American Presidents: Totalus Rankium - 2.2 John Adams

Episode Date: April 13, 2018

  Adams arrives in Europe with his son, determined to get the fench on side with his team of diplomates. One problem: he hates his team, and he doesn't trust the french...  In this episode, find out exactly how much John did to shape the role of Vice President, and how he was politically beaten up by his own party more than anyone else.  He had a lot to live u to after Washington - find out if he is an A-meri-CAN, or A-meri-can't. 

Welcome to Totalus Rankium. This week, John Adams Part 2. Hello and welcome to American Presidents Totalals Rankium. I am Jamie. And I'm Rob, ranking all of the presidents from Washington to Trump. And this is the second part of the very interesting John Adams. Yeah, he's quite a character, isn't he? Yeah, so you've had a couple of weeks to think about it. Yeah. How's he settled in your brain?

He seems very work-orientated. I'm to think about it. Yeah. How's he settled in your brain? He seems very work-orientated. I'm worried about his family. Yeah. I think they're going to get left behind. And I'm guessing at some point in this episode he will become president. Yes, he will. I hope so, anyway. All goes according to plan, he will, anyway.

But, yeah. Yeah, OK. Well, the end of last episode. Adams had just arrived in Paris. Yes. He'd crossed the Atlantic. He'd had a little, a mini pirate adventure. Yeah.

It's no like Julius Caesar levels of pirate adventure. But it's not bad. It's basically a cruise. Yeah. He saw a pirate in the distance. Yeah. But still, that's more piracy than I've been involved in. Unless you care for DVDs.

Yeah, I was going to say that. I think watching Pirates of the Caribbean, not doing illegal things. No, no, just watching Pirates of the Caribbean. So, this week we are going to see what happens from his arrival into Paris, all the way up to his death.

So here we go. Oh, spoiler. Yes, you strapped in. I'm strapped in. Adams arrives in Paris, taking in one of the largest and richest cities in the entire world. I guess the time it was, because they had an empire, didn't they? Oh, yeah. Paris, compared to the cities in America at this point, Paris would have been staggering to Adams. It's a city.

Yeah, whereas America essentially had towns. Yeah. The biggest, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, were getting there, but they were a tenth of the size of Paris at this point. So he was amazed at the grandeur, the buildings, the surroundings, but

equally he was horrified at the levels of squalor. Yeah. Yeah, you get that. Yeah, you get big cities, you get those outer suburbs that you just think, of squalor. Yeah. Yeah, you get that. Yeah, you get big cities, you always get those outer suburbs that you just think, ooh, don't go there. Yeah, and back then in Paris, you also got people literally dying in the gutters. Yeah. Yeah, so that wasn't great, but yeah, there you go.

He was also shocked by some of the French women, apparently. They were quite forthcoming. In an early dinner party, he was sat next to a woman who turned to him and said mr adams i've no idea why his accent is that i can't do a french accent yeah by your name i see you are descended from the first man and woman as in adams yeah yeah yeah clever no not really perhaps you could resolve a difficulty I could never explain. At this point, Adams probably just felt a bit confused. Yeah.

She carries on. I could never understand how the first couple found the art of lying together. That's a good point. But how do animals learn? It's just sort of natural, isn't it? That wasn't Adams' response. No. No, probably not. not no but nice to know

how you deal with that situation i'm still figuring out your stride adams was very flustered and stammered a reply about maybe them learning to fly together like two objects in an electric experiment what yeah you got the feeling it was a kind of, well, maybe, well, I say. Oh, gosh. There was once this scientist, and he had a lemon. And we're flying, flying as well. Flying, flying.

More wine? Not for you. For me. Yeah. The woman replied, it must have been a very happy shock. Yes. Yeah.

Ooh, what's this? Well, that's our evening sorted out then. The woman replied that it must have been a very happy shock. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Ooh. What's this? Well, that's our evening sorted out then. It's finally something to do. It's getting quite boring. Just been playing hide the apple. So, yeah, he was quite shocked at how forthright, forthcoming the French women were. He wasn't used to this.

However, he settled in eventually. He and little John, remember he's got his son with him, John, they did some sightseeing. Went around, saw whatever you saw in Paris back then. Notre Dame. The Eiffel Tower, the Arch of Triumph,

I'm guessing they went to see that. Probably, yeah. Remember that Millennium Countdown had the Eiffel Tower as well? Yeah, probably went to see that. Probably, yeah. Yeah. Remember that Millennium Countdown that had the Eiffel Tower as well? Yeah. Probably went to see that. Yeah. There must have been things before these things that France is famous for, I'm sure. Notre Dame.

Well, yes, obviously. The River Seine. The what? Seine. River Seine. Oh, the river. That's how you say it in France. Yes.

Yes, it is. So they did some sightseeing, which is nice, isn't it? John went and met the two other envoys from America. He wasn't there on his own. They were two other people. But by far the most important was Benjamin Franklin. I heard of him. Oh, yes.

He becomes president. No, he doesn't. Like I said, he doesn't become president. Common misconception. Yeah, he doesn't become president. No, no. That's what I said. Yeah, he's the generation before.

He is the most famous American of the time. Remember, Washington's not really famous at the moment, nor is anyone else, but everyone knows Franklin. We'll do a special episode on him at some point. Okay. So yeah, he'd been in France for quite some time. The French loved him. Yeah.

He obviously knew the answer to that question. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of detail, I'm guessing. Yes. Yeah. He made contacts. He was very popular.

Adams took an immediate dislike to him. Oh, but he's jealous, isn't he? Well, that is definitely one theory, yes. Yeah, things didn't start well. When Adams arrived, he was overjoyed to hear that France had finally agreed to play part in the war. They were going to join in. This is fantastic news.

But as the days and weeks passed, France seemed happy to do nothing. And in Adams' eyes, Franklin was not helping the situation. He was too concerned with his socialising than actually getting the French to do something. Adams did what he usually did to them.

He threw himself into his work. He was determined to learn French properly, convinced that this was why the French liked Franklin more than him. They don't like me because they can't talk to me, but if they got to know me... Adams is a bit jealous, let's face it. The French think Franklin's a bit of a rock star, and Adams is just there, hardly able to communicate with them.

So he's going to learn French. He's going to prove to them that he's actually just as interesting as Franklin. I feel it's going to backfire slightly. It's not so much that it backfired, it just didn't work. Yeah. No. And Adams just found himself disliking Franklin even more. He was an old conjurer.

The reports of his polymath genius were greatly exaggerated, according to Adams. All he could do was charm and seduce. That's hardly what a diplomat should be doing. Yeah. I think Adams kind of missed the point of what a diplomat is. But I can understand where he's coming from. Adams is impatient. He wants France to act.

And Franklin is too busy. He probably doesn't look like he's doing it seriously. He's just having a good time. Yeah. Whereas equally what Franklin's doing here is he's getting having a good time. Yeah. Whereas equally what Franklin's doing here is he's getting the French on side. Yeah. Now as you point out, part of this hostility is just going to be jealousy.

Part of it impatience. But try as he might Adams was unable to really find a footing with the French government. The foreign minister in particular preferring Franklin by a long shot. Slowly John started to suspect the French were up to something. Were they just going to string the war along

so they could get a favourable outcome, Adams wondered? Were they trying to arrange matters so America simply became a French satellite after the war? And then came a shock. Word came through from Congress that Franklin was to be the sole minister to France. But what angered Adams more than anything about this was the fact that Congress didn't even bother to tell Adams what his next post was.

He wasn't even mentioned. It was just a case of, Franklin's now the sole ambassador. So he just finds himself jobless in Europe. He's been besmirched, hasn't he? Yeah, it's not great. Fuming. Adam secures passage on a ship for him and his son

to go home after an anticlimactic visit. How long was he there for? A few months. But he didn't really get anything done. Apart from make an enemy of Franklin. Learn French? I learned some French. And he got to see the Eiffel Tower. Yeah, yeah.

The journey home was far more easier and uneventful compared to the journey over. And finally they reached the US shore. They disembark with no fuss and head home. Very sad. Abigail, however, overjoyed to see her husband and son after a year and a half

separation by the time they got home. Of course, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Took a long time to get there and back, so a year and a half separation by the time they got home. Of course, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Took a long time to get there and back, so a year and a half has just gone by. However, if John was feeling disillusioned with politics, it did not stop him straight away from jumping into local politics. Massachusetts at this time was writing their state constitution. The war's still going on. Yeah.

Washington's still there, just holding on for his life. Yeah. But Massachusetts, no troops there. They're thinking, right, so let's organise ourselves. And they come up with their estate constitution. John took the primary role in writing it. In 1780, the first constitution in America written by committee and ratified by the people was passed. Oh, nice.

Again, John found his standing rising. and ratified by the people was passed. Oh, nice. Yeah. Again, John found his standing rising. So a bit embarrassing, that whole debacle with France, but he's still on the up and up. That's good. However, things were about to change again. Congress had just voted for one man, and one man only, to go to Europe,

to be in place to negotiate peace terms whenever the war ended. A hugely important role. And this man was John Adams. Yeah. John, ego, battered by his last trip to Europe, jumped at the chance. This was his moment.

And you're going with Benjamin Franklin. He'll meet you there. I won't wait for that. Because at this moment, he'd be apart from Franklin. He won't be working with him. Yes, Franklin's over there. He's the ambassador for the US. But John's there to negotiate peace terms. When the war ends, different role, this is brilliant. And in fact, it's an important role. You could argue even more important than Franklin's. Wonderful. Sure he did. Oh, yes. Yeah. He, as an individual, would have the final say for the whole country.

Bar Washington, he was arguably the most powerful man in the country. Abigail, however, not happy about this. You have literally just come back and now you're going back to France. Aww. And there's no fixed return date for

this one. It's whenever the war ends you can begin negotiations. This is probably a good few years he's going to be gone. Is this the start of Abigail's secret entry into the army

to make the war shorter? Was she really Washington? Oh, yes. Let's say that. Or at least Washington's aide, Hamilton. She was Hamilton.

