john adams. boston's most influential founding father. a firebrand, outspoken voice for human rights and the rule of law. behind every voice stands a man, and behind every legend lies the truth. >> there is a misconception that the patriots from boston are a brotherhood of freedom fighters operating in lockstep. two of our founding fathers, sam and john adams, actual members of the same family, find themselves at odds over the growing revolution. while sam keeps the fervor of the rebellion boiling in the streets, john adams isn't sure that defying the king, act of treason, punishable by death, is a good idea. even after the boston massacre, john adams needs more convincing before committing to revolution. >> good god, a riot with this. >> the boston massacre becomes a huge propaganda effort for samuel adams and the sons of liberty. you've got an immediately famous engraving by paul revere. it is one of the most inaccurate pieces of propaganda ever produced by an american press. almost nothing in it is correct. >> early instance, colonies,

wasso john adams is one charac. my book begins in 1755 when britain imposes the first of its punishing acts on the colonies, the stamp act. and it ends 35 years later when adams loses his bid for second term as president of the united states to thomas jefferson. and abigail goes home to her sisters at last. character fifth because they are important to all the sisters. of course, abigail who was frequently in the limelight with john, but really no less during the revolution certainly, to marry elizabeth. they were equally excited, terrified, by the battle of boston. and they were equally astonished and overjoyed when the french navy arrived at the last minute at yorktown and america had won the revolution at last. so these times are very important to the book. they are the times that they lived through. and also what was important for me was that they lived through the times through the ideas of the times. and because of what was happening, because in america we were getting an opportunity to start a nation anew, th

john adams and john wilson singleton copley, the two families became the best of friends. john trumbull lived with thomas jefferson in paris at the american embassy in paris. trumbull was privy to the most intimate aspects of thomas jefferson's life. for actually a while he became a go-between in jefferson's wild romantic pursuit of maria causeway, a married artist to who was in paris at the time. trumbull delivered letters between them showing tremendous discretion. their lives were utterly wrapped up in the events of the revolution. charles willson peale fought. he was in a militia company from philadelphia on the banks of the delaware with washington with his musket and his painting kit. john trumbull was the son of the governor of connecticut and he watched from a distance the firebombing and burning of charlestown at the battle of bunker hill. he became washington's aide-de-camp. he was friends with all of these people. so, it is all of those stories woven together within the book. that was the fun of writing it. what is the book about you are wondering? i am going to

john adams and john singleton coply, the two family webs they became the best of friend. trumbull, john trumbull, lived with thomas jefferson in paris at the american embassy in paris. trumbull was privy to the most aspects of jeffson's life. he became a go-between in jefferson's wild romantic pursuit of maria causeway, an artist in paris at the time. trumbull delivered letters between them. showing tremendous discretion. their lives were utterly wrapped up in the event of the revolution. charles wilson fought, he was in a militia company. from philadelphia. he was on the banks of the delaware with washington. with his musket and his painting kit. john trumbull is the son of the governor of connecticut. and he watched from a distance the fire bombing and burning of charlestown at battle of bunker hill. he became washington's aid. he was friends with all of these people. and so it's all those stories woven together within the book. and that was the fun of really writing it. so what's the book about, you're wondering. and i'm going to mention four principles or four buildin

it's my wedding day. >> just a moment of your time. >> john adams and samuel adams were cousins, but there was a difference in the way they lived their lives. john was an up-and-coming lawyer. he's much more the hard-working puritan than samuel was. >> there's no need to protract the inevitable. find it within your bearing to accept that's which you cannot control. do you wish to run afoul of old hutchinson? >> will you at least read the new laws? >> i'm quite certain i will become as agitated as you are, sam. >> from old hutchinson himself. >> smells like a musty tavern. the greensbo dragon? >> not exactly. what a grand idea that is. >> when most people think of the founding fathers, they envision wear-wearing politicians debating on the floor of some legislative body. but the first american patriots did their organizing in a bar, a tavern in boston called the green dragon. it is here that their fight begins. not yet for independence, but for equal treatment as the british citizens they believe they are. ♪ ♪ remember the 5th of november ♪ the gunpowder treason and wine ♪ >>

