Congress (although since they shared the building with the governments of the colony of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia, he may have had some help in seeing to their needs.)
I do believe you've laid a curse on North America
A curse that we now here rehearse in Philadelphia
A second flood, a simple famine
Plagues of locusts everywhere
Or a cataclysmic earthquake
I'd accept with some despair
But, no, you sent us Congress.
Good God, sir, was that fair?
It's great that the DVD showed this one in glorious widescreen, as it did away with the sloppy edits inherent to pan and scan. However, this reinserted a nit. It's at the point when Hopkins yells for his rum and McNair hurries on. In the widescreen, you can see McNair standing at the edge of the screen holding the mugs and waiting for his cue.
Some of the deleted scenes helped do away with a couple of continuity errors. As an example, during the meeting when they're going over regular business, McNair goesto open a window. When the window is opened, you hear a yelp. There's a cut and you see Lee riding up. The thing is the Congress had mysteriously teleported outside. In a reinserted scene, after McNair opened the window, he announced that a fire wagon was passing and everyone came out to watch it go by.
I saw this in my home town in 1972 or 3.
how much of this was true? They didn't sign the real papers until much later?
ps, Happy 4th.
Well obviously our Founding Fathers didn't spontaneously break out in song and dance numbers. And there were a few creative liberties taken, most of them point out by TomM. Plus that board didn't really exist, as it's just a prop for the viewers to keep track of the votes. As there were no minutes taken, they can't be totally sure of what happened in the meeting. The various edits in the Declaration were assigned to characters who seemed most likely to insist on it (for instance, Col. McKean was a proud Scotsman, and probably didn't care for the mention of a Highlander Regiment as one of the aggressors mentioned). But by and large, it's accurate. The New Jersey delegation was frequently absent. New York did abstain on most votes, including the one on the Declaration. After refusing to sign, Dickenson did go and join Continental Army. And so on.
quote:Well obviously our Founding Fathers didn't spontaneously break out in song and dance numbers
My god, Ben Franklin, you're alive !
Ben: I've been dead before.
Did Mr. Franklin ever sign Jeferson's Consitution?
(I know how to spell it).
(I know how to spell it).
Then why don't you? It takes less effort to add a single "t" than to add the parenthetical.
Did Mr. Franklin ever sign Jeferson's Consitution?
1. Jefferson didn't write it. Madison is considered the "primary" author.
2. Yes, he signed the Constitution.
Back to Gordon's original post:
"That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights"
That's the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.