Ooh, nice. If she wasn't Hamilton she was definitely less than pleased when John announced that little John, John Quincy, would go with him again. But also, so would his little brother Charles. What? Yeah.

So John's now taking two of his sons. Still out of the question that Abigail goes with him. Far too dangerous. So, back onto the ship. This time, the journey, not great. A three-day storm hit them, and many feared for their lives, justifiably. The ship started taking in water, and people had to pump out the water round the clock. This was a very...

Really long straws. Yeah. Suck in, blow out. Suck in, put finger on top of straw. Put it over the edge. Let go. Puppet for your lives. Puppet, puppet!

So, bad news, the ship is sinking. Good news, really quick journey. That storm obviously pushed them along a bit. 23 days after setting sail, the ship spots the coast of Spain. Good job. Yeah, they limp into a port. The ship was completely grounded. There was no way they could continue.

So the passengers, due to get to Paris, were forced to travel through Spain and then France to get there. Espanol. This land journey takes two months. Yeah. John, afterwards, saying it was one of the most miserable times of his life. Spain's lovely. I know.

John. I mean, what was Spain? Everyone was a bit ill. This is the middle of winter. It was cold. Yeah, not great. But eventually they reached the French capital. John enrolled his sons into a school and then visited Franklin,

where they had a cool meeting, shall we say. Hello. Hi. Do you think Franklin was, like, super happy? It's just Adams, it was really cold. You do get that idea. Franklin didn't, as far as I could tell from what I've read, didn't particularly dislike John Adams.

This was quite one way, this feeling of annoyance. That's a shame. Yeah. John deliberately hid his position from Franklin, fearing that Franklin would attempt to take it from him. Yeah. Paranoia. So they discussed the war.

Things were not going well. By this point, the French fleet that had been sent to America had failed to take a single British ship. The British in turn had taken Savannah in Georgia. Equally, the French were not doing well in Europe. The French had planned to take Portsmouth, Bristol and Liverpool. The fools. Don't attack Liverpool. No. They will do things to you. They'll glass you in the face. Yes. Lovely there, though.

Weren't they last week? Oh, yeah, you were in Liverpool last week. Lovely place. Nice surprise, because when you think of Liverpool... OK, no offence to anyone that lives there, but it has a reputation of being a bit dangerous, a bit grotty. It's the complete opposite of what you'd imagine. I think... Beautiful place. To be fair to Liverpool, I think thatty, it's the complete opposite of what you'd imagine. I think... Beautiful place.

To be fair to Liverpool, I think that reputation's gone in the last couple of decades. It probably has. Yeah. It's just a lazy stereotype. Yeah. It's absolutely beautiful. I'd happily go back.

In fact, me and my wife want to go back again, because it's that nice. Yeah. Beautiful place. Maybe that's why the French wanted to invade. Maybe. Yeah. That and it being one of the biggest ports in the country.

Yeah. Yeah, they're trying to cripple it on the country, all the airport-based stuff. Yeah, yeah. Imports and exports. The French weren't doing well. No. Spain had entered the war, which was nice, but they refused to acknowledge the USA. Well, you wouldn't, would you?

Which isn't good. In all the meetings, they sat there with their hands in front of their eyes so they couldn't see the Americans. But it makes sense because they see it as an untapped resource that they're all going to want afterwards. Yeah. So you can understand why the US is a bit, well, America's like way, way at the moment. Oh, yeah.

Dangerous position to be in. They've got to tread very lightly. So things are not going well in the war. No. No, and in a despondent mood, Adam begins to think about his position. He knew we should probably start talking to Britain. He's there to talk peace. But the arrangement with France was that both sides must agree to enter peace talks together. So he was forced to sit on his hands. Then one day, France announced that they would send more troops and ships would be

diverted to the US. Excellent. Wonderful. This was enough, Adam's thought, to break the stalemate over there. He was overjoyed. It was time to finally announce to everyone why he was there. Which is interesting. In fact, he's not told anyone he's over there to talk peace. You've got to wonder, it's like, so why are you here again?

Shh, can't tell you. It's a secret. Yeah. He met with the foreign minister for france and informed him that he had the authority to speak as the united states in a peace treaty with britain the french minister was horrified he implored adams to keep quiet if the british find out that the us were talking of peace it would give them a huge morale boost. And morale was flagging in London at the moment, so don't give them this gift. Because they'll think, Britain will think the US is losing.

Exactly. Yeah, I get that. Equally, and as John saw it, the French did not want the US to be involved too much in the peace talks. Better let the grown-ups do the dealing and then let the US find out what happened afterwards. Or carve up the pieces. Yeah, essentially.

And this is what John was worried about. John wants to make sure he is on the negotiating table when it happens. Yeah. Again, Adams finds himself mistrusting the French. Relations fail even more, and Adams even considered a trip to London. Wow. Yeah. Considering other people were being arrested at this point, I can't help but feel that that was a silly

move, but he didn't do it. He obviously realised it wasn't a great idea. However, relationships with the French minister had soured so much that the French minister wrote to the US Congress, stating that he would only deal with Benjamin Franklin from now on.

Asking that they replace Adams, and I quote recall him or provide a colleague capable of containing him. Burn. Well done Adams on the diplomatic mission. He should have schmoozed a bit more shouldn't he? Possibly.

Adams realising that things aren't going great here decided to go to Amsterdam for a bit. There you go. That's hard to negotiate. Yeah, go somewhere else. He immediately found that he preferred the Dutch capital to Paris. However, no one would talk to him.

Oh. Which is a shame. He preferred it, but the government just refused to talk to him. Who are you? Yeah, who are you again? John Adams? Okay. We're way too stoned to talk to him. Who are you? Yeah, who are you again? John Adams? Okay. We're way too stoned to talk to you.

Help yourself to the hash browns if you want them. Yeah, and we've got loads of snacks if you want them. Also, more bad news had come through from home. Benedict Arnold had defected, and Horatio Gates had lost a battle in itself. Yeah, not great. He was still forced to deal with the French as well. No reply had come back from Congress. The French minister

was still waiting for Congress to say yeah, talk to Franklin, but no word came back. So he was still in charge of the peace deals. The French minister, who was named Vegen, I'll give him a name now since I keep calling him the French minister. Vagen informed him of a possible peace deal that he'd been working on. The British and the US would agree to a year's armistice. Then, the fighting Europeans would meet in Vienna

and discuss peace terms. Makes sense. Adams realised that this was just a way to cut them out, however. Essentially, from the US point of view, that is a stop fighting with Britain, let us Europeans talk, and we'll let you know what happens. Yeah. Yeah.

Not great. So, Adams made it very clear, Britain must recognise independence of the United States before any negotiations can even start. Yeah. Adams, quite stressed out by this point, and seems to have suffered a nervous breakdown. Really?

Yeah, he's struggling here. Well, he's meant to be in Paris discussing peace terms. He's in Amsterdam and no one's talking to him. He's a wee bit lonely and a bit sad. Yeah. However, I must point out, history proves him right here. Unknown to Adams at the time, although he did suspect it, Virgin was prepared to give the British

Maine, Vermont, Georgia, the Carolinas, and New York City as part of the peace deal. Wow. The French were willing to give Britain, yeah, take whatever you want as long as we get a bit of the pie, we're happy. The French were willing to totally screw the US over.

So it's a good job Adams was standing his ground. Yeah. Yeah. But he found it stressful. Yeah. He found everyone was against him and his health was suffering. Well, they are against him. Oh, yes, they are.

It's not paranoia. No. Now, unaware that he was on the right track, with his health suffering, another blow fell. Congress finally replied, John, don't worry, you're still in charge of peace negotiations. So, four others. A man named Lawrence, who was currently captured in London, but as soon as he's free, he can come and join you. I'm sure he'll break out the tower in no time. A man named John Jay. That's a great name. It's a good name. A man named Thomas Jefferson. You've met him before.

He wrote the Declaration for Independence. You can be bothered to write, John. Oh, of course, who am I forgetting? Benjamin Franklin. Yeah, I think your reaction there is possibly the same reaction Adam's had. I think you probably swore a bit more. Maybe. You've cut all those out, I've just said.

Yeah. Yeah, Adam's just said. Yeah. Adams, I'm just devastated by this. He was at the pinnacle of his career as he saw it. He was the sole negotiator. He was referring to himself as the Washington of diplomacy.

Clearly not. And it was just stripped from him. And he was put in a committee instead To be fair though He's not good at his job His stubbornness is helping I'll give him that It's not great He just spirals at this point

Which is a shame He doesn't speak to people He keeps himself locked away for a long time He speaks of his nervous state In his diaries He doesn't speak to people. He keeps himself locked away for a long time. He speaks of his nervous state in his diaries. You've got to come out, John. Go away. Come on.

I've got some food for you. Can't start the peace negotiations without you. I'd get Franklin to do it. You prefer him anyway. It was a bit like that. Yeah. An American doctor happened to be staying in the same place he was staying and briefly noted in a journal how Adams shunned all others, appearing rarely, and when he did, he only appeared to rant and rave.

He even started to fear that he was a target for assassination. Oh, now the paranoia's kicking in. Yeah, he's kind of gone off the deep end a little bit. Perfect person to charge the USA. And then, he gets malaria. Now, there is a theory that this story was spread to hide his mental breakdown. He never got malaria,

but that was the excuse that was given, and he just had a bit of a nervous breakdown. Equally, there was a theory that his nervous disposition was actually the onset of malaria and it was all a physical thing because it can cause emotional interesting also quite likely it's a combination of the two he was really stressed had a bit of a breakdown and got ill at the same time and just completely knocked him other people in the household apparently got ill too so there's a

strong case of it being a physical illness there. Eventually, John recovered, although remained in a weaker state for many months. But on the bright side, as he came out of his illness, he seemed a lot less stressed. A new view on life. He even commented that a group of five made far more sense than one person taking on the responsibility of a whole country.