john adams said july 2 would be remembered as an epic day. brilliant bonfires, illuminations, bands and celebrations. he was two days off. that was july 2. july 3, the declaration is debated. july 4, it is adopted. we will bring you back to the second world war. i take you back to 1787 in philadelphia. that real steamy, hot summer, when the constitution is debated and ratified. debated and ratified a little later. the principles of the declaration of independence are codified into law, laws still used today. a document that is so meaningful today. i'll take you back to 1814 when the british literally invaded and burned washington. it burned the president's house, the capitol building, other buildings. a clerk by the name of stephen clements, state department pleasanton, state department clerk, had the presence of mind to take the the original declaration and constitution and stuff them in linen sacks, throw them in the back of the wagon, have them taken out to virginia for safekeeping. he does it in defiance of the secretary of war. he says s

adams were controlled by the federalist party. the democratic republican party led by thomas jefferson very pro-french and great antiwar, but they were the minority and other power was not a lot they can do about it. in the midst of all this, there is one democratic republic who thought they could descend it about it. he was in a congressman or anything. it is a philadelphia.dear named george logan. he was a democratic republican from a friend of thomas jefferson personally. a quaker, pacifist, very pro-french. if he could get to france to meet with france's leaders, you might be able to talk them back from the edge and keep his country out of war. so george logan was a pretty prominent person in his day, there's certainly no one of the stature you would imagine would be needed to go and negotiate with a foreign country's leaders. kind of like one of these taking out a second mortgage to go to iran and negotiate a better nuclear deal. this is basically what he did. he spent his own money. he sold several parcels of land to finance

but you cannot be my daughter or son in law suits that is part of the letter that you rights to john adams because they die on the same day july 4th he says time that outlives all things also clearly takes a the long view. >> but he believes in the afterlife but i am curious said his writings he talks as an institution but then see talk about uh contradiction of what we see now? in a direct way? does he wrestle with that? >> no. he is now wrestling with this he sees himself as being a good master to my family. it isn't that they are keeping him up at night but it is that the request of somebody. proas not being proactive one. >> to feel guilty and not sleep that night. [laughter] and but there is of a lot of protection what i'm most disliked him dividend is somebody else's fault said to have that emancipationinally that is the basic republican requirement whose fault is it? i made it clear my position this is the only solution you will wake up to but it is not his fault. code to church. get down. apologize. [laughter] >> i have no idea what that means. [laughter] >> but shifting gear

an office first held by such statement as an franklin, thomas jefferson, and john adams. the unitedier days, states was not permitted the privilege of sending ambassadors abroad. she was too small and relatively unimportant. sharedilosophy was not by america today, however. for all nations, no matter how small or new, are considered importance, and her ambassadors are received in the traditional time-honored ceremony. ♪ >> ♪ joy to the world the lord is come receive her king ♪ ♪ the president concluded his official day by ushering in the christmas season, and annual washington holiday ritual. >> ♪ repeat the sounding joy repeat the sounding joy ♪ [applause] tonight, even as we speak, american men are fighting in a strange land a half a world away. and yet, at this time of christmas, there are signs of hope. states -- and in the united states, we have made progress in human rights in the past six years and we have made in all the previous 100 years. throughout the world, nation is joining nation in a common effort to try to improve the lot of man. let us here t

and office held by ben franklin, thomas jefferson and john adams. in her early days, the united states was not permitted the privilege of sending ambassadors abroad. she was too small and relatively unimportant. this is out -- philosophy is not shared by america today. for all donations, they are considered important. their investors are received in the traditional, time-honored ceremony. >> joy to the world. the lord has come. let heaven and nature sing. let heaven and nature sing. let heaven and nature sing. >> the president concluded by ushering in the christmas season with washington's annual holiday ritual. >> and tonight, even as we speak, men are fighting in a strange land. they have a world away. at time of christmas, there are signs of hope. we havenited states, made progress in human rights. in the past six years, we have in the previous hundred years. throughout the world, all are being forgotten. a nation is joining nations. it is in a common effort to try to improve the lot. tonightus here dedicated this christmas trade with hope and gr

