How Is John Adams Portrayed In 1776

John Adams was a famous American politician who played a key role in the American Revolution and later served as the second President of the United States (History.com Staff). John Adams also is one of the main characters in 1776, a play that portrays the story of what occurred at the Second Continental Congress, including the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence. Like many other forms of art, this play depicts this part of history in a way that tells a compelling story. While the play is mostly fact based, there are a few inaccuracies. It is very interesting to analyze how the John Adams portrayed in 1776 contrasts with the actual John Adams. In some instances, the play adds, leaves out or rearranges certain aspects of history

This didn’t actually happen. In the play it is portrayed that John Adams wrote to Martha because he believed that reuniting the couple would give Thomas Jefferson the motivation he needed to write the Declaration of Independence. While it is true that Jefferson greatly missed his wife, this scene is simply historically inaccurate and most likely was added into the play for dramatic effect. There are a few reasons why the writers could have added in this scene. For instance, it helps portray some details about Jefferson’s personal life while also appealing to members in the audience who love a good romance story. It also helps give off the perception of how desperately Adams wanted the Declaration of Independence to be written (New York City

The play has many different scenes where John and Abigail appear to be together and having conversations. However, in all reality they were miles and miles apart as John was at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia and Abigail was back home in Massachusetts (New York City Center). While technically those conversations between them did not actually take place as they appear in the play, some of the dialogue is taken directly from the many letters that they sent back and forth at this time (New York City Center). The dialogue between Adams and Abigail is very important to this story because it helps give the understanding of some of John Adams motivation and insight at the time; therefore, it could not have been just left out of the play. The scene was most likely constructed with John and Abigail appearing to be in the same place to provide a visual effect and help the audience understand what was going on. This method is mostly effective and definitely more interesting than a possible scene that would just show them writing letters back in forth to each other. While it is technically not historically accurate, it is a good perception method used by the