That's true. Yeah. A bit of a blow to the ego to begin with, but he came to realise perhaps this is a good idea. It's never good for one person to make too many decisions. No. You need that sounding board. Yeah.

You need a devil's advocate. When little Charles, remember his sons are still with him, got ill and then recovered. Short story there. John decided to send him back to his mother, which is nice. Yeah. Yeah. Just pop him on a ship

Go west I think a little tiny mini dinghy Sort of thing Here's a paddle, here's some sandwiches Bye Once you hit land Try and find Boston And then go down a bit

Fortunately it ends up in Brazil And ends up travelling down to Argentina. A bit confused. I don't have children, but I know people who do. And I know that they would be nervous putting their child on a train knowing someone else was meeting them on the other side. Let alone a transatlantic journey at this age. It must have been quite stressful.

It probably was, but i also think that we do we're quite protective now as a society yeah and i think there's that element it's probably obviously i think yeah you're going to be nervous of course and i'm guessing he also sent his child with somebody trusted with a friend he was on his own in a dinghy oh okay yeah oh wow he had a flask thermos of coffee. I mean, he was heartless. He's just a bad parent, though. He's fine.

No, you're absolutely right. He was a ship with people that he knew. But still, it must have been stressful. John Quincy, by the way, is in Russia at this point. Oh, okay. Yeah. We'll save that for his episode, though. All right.

Then, after all this pain and stress that's been going on, Adams finally received news that he'd been waiting for for years. The British had made a blunder in Yorktown and the French and the US forces had defeated them.

Yay. This was a huge blow and quite likely meant the end of the war. Suddenly, the Dutch government were more than prepared to talk to John.

Ah, I know. I thought you won. Oh, come on in. Let's talk trade deals. Grab a brownie. Yeah. His stature in the country rose to the point where he was essentially to the Netherlands what Franklin was to France.

He was the US celebrity in that country. John was happy, to put it bluntly. He loved this. He suddenly became a bit of a rock star. He's one of these people that's dying to be famous, isn't he? Oh yes, definitely. All throughout his life, that's always been a thing about him. He wants to be great.

Yeah, as we said last episode, he wanted to be a great man. Yeah. Yeah, and now he's doing it. Soon afterwards, Jay, who had reached Paris by this point, wrote to Adams saying, come to Paris. Come soon. Peace negotiations were ready to start. Adams was enjoying Holland, however, so he didn't rush.

And then Lawrence turned up. Remember, Lawrence was in prison in London. He'd been released. Oh, he didn't escape then. No, no. No daring escape, unfortunately. He was released from London and made his way to Amsterdam.

He was captured on his way to Amsterdam originally because Lawrence was meant to be the ambassador to the Netherlands. Okay. Yeah. Now this is a job that John had just gone and claimed for himself. There was no ambassador there. John happened to be there, so he'd pretty much just

become the ambassador. And now all of a sudden, Lawrence turns up. Oh, hi! Now, John had always maintained that whenever Lawrence was released and came, obviously he'd step aside. He was just filling the gap. Of course he would. Of course he was. Yeah. Then Lawrence arrives.

Oh, I didn't think he'd actually arrive. Oh, damn, he's here. Adams did not step aside. He made it quite clear that Lawrence wasn't welcome there. Yeah. Lawrence probably feeling the same way that Adams did when he first arrived in Paris. Yeah. Someone very established already there.

So fuming, Lawrence heads to Paris, contemplating a duel. That's how annoyed he was with Adams. Eventually, however, after wrapping up some treaties with the Dutch, I mean, he wasn't just having a holiday, Adams was working on things, but he wraps all that up and he heads to Paris himself to start these peace negotiations. Once there, he almost refused

to meet Franklin. Until someone pointed out that it would not look good if they looked divided in the peace talks. Yeah, okay. It turned out that Jefferson was yet to arrive and Lawrence, still fuming, had declined to take part. So it was just him, Jay and Franklin. Awkward.

The two others caught Adams up to speed. The negotiations were between three countries, to simplify this. Yeah. And it was also foolish to think that anyone Was looking out for anyone but themselves So let's look at the opposing views here First of all, Britain The Britain they were dealing with were not the same Britain

They had just fought in a war As Adams was well aware of The end of the war coincided with a change of government In Britain The new government were far more pro-US independence And anti-war This new government were far more pro-US independence and anti-war. This new government were much more willing to deal with the US, especially

if it damaged their real rivals, the French. That said, they still wanted to use independence as a bargaining chip in negotiations and would only talk with the colonies, not the United States. France. After the Seven Year War,

20 years previously, the French had lost their land in North America. They saw that the best way to gain any foothold in the area was through the United States. They therefore wanted the US to gain independence, but not be too strong. If the British were kept strong

enough in North America, the US would have to remain reliant on France, and that would be their way in. The French, therefore, were willing to start talks without Britain accepting independence at the start. And then the US. The US obviously wanted independence, but the three negotiators were in a bind. Congress had written to inform them that they should follow France's lead. After all, France had essentially won the war for them. Follow their lead in the negotiations. This horrified the three of them. None of them, being in France and seeing everything unfold, thought that letting the French

lead on negotiations was a good idea at all. All three of them decided they were just going to ignore Congress. Ooh, interesting start to uh the independence of the us isn't it yeah let's just ignore congress but to be fair head on legitimate shut up john that's the opposite yeah i mean but they are there to be the quick responders yeah i'm guessing they see it that they are more aware of the situation. Congress are misinformed. We should take the right path. So a bit of a stalemate. No one's really

sure how to start. Britain were the first to blink. They realised they could still screw over the French if they took independence as a bargaining chip off the table. The British Minister Oswald approached the Americans and told them that they were finally willing to negotiate with the United States.

Ooh, good. Intense negotiations lasted six days before the British diplomats rushed back to London to confer. In the meantime, Adams relaxed, did a bit more sightseeing, and then, much to his delight, got to watch Virgin, the French Minister,

squirm as he attempted to woo Adams into telling him what the US and the British were talking about. The French had not been invited to this meeting. Ooh, yeah. French not too happy about this. The British then return and more negotiations happen. We just don't have time to go through this in lots of detail, but to sum it up, this was what was decided. The United States was independent. The United States got all lands south of Canada, north of Florida, and east of the Mississippi. Spain had a thing or

two to say about that, as Britain had just given away some land that the Spanish thought was theirs, but oh well. Deal with that later. Number three, debts would be paid by both sides. Number four, prisoners of war would be returned. Also, both Britain and the US would have access to the Mississippi. Very important trade route, the Mississippi. Both countries

could now still use it. And there was lots and lots about fish. It's one of those things in history where everyone knows it's important and the people at the time know it's important, but it's just really boring history. So let's not talk about it. We claim haddock.

Well, we're claiming trout. Rainbow oar. It's a bit like that. Lots of fishing rights, especially linked to New England, where John Adams was from Just know that the US did alright Out of the whole fishing conversation Yeah

Franklin then had the unpleasant job Of going to Vosgen And informing the French minister That they'd just signed a deal with the British In clear violation of the treaty They had signed with the French during the war. Do you know what I love about that? John Adams must have said right, Franklin, you're delivering this note.

Off you go. Yeah, probably. Your job. I've done this. This is your job. Yeah, you can go and talk to Pagin. You get on with him, don't you, Franklin? Yeah. With your French. Franklin goes to Pagin, informs him what's happened.

Pagin less than pleased, to put it bluntly, but very little he can do. It's not like he can declare war there. They've literally just stopped one. Yeah, Franklin in a brilliant move. Then at the end of the meeting, asked France for a loan on behalf of the US. Like, just as he's walking, I go, oh, one more thing. Paul's a columnist yeah the outcome of the war was everything that Adams could

have possibly hoped for from an impossible situation both militarily and diplomatically the Americans had somehow achieved fantastic results they did this by playing the two superpowers off each other quite spectacularly.

That's quite good. Well done there. Adams was still fearful, however, declaring that it would be at least 1800 until the US was strong enough to fight again. He was well aware that the US were going to have to fight again, both the British and the French were not just going to leave them alone. No one's particularly happy with the outcome here. Still, life moves on for Adams and soon he was given a new job. The ambassador to Britain. The first ever US ambassador to Britain.

However, don't go to Britain. Swing back to New England. Yep. Abigail, at home, had had enough. Yeah. She's lonely. Oh. Yeah. She's lonely. She's depressed.

She's flirting slightly with other men through letters, but never doing anything more than that. Probably feels guilty herself for doing it. Never sees her husband. John's been gone for years by this point. Oh. Yeah. It's a bit sad. So she writes to John saying that he needed to come home

or allow her to go to him. Now, John had made it quite clear over the last few years that he just did not want her in Europe. But suddenly, he relents. Yeah, maybe it was just the stress of the job. He didn't want distractions. Or maybe he just didn't want Abigail there because he was enjoying life as a bachelor in Europe.

We just don't really know. But we do know he suddenly relents at this point. And Abigail was soon on her way with Nabi, their eldest daughter. And a cow. He wants to carry on his game. Yeah, and I'm being serious here. That's not a joke. Nabi, Abigail and a cow.

And a cow. Yeah. Go to Britain. An actual cow. An actual cow. So yeah, he wants to carry on his game. I'm guessing he wrote and said... Bring Bets a cow. Yeah. Go to Britain. Oh, an actual cow. An actual cow. So, yeah, he wants to carry on his game. I'm guessing he wrote and said... Bring Betsy along.

Yeah. I've not done some cow rearranging for a while. I don't know. Is it for milk on the journey? I guess so. Why take a cow? To salad when you're there for magic beans. Yeah.