john adams said, and i quote, the senate is the colossus of the constitution. no republic, he said, can ever been for any duration without a senate. and the senate deeply and strongly rooted, strong enough to bear up against all popular storms and passions. that's the place. because with all our ups and downs, because of men and women like you, harry, it still fills that role. there's another quote, harry that goes like this. an institution like the senate, an institution is a little more than the lengthened shadow of a man or a woman. the reason why it is a colossus still. because of men like you, harry. i love you, pal. i know that many bears you, but i do. [ applause ]. >> joe was scheduled to be in canada right now for being with the prime minister. but he's going to go late, real late. so, joe, thank you very much. i had yesterday in a fairly long speech i gave regarding senator biden, as i call him. his life is what movies should be made of and are made of. what a story. i have great affection for joe biden for how he has treated me always. phone calls re

two of our greatest people, thomas jefferson and john adams, die on the exact same day. it raises the gravitas to an almost religious kind of holiday, the level we celebrate with july 4 today, almost a direct result of adams and on july 4, death 1826. that wasn't the only july 4. july 4, 1831, five years later. james munro dies. it further kind of elevates fourth of july. you learn a little bit about that. we take you back to 1863 when president abraham lincoln is dedicating a cemetery at a small crossroads town in central pennsylvania and delivers his masterful 2.5 minute speech. that presentation today will be 20 times longer than the gettysburg address. i am sorry to say, nowhere near as memorable. hope you enjoy it, but nowhere near as memorable. he forever broadened the meeting of "all men are created equal" in that speech. i will come back to that. 1876, the centennial celebration in philadelphia with the original engrossed declaration of independence, trotted out for display, reclamation. it is a real concern about the physical deterioration of that document, mayb

. >> q cover the john adams era putting people in jail specifically? that made him look bad. >> with the alien and sedition act is focusing is especially on his grandson and the argue very vigorously at the paper. and even before the adams administration so some of them suffered severe consequences. >> with those more current defense what do you think of the edward snowden situation quite. >> i think probably is the up perfect embodiment the focus of a epilogue in diameter many more books will be written about it but the perfect example if you hear the word trees and used quite often other people call him a hero. and then he tries to sort that out. >> maybe that awareness has changed. >> i think if we used uh turmoil little less frequently we have seen one case of treason those that was doing barack propaganda videos but in 1952 it is a very foreign concept now with something to write on the of log that i know it when they see a standard set out in the constitution. >> the when the treaty was passed nothing good happened to him. [laughter] unlike georg

>> reporter: every president psi since john adams has prayed inside this church and donald dl trump himself is going to do that on the morning of his inauguration. but you know there is that other owsaying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that appears to be a factor now on o how donald trump is putting together his all right. so, the story is this.his. that trump is lending aesthetics to his list ofs li things he does and does notoe n want on his cabinet nominees. you see some of them rightht there. general james mattis remarkeds a he resembles george patton. pato everybody remembers governorreme rick perry on "dancing with thery on stars." stars there are other factors in facts this as well. was senator bob corker of tennessee not chosen as secretary of state because he h may not have been tall enough? so, the word on this confirming that this is a factor comes from jason jason miller. he's a trump transitionitio spokesperson. this is what miller says. "presentation is very important because you're representing america, not onlynl on the national stage but also t on the internatio