Well, milk would make sense. And also, you know, if needs must. Yeah. You've got burgers. Exactly. Anyway, the three of them arrive in London. Only to find that John was in Amsterdam once again. And John Quincy was back from Russia.

The two Johns soon meet with them. Overjoyed, Adams wrote in his diary, I had the satisfaction of meeting with my friends. Oh! I love how cold that... This isn't just Adams. Quite a lot of people at this time just seem really cold. It must

be the way that they talked doesn't quite translate to modern writing. Because friends probably meant more than it does now, and satisfied probably meant, you know, head over heels. Yeah. It doesn't sound like it.

No, it doesn't, does it? I was quite satisfied by meeting... An acquaintance. Yes, someone I knew. I vaguely recognised. Abigail, as if not. Yeah, John was not actually formally the ambassador to Britain yet, so the family moved to Paris, and they sight-saw.

They relaxed, they enjoyed their time together. John was still involved heavily in various negotiations and was still working with Franklin, whom he had slightly warmed to recently. That's good. Yeah, it was less stressful, the job, so... Showed him his key on a kite trick. Yeah, exactly. And then Jefferson arrives, a bit late. Remember, exactly. And then Jefferson arrives a bit late.

Remember, he's in France to do the patent negotiations. Oh, yeah. Bye. Yeah. I was done. Sorry, I'm going to watch back like nine months. The Adams family and Jefferson got on extremely well. Da-da-da-da.

Yeah. Despite their different upbringings. Jefferson, southern plantation owner. Adams. Farmer. Yeah, northern farmer. Jefferson, southern plantation owner. Adams. Farmer. Yeah, northern farmer. Fascinating common. Yeah, I suppose so, yeah.

But they get on really, really well. Abigail in particular got on with the Virginian, quite often visiting each other's houses. Ooh. No, no, as in the families were. There's no suggestion of that. Yeah, so good friends there. Eventually, Adams was given the go-ahead,

and the Adams moved to London. Again they toured the sights. Jefferson came along at one point and together they went to Stratford

to visit Shakespeare's house. Been there? Yeah well it's literally half an hour away from us. I think most children in this city have been to

Shakespeare's house. But there you go. Not only was Shakespeare there but Adams and Jefferson two presidents in one house. Probably. Yeah. But there you go. Not only was Shakespeare there, but Adams and Jefferson, two presidents in one place. Wow. Yeah. Oh, Jefferson becomes president.

Spoiler. Oh. John also was introduced to the king. A nerve-wracking experience. I mean, this was the king of England. It's who he'd been fighting against for years. So this would be... George III. George III, still. Yeah. The meeting was he'd been fighting against for years. So this would be George III.

The meeting was cool, apparently. But cordial. George gave a small nod, indicating he was done with Adams after a small exchange. Adams bowed three times and backed out the room. That's quite funny. I suppose that's what you had to do back then. I'm sure Adams did it

thinking, thank God we don't have to do this anymore. It's ridiculous. However, things were not smooth. The government had changed yet again and now was the more hostile government. As things do in democracies. Part of Adams' job was to remind

the British that they were not doing what they said they'd do in the Treaty of Paris. Trade was not opening up between the countries. The British had said this would happen. The British government bluntly pointed out that the US were not sticking to the treaty either, as they have in no way attempted to pay the debts or

permit refugees from the war to return home. Good point, said Adams. His hands tied, however, because Congress at home needs to do that. There's not much he can do. London was hostile to Adams.

It seemed like all the high society that he was used to in the Netherlands or France. In London, they just didn't particularly like him. It was almost as if they'd just lost a war to his country or something. Why would they love me here? Yeah, he got the distinct impression the British were willing to go back to the war the moment his back was turned. News then reached him of Shea's rebellion back at home, as we briefly covered in Washington's episode. A man named Shea had led a rebellion in Massachusetts

that led many to think that law and order would soon break down. It was clear that the government that had been hastily thrown together at the start of the war was not really working, and the states were starting to rip apart. Oh dear. So Adams decides it's time to go home. Before leaving, however, he wrote a manuscript called A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America. Whoa, sounds grand, doesn't it?

Oh yes. A work that outlined how he thought government should work. It was like his thoughts on government that I mentioned last episode, that he'd written several years ago by now. But his stay in Europe had changed some of his views. And he stated that different class structures were inevitable in society. Good government should work with this, protecting one group from the other. The executive branch was the best way to do this.

This kind of flew in the face of what most people were saying back home, though. He didn't really realise that, however, because he'd been in Europe for years. So at home they're saying we don't want any class system. Yeah. We're basically commies. Yeah, yeah, all men are created equal kind of thing. Yeah, communism. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure that's how they saw it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, all men are created equal kind of thing. Communism. Yeah.

I'm sure that's how they saw it. Yeah, John Adams was not only saying there is a class structure but also saying there should be a class structure. It was the right way to do things. Only because it's upper class though. Yeah, one thing he did say though was that the upper class needed to be protected from the lower class, but also vice versa.

The two classes need to be protected from each other. The executive branch could do that. That makes sense. Yeah. So with this work set off to publishers, the Adamses set off for home. Bit of a shock when he got home. Last time he'd been in America was nine years. Oh, wow. that's a decade.

And no one had batted an eyelid when he landed last time. The war was still on, things were looking bad. As Adams stepped off the boat, this time, however, it was to a waiting governor, cheering crowds, cannons and bells. Over the next few weeks, it was made very clear he was a celebrity in his

homeland. What pleased Adams most of all was the fact that it appeared that any job was his for the taking. He's got what he wanted. Yeah. He's now a great man because he's loved by everybody. Yeah. Well, I say any job.

You can't be the president, John. That's Washington's job. You understand? But anything else? Now, just to anchor you into where we are in the US.s history here because uh adams has been gone for a long time we are now just past the constitutional convention where it was decided that washington should become the president yeah a new form of government had

been created and all that business went on yeah yeah so adams has come in just after that so he's missed all the discussion but he found that what had been decided was pretty much what he had outlined in his thoughts of government several years before. So, I mean, he probably quite flattered that his views had been taken on board. If they didn't, it just happened. It's just massive coincidence. But he's convinced the rest of his life is all down to him well it's very hard to pinpoint who it was who first came up with this idea of two houses a separate judiciary executive branch because these thoughts were just swelling around but john was definitely one of the early people to write it down so he's got a bit of a claim so let's break this down a little bit so all the different systems you've got the executive which would be the president yeah you've got the

um the senate yes and the house of representatives yes they're the legislative branch okay yeah legislate laws and stuff yeah and then you've got the judicial branch right or polled it yeah exactly yeah and the executive that oversees it all. Yeah, the civil service, basically. But they keep the executive in control. They check and balance each other. Lots of checks and balances on one another to make sure that no branch can get too powerful.

That's good. Yeah, yeah. Make silly decisions. Exactly. So if you just had a crazed president go off on one, then in theory the other branches can pull him down and stop him from doing crazy stuff. it's good to have checks and balances so Adams is home this new government seems to be imminent and he's pretty much told

what job do you want and Adams he did you bet he makes no immediate decisions but after moving into a new house slash mansion in Braintree, he decides that being vice president would do because any other role would be, and I quote, beneath him. Oh. Yeah. I'm not liking him anymore. There's not much modesty there, is there? His election was not certain, however.

I mean, they are setting up a new democracy. The whole idea is that people get to vote on this. So you have to have the elections. People were actually worried that Adam's popularity would take away some of Washington's votes. At this point, electors voted for two people. The top two got president and then vice president. It's not how it works now, and we're going to when that changes,

but that's how it worked then. I just hope their ideas are the same. Well, we'll see the problems that occur. So yeah, people were worried that Adams would take away some of Washington's votes. Not that he'd beat Washington, but it just would embarrass Washington slightly. Mostly Hamilton thought this.

Hamilton did some whining and dining of certain people to encourage them to just make sure you vote for Washington Yeah Yeah, as we saw, everyone voted for Washington and then chose their second Washington gets all the votes Adams gets a respectable 34 putting him clearly in second

and therefore vice-president Nice He said that this was a stain on his character because he got less than half the votes and even spoke of refusing to do the job. He needs a slap at this point. He's annoying me. Just wait. I'll get worse. Okay. Yeah, I mean, this wasn't serious. This was just him having a bit of a vent. Yeah, he definitely was going to do the job, and he heads to New York. He arrived before Washington

and gave a small speech in a room with the Senate. No fanfare. And that was it. He's the first ever Vice President of the United States. Oh, nice. Well done, John. Interestingly, we can get through the next eight years under Washington remarkably quickly. Because if there's one thing that defines

Adam's Vice Presidency, it was the fact that he did very, very to Washington remarkably quickly. Because if there's one thing that defines Adams' vice presidency, it was the fact that he did very, very little. Okay. And we know what Washington did. We've discussed that in his episode. I didn't mention John much, did I? No. There's a reason. He did nothing. Yeah. Adams was pleased with Washington's

cabinet choices to begin with. Jefferson was a friend from France. Yeah. And he became a state secretary. Yeah, he also got on well with Jay, he knew from France, obviously, and Knox, he knew from before. It was only this young Hamilton he didn't really know. I should see the musical about him.

Yeah, yeah. That'll clear it up. He couldn't get the tickets. They're very hard to get. I imagine, yeah. For some people. Are you going? Oh, yes.

Oh, nice. You're going to love that. Oh, I'm going to love it. It's going to be great. I'm going to see the London one in October. I'm excited. Yeah, Adams starts his job. His first major contribution was his attempt to give Washington the title of his most benign highness.

Ooh. Yeah, that was everyone's reaction. Ooh. Ooh. Doesn't sound good. Adams soon found himself out of touch with the majority of the new government. Yeah, that was everyone's reaction. Doesn't sound good. Adam soon found himself out of touch with the majority of the new government. Perhaps it was his time in Europe shaping his opinions. But he began to see the monarchy as a necessity of government.

Oh. Yeah. A maniacal republic like the British model he'd seen first hand had remained relatively stable when the rest of Europe was being shaken by revolution. Had a king with a fully democratic House of Commons below it, and a House of Lords to balance it, Adams saw that as pretty much as good as it gets. He began to think that it was inevitable that their new country would eventually have to adopt this model if they wanted to survive.

That the Senate and the Presidency would eventually become so corrupt that it would have to adopt this model if they wanted to survive. That the Senate and the presidency would eventually become so corrupt that it would have to be replaced. Give the Constitution a fair chance, he made it clear. He didn't want to get rid of the Constitution, but it's clearly flawed. And at some point, we're going to have to get a monarchy if we want to be a real country. You can understand why he thinks that. Oh yeah, I should point out here, this is not him thinking on his own.

A huge amount of people shared his views. The idea that the Constitution is almost like a magical document, it's certainly revered nowadays. That developed over time in the US. This is shortly after it was written, where the Constitution was kind of seen as a possible solution to their political problems. Let's give it a go. Some people thought it was good, some people didn't,, let's give it a go. Some people thought

it was good, some people didn't, and they were giving it a go, basically. Always add amendments to it if we need. Yeah, exactly. Not setting stone. And also, had the US developed a monarchy over the next couple of decades, which really wasn't impossible, Adams would have been held in high regard by history for his foresight. But it just didn't work out that way. And in fact, his opinion that elections were harmful for society because, and I quote here, elections produce slanders and libels first,

mobs and seditions next, and then civil war with all her hissing snakes. The first two bits, yeah. Well, actually, that is a fairly accurate prediction of the next 60 years of American history. Really? Yeah. It just becomes really nasty

until eventually there's a civil war. But even now, I mean... Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Any election is always just full of nasty things being said and personal attacks rather than, you know, policies. But it is interesting to see how America's second president just really wasn't

that keen on it. However, this view that Adams had gave the likes of Jefferson all the fuel they needed to paint the emerging Federalist Party as monarchists. You remember Washington's episode? Yeah. Washington, Hamilton and like-minded

people had become the Federalists. Jefferson and people supporting him had become Republicans or Democratic Republicans. But despite the previous friendship that Jefferson and Adams had they soon grew apart because of their differing beliefs. It did not help that Adams wore a powdered wig, drove around in a fancy new carriage, and attempted to inform the new Senate exactly how they did things in Britain whilst in session. He's like that person that joins a new place of work and says, well, my last place, we did it this way. Yeah, it's a little bit like that. He soon acquired some nicknames.

Brilliant. The Duke of Braintree, or, by far my favourite, his Rotundus. Oh, he's getting quite big. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. But the main reason why he had very little to do as vice president was the fact that he was hardly there.

He only spent one quarter of the eight years in the capital. He spent most of his time at home. The office, he said, renders me completely insignificant. He complained bitterly that he had nothing to do. Washington was turning to Hamilton or Jefferson for everything. Remember, the roles were not clearly defined.

Yeah, that's true. He just wasn't able to carve out a position for himself as vice president. He hasn't got a niche, has he? No. Or a niche. And then Washington announced he was going to step down. It was no surprise to anyone whatsoever that Adams was going to go for the top job. The newly formed Republican Party

were behind Jefferson. The election was no longer the sure thing that it was when Washington was going for the position. Yeah, it was a proper election. Yeah, our first real election. Saying that, John did not campaign. Really? No, well, politics was still following the Roman model

of not wanting to be seen as wanting the job. Is that just, well, politics was still following the Roman model of not wanting to be seen as wanting the job. Is that just how he thought it was, or was that a general... That was a general thing. You're starting to see exceptions at this point, but only just. You were a gentleman. Of course you didn't campaign. People came to you

and asked you to do the job, and you did it because it was your duty. Okay. Yeah. This didn't mean that others didn't campaign for him and against him, but he pretty much stays out of it. Okay. So to hugely simplify for time here, you've got the Federalists, pro-Britain, pro-bank, pro-money. You've got Jefferson, the Republicans, pro-France, pro-agriculture, pro-state power.

However, not everyone in the Federalist Party was supporting Adams, it turns out. Hamilton and others were not particularly keen on Adams, thinking he was not really up for the job. But on the other hand, they feared that the Federalists would split if Adams did not get his chance at the top. Pinckney was the other Federalist who was also running. The electors in the states have voted. They sealed their votes to be counted in February,

but obviously word got around. Everyone was speaking about who voted for who, so it was meant to be a secret, but it wasn't. In December of 1796, word reaches Adams that he had beaten Jefferson, but he couldn't quite work out whether he'd defeated Pinckney yet or not, so he wasn't certain he'd got the job. But it was not long before he realised that he had indeed won. He wrote that, and I quote,

he had never felt more serene. Oh. Probably the last time he felt serene for quite some time. Yeah, yeah. If he was worried that Jefferson, who had come second, so therefore was vice-president, would be a problem, he was very relieved to receive word that Jefferson was delighted to serve under Adams.

Nice. Took the higher road there. Adams, in turn, was able to bury the hatchet. Things have been a bit fraught between them over the last eight years. Yeah. It helped that he'd just won. It's quite easy to be magnanimous when you've just won. Yeah.

In March 1797, in Philadelphia, Adams rode to the Capitol building in his new carriage. He's got a new one again the Capitol building in his new carriage. He's got a new one again. Dressed in his powdered wig and a ceremonial sword. He felt very faint, apparently. Emotions getting to him. It was clear to all that this ceremony, however, was far more about Washington stepping down than Adams stepping up. Ooh.

Yeah. Everyone was very upset and tearful to see the old general go. Washington sat and Adams was introduced, dictated a speech about how neutrality of America was the most important issue of the day, and he spoke his oath and became the second president of the United States.

He had no time whatsoever to settle it, because there were things to be getting on with. Now, if you remember from Washington's episode, towards the end of his presidency, the Jay Treaty had caused problems. To remind you, Britain was flexing its muscle, and America was forced to accept a treaty that was not very favourable. Britain got access to trade on the rivers in the North West Territory, and America had to settle their pre-war claims of British creditors. Meanwhile, nothing was said about the impressment that was going on at sea,

which was a huge problem at the time. The British were just stealing US seamen and just forcing them into their navy. Press gang. Press gang, yeah. So, yeah, this didn't look good. On the other hand, Britain said that they would finally remove their troops from the US land and they would not come over and kill everyone. So that was nice.

Very nice of them, yeah. Yeah. This angered a lot in America, if you remember. But what I didn't mention in Washington's episode, it also angered a lot of people in France who saw this treaty as the Americans cosying up with the British. Why are you off dealing with them? We're the ones who fought for you.

After all we did for you, you ungrateful sons of... Yeah, pretty much. France retaliated. France declared they would treat neutral ships in the same way that the British did, as if they were hostile. As the US declared neutrality in the ongoing war between Britain and France, the US ships became targets of both the British and the French. Oh dear.

Yeah, and this is what John had to deal with on his first few days. That's good. So, first thing he thinks, well, I know, I'll send Jefferson. The French love Jefferson. He got on really well once he'd gone over there. Smart. So I send my vice president over. Jefferson went, no, no, I'm my vice president over. Jefferson went, no.

I'm the vice president. I'm not an envoy. So, that didn't work. Several options for Adam's here. Let's play What Would You Do? Number one, he could find someone else to go and talk to France. Create another J Treaty.

It's probably not going to be great, but it might calm things down. That's option one. Number two, he could sever all trade with treaty. It's probably not going to be great, but it might calm things down. No. Yeah. That's option one. Number two, he could sever all trade with France and just basically go, no, not doing anything with you anymore. Number three, he could prepare for war. Well, there's an obvious option. I get

the feeling he's going to do options two and three. Really? You think cut ties and declare war? Yeah. Well, maybe not declare war, prepare for war. Or prepare for the coming. Because I think he's thinking, well, we're Britain now. We're getting on better with those. They might help us. Let's see. He calls a cabinet meeting.

Adam's cabinet was the same one that Washington had left him. He wanted to keep continuity. This did mean that he was surrounded by a large number of Hamiltonians, people who supported Hamilton, who did not particularly like Adams and were more ready to follow the retired Hamilton's orders than anyone else. But continuity, thought Adams. And they're doing good jobs, so let's keep them where they are.

Whilst Adams debated what to do with himself, some of his advisers wrote to Hamilton asking him what advice they should give to the president. In the end, Adams was persuaded to abandon his first thoughts to placate the French. So Adams thought, no, let's send an envoy over. His advisors convinced him to demand compensation for property losses and start expanding the navy. Jefferson and the Republicans were horrified by this. They are very pro-French and they could see that this was the Federalists preparing for war with France. Yes. One spokesman at this time even advised the New England states to simply leave the union and build their own navy if they wanted to fight so much. Yeah, we're

eight years in and we've already got people talking about leaving the Union. Excellent. Yeah. As you can tell, things were a bit tense. So, John goes home for a bit, like you do, in the middle of a crisis. He was criticised a bit for this, not to be fair for John. You mean not doing his job and

walking off and doing other things? To be fair to John here, most people left the city during the summer months due to the risk of smallpox and yellow fever. But this was quite a big crisis. He just went home. It wasn't great. John, in fact, spent several months at home, not returning till mid-November. Yeah, he hoped by this point he'd receive news.