. >> after a lot of thought, lot of debate, eventually john adams becomes absolutely convinced that franklin is a true patriot. >> franklin's time in london isn't the liability many in congress fear. it's actually an asset. embedded in british high society, frankly learns how they think and he knows that britain will stop at nothing to bring the rebellious colonies back into law. the americans must be ready to fight even harder. >> dr. franklin does not hesitate at our boldest measures and discovered a disposition entirely american. >> as franklin throws himself into the preparations for war in congress, the siege of boston is entering its third month and standoff between the british army and american militias is reaching the breaking point. through their spy network, colonial leaders get word of a british plan to seize the high ground around boston and secure control of the harbor. in response, general putnam is ordered to set up defenses on the charleston peninsula and repel any british advance. >> here we have another historical mystery. the massachusetts militiamen are told to set up for

. >> you include part of a letter that thomas jefferson writes to tom john adams this historic miracle that both john adamson thomas jefferson die on the same day, on july 460 years after signing the declaration of independence. he says time which outlives all things while live this people also. clearly taking the long view, who knows what exactly he was thinking. >> remember he believes in the afterlife is going to see the. >> i'm curious in the writings in his letters, he talks of slavery on a grand scale as an institution, but does he ever refer to it within the context of his family? does he talk about the need the paradox of the of what we see now where any of the other enslaved people on the plantation and a direct way? does he wrestle with that ever? >> no, he's not wrestling with it. talking about sally hemmings or anything like that, he sees himself as being a good master to these people into my family, and it is not, this is not something that is keeping him up at night. most of the time he's talking about slavery is that the request of somebody, somebody has written to him a

what are some of the prescriptions to try to restored what people like john adams talked about in terms of the closeness of the people to their government i think one of those is to get people more directly involved in their government. there's been a feeling that youa can't fight city hall just whatever the government does you have to take it. it includes a problem with government action or inaction and have fixed it and our book k provides the essential skills necessary to achieve that as well as many cases studie any ct how it has been achieved and advice from professionals and people that are in or out of public office and political consultants and academics and how to go about implementing the skills of citizenship. >> for wanting to get involved especially if he or she may feel disenfranchised from the whole? process.ou have to fee >> first you have to be passionate about the initiate. it's to avoid that same tragedy and so for her friends to establish an organization in a relatively short period of timed in the united states by almost half. >> host: the book is called america the

john adams. he dies when his horse runs up onto the earth works of the union line and is shot down at that point. but then, you have three generals wounded. scott, manago and one captured. general george gordon. he was made a prisoner. this is illumination that happened on the anniversary. one candle representing all of the losses. i am generally not a fan of giving casualty numbers has it is hard to envision. but ultimately, it goes down to the men that fell. this is george w white cotton of the 37 georgia infantry. he is buried in that cemetery. franklin fell at chicamonga. the story ends there on the battlefield. then again, that is how it all plays out. so much of this is the story of the common soldier. white cotton, and all of those others go down at this point leaving a legacy of their bravery on the battlefield and a legacy for john bell hood which leads to a lot of misconceptions about him over the years which are now hopefully being addressed and cleared up to give him a fair shake so t

states rights guests and general john adams that hides when his horse runs up on to the earth works of the union line and is shot down at that point. and then you have three generals wounded, scott, and then one captured. left that account and gets pulled over by his curling hair and made a prisoner. but then the men, this is illumination that happened on the anniversary. i'm not a big fan of giving casualty numbers because it's hard for us to visualize. this is a good way of seeing that. and 37 georgia infantry. he is buried in that cemetery. i have shown you the pictures of it. lived most of his life before him, not too far from where i live today in north georgia and yet story ends there on that battlefield that's how it all plays out. so much of this is the story of the common soldier and all of those others go down at this point leaving a legacy of their bravery on that battlefield and legacy for john bell hood who leads to a lot of misconceptions about him over the years that are now hopefully being addressed and cleared up to try to give him a fair shake so to speak. thank you.