He had, in fact, sent some envoys to France. Now, the Republicans said this is just a smokescreen. You're not going to listen to your envoys. You're just saying that so you can prepare for war. You're buying yourself some time. Time, by this point, had definitely passed, and Adams was ready to hear what the envoys had said. No news had come through yet, though. There was some news about the rise of a general called Napoleon Bonaparte and the French

government. Who? Just some guy who seemed to be doing quite well over there. Nothing from his envoys though. Eventually, after a bit more disturbing news about quite how well this Napoleon fellow's doing, showing that France actually had some real strength, he finally gets news from his envoys. Fantastic, he thinks. Maybe we can finally settle this. The Americans had arrived in France, but the French had refused to talk to them

until they had paid not one, but two huge bribes. One to the foreign minister, Talleyrand, and the other to the Republican general. Excellent. This insult shocked Adams to the foreign minister, Talleyrand, and the other to the Republican general. Excellent. This insult shocked Adams to the core. Unlike many in his party, Adams, by this time, had decided that war wasn't actually a good idea. He wasn't looking for war, but this move by France kind of made things difficult.

After thinking for a while, he decided what to do. He met with Congress, and he told them that it was not in their interest to fight in a european war and he was recalling his envoys and he would build up their defenses oh dear so it's fine we have no interest in going to war but i'm pulling back our envoys to france and i'm building up the troops. I'm just going to build up my arms. The Republicans just went, no, you're clearly preparing for war here. We see right through you. The Federalist hardliners, who are known as the High Federalists, equally were not happy because they said, what do you mean you see no interest in fighting a war?

Of course we need to fight this war. Adams trying to placate both sides was just angering both. So bizarrely, the Republicans and the high Federalists team up and demand that Adams release the details of what the envoys had sent them. They accused him of hiding things. Now they were both looking for very different things. The Republicans assumed that Adams was making things up and was trying to come up with a pretense for war. The high Federalists were accusing him of trying to hide reasons to fight the French. So they demand he release the information. Adams, not wanting to, but realising that he kind of has to, releases the letters from

his ambassadors. He did redact one thing, and that was the names of the French agents who had met with the American envoys. Fair enough. Yeah, he called them W, X, Y, and Z, I suppose, as he's American, rather than Z. Because of this, this is known to history as the XYZ affair. Not sure what happened to W. Poor W.

Yeah, even as a letter, he's just left out of history. Yeah. So Adams released the documents. The high Federalists were overjoyed at what they saw. Turned out the French were demanding that the US bribe them. These letters contained everything that they needed to beat the war drum. The Republicans realised too late that they had scored an own goal. Yeah.

Yeah. Ah, damn it. Turns out he wasn't trying to go to war. Turns out he was on our side. Hamilton and the other high federalists start calling for a large army to be raised to defend the country from the French. Popular mood quickly swung away from the pro-French Jeffersonians and many quickly accepted the war as inevitable.

Adams himself seems to have thought that the war was unavoidable as well. He was increasingly appearing in public in full military dress, sword at his side, stating that their ancestors would be filled with, I quote, disgust and resentment if America did not act,

that war was less evil than disgrace. There's just someone, a really snarky person, shouts out, What are our ancestors from eight years ago? How are you feeling, Bob? I'm fine. Any disgust or resentment? No. War fever starts to sweep the nation. Tensions were also very high between the parties. There was even tales that if Jefferson got into power after the next election, he would guillotine Adams and his cabinet. Other rumours of republican mobs storming the president's house circulated. But it wasn't one-sided. Jefferson himself began to suspect that this new army that was being raised by the Federalists would, once put together, invade the South. He even advised Madison not

to say anything that would provoke an invasion. Things are going downhill quickly. The Federalists have not felt in this stronger position since the start of Washington's first term. The public is very much behind them, So they start to act. In a blatant voter suppression move, the Federalists looked to curtail the amount of immigration into the country. Immigrants at that time tended to vote Republican. So it was put into law that you now needed to wait 14 years before you could become a citizen rather than five,

instantly cutting off a huge amount of people's eligibility to vote in the next election. That's clever. Then two alien acts were passed. This is where Roswell starts. That's what they're saying. Yeah. They're known as the Friendly Alien Act and the Enemy Alien Act.

Oh, OK. Yeah. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near as exciting as you'd want it to be. No. No. No. The Alien Friend Act gave the president the power to deport any non-citizen he considered dangerous. There you go, just blanket ability to do that. Yeah.

The Alien Enemy Act gave him the power to deport anyone who came from a country with whom the US were at war with. Okay. Finally, the Sedition Act was passed. This act was to ensure that only, and I quote, pure sentiments and good principles came out of the national press. Ooh. If you were to, and I quote, write, print, utter or publish any false, scandalous and malicious writing

with intent to defame the government, you could face fines and prison time. Wow, that's interesting. Oh yes, crack down on what the government saw as fake news. This is where I start. Several Republican newspaper editors were arrested. Five out of the biggest six newspapers in circulation that supported Jefferson were just stripped. The Alien Acts, however, were never actually used.

The anti-French feeling in the country that helped to drive this act was enough for many French people just to flee on their own accord. Which is kind of the point of the act. It's just a scare, isn't it? Yeah. It's a bully act. Yeah, exactly. The new army being raised was offered to Washington. Washington

is still alive at this point. You can't build an army and not offer Washington the top job. He's Washington. Yeah. Even if he is getting on in years. However, Washington said he'd only take part if it was an actual invasion. It's like, I'm not leaving my house unless the French are on my doorstep. Essentially.

Meanwhile, Washington strongly recommended Hamilton take part of the army. Adams, by this point, was convinced that Hamilton was working against him and using his own cabinet to do so. He even suspected that Hamilton had hoodwinked Washington into recommending that he get the army position.

He was convinced that Hamilton was pulling all strings. So, he refused to give Hamilton the top spot, thinking that Washington would back down rather than face the embarrassment of fighting with the current president. He was wrong. Oh dear. Adams was the one to blink first,

and against his own will, gave Hamilton the job. By now, Adams was convinced that the high Federalists were using the potential war simply to gain political advantage at home. The high federalists banging this war drum realised that it was making them very popular politically. Meanwhile, taxes were increasing to cover the costs of the increased government spending. Riots start.

A mob broke into a Pennsylvanian jail and broke out those that would refuse to pay the taxes. Again, law and order is starting to break down. Time uncomfortably ticks over for a while. And the Federalists realise that things are starting to backfire here, actually. The Alien and Sedition Acts are not going down too well in the public, now that they actually look at it. I mean, they didn't like the French at the moment,

but they also feared tyranny at home. Well, in fact, a lot more so than the French, who were very, very distant. Yeah. The Republicans were also doing a very good job at pointing out to people that the Federalists were looking more and more like the tyrants that they had recently overthrown.

It did not help that Adams could kind of understand this argument. He wasn't really fully on board with what his own government was doing. We know that Abigail feared that Hamilton was going to use the new army to stage a military coup, a fear that Adams probably shared as well. So, in an attempt to cut Hamilton's power, John

sends a message to the Senate. Jefferson, Vice President in charge of the Senate, received the message and began to read it to the room. John was not going to declare war on France. Ooh, after all this. But instead, send an envoy. Yay. The high federalists

sat in a stony silence as Jefferson read this out probably with a huge grin on his face. The reprisals were immediate. The high federalists, members of Adam's own party, turn on him viciously. Yeah, well, they will. and stayed there for over half a year.

It got to a point that people were starting to seriously talk about dereliction of duty. Whilst at home, he launched prosecutions against two authors who had attacked him in the press, because why not? And he refused to talk to anyone. General Knox turned up at one point to visit. Adams refused to look up from his newspaper. He only returned to government when he was told that there was a plot to stop his envoys from leaving for France. Hamilton himself met with Adams and spent several hours trying to convince the president that peace with France was not an option.

Adams listened and then sent his rival away. But he knew he had to deal with him at some point. But interrupting all this high drama was some sombre news. Washington was dead. No! Yeah. The shock halted everything. A funeral procession was had. Hundreds lined the streets.

However, as sad as this was, it kind of removed an obstacle for Adams. Because Washington was always Hamilton's advocate. And now Washington was gone, Adams was a bit more free to move against his foe. He was nearing the end of his first term.

He decided, enough is enough, time to take control of my own presidency. His Secretary of State and his Secretary of War, he by now was convinced, were fully Hamilton's men. So he asked for them both to resign. Nice. His Secretary of War did so. His Secretary of State just refused. Adams was forced to fire him. That all looks good when you're firing members of your own cabinet.

Nice. Having given Hamilton this blow, the election started. Oh, yes. It was clear that Adams was unlikely to win, however. Public mood was just not on his side. He was struggling. The Republicans had bounced back well by this time, and Jefferson and Burr were both put forward by their party. In the meantime, however,

Adams moves to Federal City, which, by this point, everyone was calling Washington City. It wasn't really a city at this point. The building was a constant. The hammering and soaring sounds were non-stop. Most of the government were set up in hastily put- put together boarding houses,

but John and Abigail got to move into the President's Mansion. The name White House hadn't taken on by this time. It was quite nice though. Into the President's Mansion they went. Nice. Anyway, soon enough election day was upon them. All the infighting in the Federalist Party

had left the way clear for Jefferson and Burr to get the top two places, giving the Republicans the presidency and the vice-presidency. The consolation that Adams had beaten the Hamilton-backed Pinckney was not really enough to console Adams. It did not help that word

reached him at this time that his son Charles had died. No! Yeah, we last saw Charles as a boy being sent across the Atlantic on his rowboat. Yeah. No! Yeah, we last saw Charles as a boy being sent across the Atlantic on his rowboat. Yeah. In this time, Charles unfortunately had succumbed to alcoholism and had drunk himself to death.