at john adams elementary school in alexandria. downtown children's hospital, 37 degrees. i wanted to show you a d.c. temperature. our very own kidd o'shea is out and about, we will check in with him a bit later. it is definitely come were the weather, but it will be drive to the day and cooleru? than yesterday. sunday the clock, 46 degrees by 1:00, but after lunchtime high clouds becoming mostly cloudy at 4:00. this evening? doing some last-minute holiday shopping or headed out to the national mall? the mgm? so many of us are? not too terribly cold overnight tonight. we will have a good bit of cloud cover associated with the wet weather moving in this weekend. we will time that out for you in about 10 minutes. over to julie for a look at the roads. julie: it has been busy on the secondary roads and authorities have been out on the scene of a fatal crash tying up our guay road and compton road west of 28. goodmore details we save morning once again to john gonzalez. john: good morning. we are in mobile trak 7 right now and centreville. art way road is now back up and runni

he reminds me of what john adams said about george washington -- he was always the tallest man in the room and was always in charge of something. geary is in charge of his division here. he orders the 147th to advance across the field. he was wounded 10 times in his career. one of the first units in the mexican war. governor of the kansas territory. he had to resign and leave the state in the middle of the night because he was about to be murdered by the anti-free state-ers. he was in gettysburg and in target of this division. williams had something to say about geary. in 1876, after geary died, he wrote to ezra carmen, new jersey officer on the south side of the hill. and he said -- and i quote -- geary always claimed all of the fighting. you should not place the least reliance on his reports unless confirmed by others. his reports are full of unintentional error -- written solely for his adulation. you find a number of times that politics do get in the way of their careers and apparently geary was not beyond expanding upon the truth. joseph lombard of the 147th. he had nothing to ga

adams. in the 1800 presidential election, it didn't work very well at all. the difference was that the candidates in this election ran for the first time as a party ticket. thomas jefferson, ehrenberg ran together -- aaron burr ran together as the vice presidential candidate. when it came -- when it came time for the electoral college to vote, each electorate gets 2 votes. as such.ey voted they cast one ballot for thomas jefferson and the other ballot for his running mate, ehrenberg -- aaron burr, which resulted in a tight vote. -- tied vote. the election wasn't revolved -- resolved until after 36 hours. realized after this election with this tied vote, that would continue to keep happening, if candidates ran as a party ticket. so, just in time for the next the 12thin 1804, amendment to the constitution was ratified. littleked the voting a bit in the electoral college so that each elector had to specify which of their votes was for president and which of their votes was for vice president. i

. >> you think john adams, alexander hamilton, they designed the electoral college for this kind of situation. tell me why. >> well, look. it's a cumulative thing. i've watched this president-elect and set out to give the benefit of the doubt and then watched him sort of make up just quite outrageous lies. 2 million to 3 million fraudulent votes cast in this election, he won a historic political victory. none are true and unlike crazy uncle mike down at the tgi friday's, what the president says really matters. it moves markets. it makes a difference in how people behave around the world and then add in to that, the fact that this guy, president-elect trump can find time to meet with kanye this morning but apparently can't find time to be briefed in a very dangerous world by the intelligence agency that he has trashed in public for me the final straw when i saw the president-elect trash the intelligence community and stand up for the krell lmlin, i thoug this guy is not suit to be president. i'm not a big fan of the electoral college but was set up precisely to allow for a group of people to d

instead what you see is people like john adams, particularly the congressman from new england, who are the ones that are-- the real radicals that push for the revolution and are very fearful of the military essentially co-opting this ref lewis. he talked in congress about the dangers of one man becoming-- taking on monarchal status and so, they're concerned about washington. and so one of the things that they decide to do is, you know, you'd think that washington a military, commander, would be able to choose his major generals, the officers which he depends on the most. remember, this is a republic, so the civil government and washington understood this and would respect this throughout the revolution, even though it was driving him crazy. >> and you know, this is an incredibled warrants that he had. just incredible pace sis and stamin stamina. and each state should have two page generals. connecticut where benedict arnold is from already has two major generals. that means five officers ranking below arnold are elevated past him to major general while ar not, the highest ranking bring

adams in the next one after that. but in the 1800 presidential election, which was much more contested, it didn't work very well at all. the difference was that the candidates in this election ran for the first time as a party ticket. so thomas jefferson/aaron burr ran together as the presidential and vice presidential candidates. so when it came tie for the electoral college to vote, each election tore ge elector gets two votes. so they voted as such, one ballot for thomas jefferson and the other for his running mate aaron burr which resulted of course in a tie vote. the election wasn't resolved until after 36 ballots in the house of representatives which is where an election goes when no candidate gets a majority in the electoral college, that's what it says in the constitution. so they realized after this election with this tie vote that that was going to continue to keep happening if candidates ran as a party ticket, then they would keep tying like that. so just in time for the next election in 1804 the 12th amend

four years later in 1828 he ran against john quincy adams and won becoming the seventh president of the united states and a founder of the democratic party. it turns out that part of the reason andrew jackson won that race in 1828 was because of his populist rhetoric. so now fast forward to 2016, one of the things that the right wing loves to do is compare donald trump to andrew jackson. >> this is like andrew jackson's victory. >> he has the disruptive patterns of andrew jackson. >> he's going to do things different from other presidents, maybe like teddy roosevelt or andrew jackson, and he's going to get it done. >> that's what trump supporters have been saying which is honestly strange because history doesn't have many positive things to say about old andrew jackson. sure, he's on our money. but she was also a notorious vicious slave owner. he owned hundreds of people that he kept on his plantation in tennessee. he was behind the ethnic cleansing of native americans in what is referred to as the trail of tears in the name of progress. so it's kind of an unhelpful comparison, to say t

every president, not every, but a lot of presidents from john adams and all the way up to bill and hillary clinton, presidential family member, sons, nephews, this has been going on for a very, very long time and i don't think there is anything unusual about it. >> any president who has children who has adults who are this accomplished should listen to them. good for president elect trump. i've seen them on tv, they are very impressive people. the problem is the business side. and he's exactly right. there is a very clear ethical imperative. he has to sell everything. liquidate the assets and put them in treasury bills where they can be no separation. it is impossible conflicts. the easiest and most obvious is this hotel. just fikd up the hotel hear in washington. a 60 year lease with the federal government, which he now runs in a few weeks. the lease itself says no elected official of the government of the united states can be party of this lease. so he has to get out of that deal. will he? i don't know. here's the problem. who's going to enforce it? the head of the administration who's s

adams who appointed, had george washington appoint his son, john quincy, his minister, all the way up to bill and hillary clinton, presidential family members, sons, nephews, fdr took his sons to the atlantic charter meeting with winston churchill as advisers. this has been going on a very, very long time and there's not anything unusual about it. >> any president who has children, adults this accomplished, should listen to it. i don't know them personally. i've seen them on tv. they're very impressive people. the problem is the business side. that's exactly right. there's a very clear ethical imperative. liquidate assets and put them into treasury bills, the safest thing, no conflict of interest. he's trying to pretend there's some separation because the kids are going to run the business. he could have an ownership interest. it's impossible conflicts, the easiest one, most obvious one is the hotel. he just fixed up his hotel in washington. the trump international hotel. he has a 60-year lease with the federal government which he runs which he will in a few weeks. the lease, itself,

>> john adams said that you would never congratulate a friend on winning the office of the presidency. i think that could be playing into this a bit. really i think that what's going on the left now is an archetype of what happened to ivanka trump this past week. someone yelling at her on a plane that your father is ruining the country. he hasn't even taken office yet. he hasn't done anything yet. i think the left is still dealing with whiplash from this election. and a lot of the people who are under president obama haven't woken up yet. >> let me incidentally say, that was the height of the bad manners and inner loop -- i'm glad those guys got kicked off the plane. you know, somebody's traveling on a plane, leave them alone. >>> we'll take a break. see you later, panel. next, 80% of white evangelicals voted for donald trump in this election. we'll talk with the president of the largest christian university in the world, jerry falwell jr., about why he thinks mr. trump will be better for social conservatives than ronald reagan. i'm just a guy who wants to buy that truck. and i'm just