However, because of this, he'd become estranged from the family and Abigail and John did not publicly mourn the loss. But it must have been a hard time for John. Oh, of course. He just lost his presidency and one of his sons yeah before jefferson took over word comes from france napoleon was willing to be at peace and a treaty was signed so uh after all that so okay no war yes yeah you can see from napoleon's point of view so that's really far away we've got all of europe here yeah he's

napoleon's a busy man he's got stuff to do. Now, depending on who you believe, Adams spent the last few weeks of his presidency either filling roles that needed to be filled and preparing for the next government, or he spent his time packing the government with his own Federalist men to thwart Jefferson. Just depends what view you take on that. But he appointed some people into positions that needed to be filled.

Okay. And obviously he chose Federalists because he was a Federalist. That makes sense, yeah. Abigail headed home early, and Adams spent the last few days in the White House alone, not coming out to see anyone. There were no farewell balls, no celebrations. On Jefferson's inauguration day,

Adams, at four o'clock in the morning, slipped out of the city and headed for home. And that's the end of his presidency. Didn't even go to the inauguration. He then lives for another 25 years. All right. Yeah. His daughter, Nabi, died in 1813.

Abigail dies in 1818. He lives with his son, Thomas, and his family. He then becomes good friends with Jefferson again after several years. They bury the hatchet. They write to each other a lot. In 1825, he saw his own son, John Quincy Adams, become president. Oh, that's nice. And then,

one year later, aged 90, on the 4th of July, John Adams dies. One of his last words were that Jefferson had managed to outlive him. He's just still annoyed. What would have really annoyed him, as if he found out the truth, which was in Virginia several hours before,

Jefferson had just died. Oh! Even worse. Yeah. One of those weird quirks of fate, that Jefferson and Adams both died on the same day, Independence Day. worse. Yeah. One of those weird quirks of fate that Jefferson and Adams both died on the same day, Independence Day. Wow. Yeah.

Weird, that. Yeah. And there you go. So that is John Adams. And we're almost in the Victorian times when he dies as well. Oh, yeah, yeah, we are. There you go. Thoughts?

A bit sad. A bit deflating. It really is, isn't it? It's meh. deflating it really is isn't it it's mere he just a controversial figure but what what you highlighted more was the political wrangling that's going on because that's getting bigger and bigger isn't it like manipulation oh yeah party loyalties you get the feeling he wanted to be another washington to be above the fray washington was president and then you got got Hamilton and the Federalists and Jefferson and the Republicans below him

bickering, but Washington was leading, and then with Adams, you get more of a sense that he's in the middle just being buffeted about with the two sides just bashing him about nothing which has changed, has it?

not really, no, but you've got to feel sorry for changed, has it? Not really, no. But you've got to feel sorry for Adams. Yeah, okay, you expect it from the opposing party, but the more extreme factions in his own party were if anything worse to him than the opposition. I do feel sorry for him, but I'll tell you why in the American

American section. Okay. You're right. We should probably go into the ranking, shouldn't we? I think we should. So, what did he do for the United States? And also we can, including for his party as well, we're including in this, so what did he do

for the people he represented? Well, I'd say one of the biggest things he did was stood his ground negotiating with the French. The French were willing to sell the US down the river. stood his ground negotiating with the French. The French were willing to sell the US down the river. Adams wasn't having any of it. You could also argue, though, he wasn't fully aware of the situation at the time.

You could also argue that he was an awful diplomat and rubbed everyone's backs up the wrong way. He was terrible. He had to move to Amsterdam. Yeah. Although, I mean, he did do well in Amsterdam and actually got a lot of trade treaties. They're all high. So, I mean, he did do some good work in Europe.

It wasn't a complete failure, but it wasn't brilliant at times. He was the most important author of one of the first written constitutions or the first written constitution in America, the Massachusetts Constitution. That was a blueprint for the one that was adopted nationally, you could argue. That's quite good. He took part in the first peaceful transfer of power.

Yes, two of them as well. Oh, yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, it's tarnished by the fact that the second one, when he gave up his power, he slunk away in the night. It's a different situation, though, isn't it? It's not a good image, though, is it? No, it's not. You turn up to the next inauguration.

You've got to do that, to say everything's fine, this is how it's done in this country. It's not great that he did that. And then, of course, I mean, there's the really big ones here. The Alien and Sedition Acts are awful. Yeah. Really, really bad. He can't even blame the High Federalists

for this. No. The High Federalists were beating the war drum, trying to get people to be anti-French, therefore anti-Republican. It helps their political aspirations. But it wasn't Hamilton behind the Sedition Act. This was John Adams getting annoyed with people writing bad things about him in the press and trying to curtail it.

You can't do that. That never works, is that? It's not a good look on a president. It's not. I'm glad times have changed. Yeah. Hmm. Yeah, so that's just awful.

And also his alien acts. I mean, that is just power to deport people for no reason whatsoever just because you don't like them. You don't like them. That's not great when you're trying to build up the land of the free. It's, again, kind of going against the ideals of what the country was founded on yeah it's not great so i'm i'm trying to look for a reason to give him a point no i can definitely give him some points i mean he's one of the founding fathers so go on he did work on the peace treaty that got us their independence.

That's, okay, yes. That's a big one. Okay, that's true. And also them backstabbing France was a masterstroke move. That's true. Not from a French perspective, no. But there's no way he would have been successful, though, unless it was to say Franklin. Because the French hated him. Yeah, but he wasn't dealing

with the French, he was dealing with the British. Good point. Yes, I've forgotten that bit. Except I'm him. Yeah, but he wasn't dealing with the French. He was dealing with the British. Good point. Yes, I forgot that bit. Except I'm out. Yeah. No good point. So if I gave him points for just that, I'd have to give him like four or five. It's quite a biggie.

But I need to halve that because it wasn't just him. Also, let's not forget last week. He was there on the Declaration of Independence. He almost wrote the Declaration of Independence. It was offered to him, but he refused to take it up. He was busy. He had stuff to do. He was running the war council. Yeah.

Saying the generals should be shot for being ambushed. Yes, I mean, I'm definitely giving him points, but I'm not giving him many. No. Yeah, I'm giving him three points, and I feel that's generous. I'm going to give him four. Oh, that's really generous. I'm going to give him two for the work he did in the First Continental Congresses.

Right. And I'm going to give him two for the work he did in the peace deals with Britain. So, yeah, I'm giving him four. You're giving him three? Yes. Okay. Seven. Seven for statesmanship. You're giving him three? Yes. Okay. Seven. Seven. For statesmanship.

Disgrace gays. Okay. Very little, actually. He did questionable things, but... Yeah, I mean, he was pompous. He was rude at times. He was prone to depression, and that led him to retire from stressful situations. But, I mean...

You can't really judge someone for that, can you? His attitude towards the soldiers and the world of independence wasn't good. He was recommending people be hung for things that were out of their control. No, hanged. People are hanged, not hung. Meat is hung. Yeah, meat is hung. Exactly. Sorry, Pratchett joke. Yeah, so he was recommending that people be hanged for things that were out of their control.

So, that's not great. He essentially stole Lawrence's job in Amsterdam and refused to give it back. The acts? Well, the acts are more political, so i think that's a negative in statesmanship rather than a disgrace gate kind of personal something a bit disgraceful he did treat his family badly yeah well that's a lot the next one um historians aren't really sure why he just refused to let abigail come over to europe but he was dead set against it for many years i get the impression he thought it was impression he wanted to do his thing,

that they're almost in the way. That's what it feels like to me. I get the impression that he wanted it to be as hard as possible for himself. Really? Remember, there was always this guilt he had, that he was unmanly and he was not a soldier. So the harder he made his political jobs, the less guilt he needed to feel for not fighting at the front lines.

So he'd fought through this, so he's paid his dues. Yeah, exactly. That's the feeling I get. That's fair. And also, when he is with Abigail, I mean, the two of them survived for years, and there's no indication that she was unhappy with him. Apart from the flirty letters. Well, there were some flirty letters but

she didn't as far as we can tell run off and have an affair because she was fed up and as far as you can't you can't write about sausages that much and let them not be writing about a butcher that's a good point also we have no record of adams going off on dalliances in in europe when he was there for years i. There's a good chance he probably did. He's a single man in a foreign city for years and had a fair amount of power whilst he was there. I'd frankly be surprised if he

didn't, but there's no record of it, so there's no disgrace. There's just very little here. And also, in an age where everyone else around him is going to be getting points for doing things like owning other people he escapes that one

because he was not pro-slavery at all I mean he was a little bit racist but everyone was back then and he wasn't a slave owner so I'm only going to give him two. I was thinking that. Actually even two. I'll give him one, you give him one, that's two. Yeah I'm going to give him two i was thinking actually even two i'll give him one you give him one that's two

yeah i'm going to give him one just for his uh aloofness yeah so we'll subtract two from the final score yes okay that's two for disgrace gate silver screen okay interesting on this actually no let's hear your views first i think it if it was a film, it would be a very frustrated film. It would be a lot of somebody getting really annoyed, a lot of very sad film. Not a sad film, just very kind of, oh, again, oh, again. A bit of cheer in the middle, then the end. You've got the tragedy of his first son dying,

you know, Charles, the first son that dies, and then into other things, and right at the end, a lovely, glowy, happy ending, where he suddenly becomes president. But I don't think you could make a good film out of it. A miniseries? It could be done, but I think you'd need...

No, I don't want to watch it, I'll be honest. Interesting you say that, because HBO made a miniseries. Did they? It's called John Adams. I did not get time to watch it before doing this, but apparently it's very good. It must be full of lies, though.

It must be full of good writing, is what I can only see. I mean, there are some bits, like the court drama around the Boston Massacre. Yeah, okay. That could be an interesting chapter. I suppose you could have an interesting episode of him hating Franklin. That might be interesting. His battles with Jefferson would be. Yeah,

exactly. His battles with Hamilton. I think a political miniseries could work, but I am biased because I know that they made a political miniseries and it did work. But I've got to admit, I am with you. Had I not known that, I don't think this is a story that I'd go, yeah, this is a story that needs to be told. However, we both know what we're going to watch.

Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I'm definitely going to try and watch this as soon as I get time. So it obviously works because it did. And you do have some political drama. And let's face it, you're still slap-banging the war of independence here. Should we say then, automatically they get a five if something has been made about their lives? Something good's been made about their lives.

But we decide whether it was good or not. Or take recommendations. Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, it is an interesting period of time. Especially put it side to side with Washington. It's almost the perfect mixture. Washington was the military side of the independence. Adams was the political side of the independence.

It's like a Schindler's List and The Pianist. Two different viewpoints. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. So I'm going to give him a five then because I'm happy to watch it, but I wouldn't imagine it. Yeah, I'm going to do the same. I'm going to go for five. then, because I'm happy to watch it, but I wouldn't imagine it. Yeah, I'm going to do the same. I'm going to go for five.

So that is ten for Silver Screen. Invisibility. Okay. This was painted while he was vice president. He didn't get one done when he was a president. Really? No. Gone is the interesting background.

Just grey. Black, actually. Here we go. Oh, that's perfect. Do you know what he looks a bit like a David Mitchell he does a bit

yeah the eyes rosy cheeks plump wig wig he's got the big 1700s jacket on

yeah it's a good collar I'm liking the collar it's a damn good collar big buttons as well yeah those that's almost like a 70s coat, that is. Just put some flower stitching on that

and he could have gone to Woodstock in that coat. I feel like those are the 80s. Yeah, possibly. Shoulder pads. No, I mean like they had the new romantics in the 80s. Oh, yeah. That sort of thing. Could have worked.

So he's gazing off into the middle distance. Into the darkness. Yeah. It's just black surrounding him. That's good, though, because it does make it stand out quite well. Yeah, yeah. I do like that.

In a way, I prefer that to Washington's one. Washington had more information in it, but this one, I like that it stands out. He looks slightly worried. I'm not getting that. I'm getting sort of, almost like a bored expression. Don't you think?

Kind of, when can I be president? Yeah, but like... To be fair, he's probably been sitting there for a long time getting it painted. Yeah, it's true. It's not great, but it's not terrible. No, but I'm not going to... I feel like it's less than five, so I might give him a four for it.

I will join you on that four. Putting that through our calculator, that gives him give him a four for it. I will join you on that four. Putting that through our calculator, that gives him a score of two for canvas ability. Go, Lewis! OK. He managed to serve an entire term, so he gets a point. Well done there.

He was not assassinated, and no-one tried to assassinate him, despite his fears in Holland. So he gets no points for assassination. His election, he scored 51.5% of the electoral votes. That is the second worst victory in US history. Really? Where you have a clear winner.

So he only just scraped three. He scraped one point in our system is what I'm trying to say, yes. Yeah, so he gets one point for elections. That is two points in total in the bonus rounds. So he now has a final score. A total of 19 points. Washington got 37. That's a shame, Adam. It's a shame. Let's see if he is an American. Well, that's it. Who knows? It's not the score. Is he an American or an American't?

American or American't. No. Are you not feeling this? No. Because I was thinking this while I nipped off the toilet. He sort of, he wanted to be a great man, but he wasn't one in any way. Nothing he did was great. He, yes, he had impact on the Constitution,

and you could argue that he got America, the US, its independence, but he wasn't a great man. He was capable, and he was hardworking. Yeah. But capable and hardworking, a great man does not make no he he couldn't cope with the pressure he you can't be a president and get that flustered and that defensive about things it's not he was not a statesman at all um even as a vice president

he was better as like someone way lower down doing a governmental job. Sorting out the filing cabinets in the new White House. I'd say slightly more than that. Yeah? Maybe in his spare time he could have rearranged some cutlery or something. He wasn't the great man he wanted to be, which is sad. Shall I say something in defence of Adam Sir? You can try. He has an enemy.

A historical enemy. Himself. Because more than... Oh, that's deep. Oh, it's deep. More than any of the other founding fathers, he actually wrote down what he really thought. That's true. Washington was very, very, very guarded in whatever he wrote down.

He was always very well aware that people in the future were going to read his every word and make an opinion on him. The other founding fathers are quite similar adams if he was unsure if he changed his mind if he was being selfish if he doubted his abilities he wrote that down so history is able to look at it and go yeah he was conflicted he doubted his abilities he was a bit rude on that occasion it was because he told us so he's an open book or at least more so than many of the He was conflicted. He doubted his abilities. He was a bit rude on that occasion. It was because he told us. So he's an open book, or at least more so than many of the other founding fathers.

So because of that, it really is detrimental on him. However, it did happen. He told us it happened. So just because perhaps we're able to judge John Adams a bit fairer than the other ones doesn't mean that we're not judging him fairly. It's a bit of a tricky one, but no, I have to agree with you. He's not an American. No. Sorry, John.

So where do our Americans go? They can't get fed to lions because we don't have lions. No, I think they just... They get given back to Britain. Ooh. Yeah, I like that. Sent back to Britain. Yeah. Sent to Coventry.

Yeah. Okay, well, there we go. We've finished our second president. We have one American, one American so far. I wonder how it will shape up in future. So thank you very much for listening to the last two episodes. Next time is

Thomas Jefferson. Don't forget to find us on Facebook. We've also got a Twitter account as well that we join with our Roman Emperor podcast, so please have a listen to that as well. Check that out. You can also download us from Podbean, iTunes and Stitcher. Whatever that is. Yes, yes you can.

And if you want more presidents, then go and check out People vs. POTUS or the Presidencies podcast, which I've also been listening to recently. Yeah, that's a bit more of a Mike Duncan-style approach to history podcast, only with American history and focus on the presidents. Nice.

Yeah, that's very good. Okay, then. All that needs to be said, then, is... Goodbye. Goodbye. Ah, Washington, his most benign... No, no, Adams, we have agreed. What's my title?

His most magnificent... No, what's my title? President. Exactly. Right, sit down. Thank you all for coming. Jefferson, Hamilton, Knox. I'd like you all to welcome...

Oh, sorry, and Adams, of course. Adams. Yes. Poppy, go and fetch a chair for Adams, would you? Yes. Right, okay. About time we sorted out who's doing what. Now, Hamilton, obviously, financials.

It's a bit vague, I'm very sorry, but I'm thinking banks. I could do that as vice president. I've got to pass the... Hamilton's got this covered, I'm very sorry, but I'm thinking banks. I could do that as vice president. I've got to pass this. Hamilton's got this covered, don't worry. Don't worry. All to do with financials and the Coast Guard. I can swim? And the post office.

But that's Hamilton's domain, really. Don't worry yourself about it, Adams. Really, don't. Oh, okay. Don't worry yourself. Anyway, obviously things are tense in Europe at the moment. We need someone who's got connections in Europe, someone who knows French ministers, British ministers. Ooh, ooh, ooh. Someone who's got connections.

I know, I know. Almost like an ambassador. I know. Yes, Jefferson, I'm thinking, if you could take that role. I know! Yes, Jefferson, I'm thinking. If you could take that role. But I lived there for nine years. I secured our independence.

I have great connections. I'd be fantastic in Europe. Jefferson was there in the meetings? No he wasn't, he was late. I'm sure he was sent on the meetings. It says in the history books he was sent on the meetings. I'm sure he was there. Anyway, Jefferson's going to sort that out.

Right, what have we got here? Yes, war, of course, war. Really, John, put the sword away. It's embarrassing. Oh, come on, it looks great. I can flourish it around, look. Put it away, man! Sorry, Jefferson, didn't mean to hit you there. Anyway, Knox, if anyone's talking about anything to do with fighting,

that's on you, okay? I could have done that. Right. Well, of course I'm missing something. Stationery. John, I was really hoping for your input here. I think my skills would be better suited elsewhere, Your Royal Highness.

I went to write a speech last night. My inkwell was dry And if we're going to form This great new country Well no one's going to be able to do anything If I don't write anything down Do you agree? Of course I agree

And no one can write anything If the inkwells are not full Yes but I feel that would be better suited for a junior And as this is such an important role, no ink, no writing, no writing, no constitution. I mean, I know you agree this is hugely important. I only trust it with you, John. Wonderful.

Excellent. Right. Dinner at mine tonight, I think. Time to celebrate. Oh, John, though, those inkwells won't fill themselves. So get on that straight away. There's a good chap. Yeah, just trying to think of what, frankly...

Oh, frankly, he invented literally everything. It was invented in America, so... Did he do the key thing? I'm just going to say, yeah. And the kite. Yeah. Am I thinking of somebody else? That's definitely him.

Okay. If it was invented in America before the computer age, Franklin invented it. That's just a fact. Fast food restaurants. Yeah. The automotive car industry. Yeah. Ford.

Yeah. Wow. He's the person who said you can have any club. The light bulb. As long as it's black, even. The light bulb. Yeah, that was Franklin. Wow.

So, it's all Franklin. Yeah. Actually, if you listen to People vs. POTUS, they did a little quiz on what Franklin actually invented and what he didn't, so you can learn more by listening to that. Well, they failed, as the French usually did whenever they tried to invade England. Apart from in 1066. Nah, that was the Vikings.

What? Normans. Normans were Vikings. They from in 1066. No, that was the Vikings. What? Normans. Normans were Vikings. They're from Normandy. Yeah. Clues in the name. Yeah, Northmen. Vikings.

Norman? Northmen. France. I think we're both right. It doesn't matter. We'll say we're both right or we'll agree to disagree. The Normans were descended from Rollo, who was a Viking. Not doesn't matter. We'll say we're both right or we'll agree to disagree. The Normans were descended from Rolo,

who was a Viking. Not all of them. Every single one of you is a busy man. Frankified Vikings. Do we agree with that? Yeah. It's just the stubborn English part of me. Fine. Look, I'm fine to be invaded by the Vikings

But not the French Yeah Just too far The Vikings can invade all they want Have York, I don't care