however her 2% lead is not nearly as big as when andrew jackson lost to john quincy adams in 1824 despite his 10% higher popular vote the house of representatives settled that election. >>> princeton university has canceled the rest of the athletic season for the swim and diving team. school administrators say team members posted material described as vulgar and offensive on the school sponsored team mailing list. there were also alleged miss oxygen nisic and racist comments on the women's swim team. >>> new jersey families who suspect their elderly or disabled loved one is being abused by a home health aide, they can get help to secretly investigate. they can borrow hidden surveillance cameras from the state for free to see if their fears are justified. new jersey's attorney general unveiled the program. >>> the mayor is taking a step to help prevent immigrant businesses forfrom being targets for criminals. this is his new council on asian-american affairs. its job is to help change the immigrant culture of not trusting banks and other institutions and keeping large sums of money at home

john adams it was why did a person favored freedom of speech and freedom of the press and the constitution agreed to this act? it goes from there. major series of questions about the most controversial areas of each significant american president. >> what were some of the most interesting things you found in your research. >> the most interesting thing was to learn during the cuban missile crisis, the 13 days of conversations in executive committee meetings that all of john f. kennedy spent fighters including attorney general robert kennedy were ramping up and seeking massive retaliation which surely would've led to world war iii and only because president jfk was the calm head do we negotiate a resolution that avoided world war iii and often missiles out of the soviet, out of cuba and back to the soviet union. that's the biggest surprise of all of the interviews. >> how did you go about doing your research for this book? >> identified a major biographer of every significant american president and then i lined up an interview with the person all over the country. there are 31, and everywhe

you think congress would be a static, he's turned it around but instead he sees people like john adams particularly the congressman from new england who are the real radicals the push for the revolution and are very fearful of the military potentially co-opting this revolution. he talks in congress about the dangers of one man taking on status. so they're concerned about washington. one of the things they decide to do, you would think that washington is military commander would be able to choose his major generals, not so. remember this is the republic. in washington understood this and would respected throughout the revolution even though it was driving him crazy. this is incredible patience he had. so congress, that winter decides that each state should have two major generals. connecticut were benedict arnold this from already has two so this means that five officers ranking below arnold are elevated past him to major general walt arnold, the highest ranking for you dear general who has just it achieved a miracle on lake champlain is overlooked for promotion. people would say that a

the 12th amendment was obviously a slavery skew, without the extra votes created by slavery, john adams wins that second election, 13 extra electoral votes. my friend jack is shaking his head, i can show you that that is what every adams supporter says, including people in this house, who actually say we was robbed, 13 electoral votes because of slavery. now it's complicated because you change the rules and you change the game. if the south didn't have extra electoral votes the candidates would have cam pained differently, blah, blah, blah, and all the rest. the biggest role slavery plays -- it is not the one created at philadelphia because you voted two people -- two votes for president. you have an electoral college in which there is a separate vote for president and vice president, that is the 12th amendment system and slavery was very large. there is a whole book on it called negro president and it's not well known. as to how large a role slavery played in those early elections, when southerners ran against northerners. >> thank you so much. i wanted to notice that the chairman of t

let me close with a quote from john adams. one of my favorite quotes about the senate. quote,ams said, and i "the senate is the colossus of the constitution. the republic can ever be for any duration without a senate and a senate deeply and strongly rooted, strong enough bear up against all popular storms and passions, that's the place i am proudest of." because of men and women like you, harry, it still bills -- fills that role. there is another quote. "an institution like the senate, an institution is little more than the lenten shadow of a man or a woman." the reason why is a colossus, men like because of you, harry. i love you, powell. i know that embarrasses you, but i do. [applause] [applause] sen. reid: joe was scheduled to be in canada right now, meeting with the prime minister mr. trudeau, but he is going to go way, real late. so joe, thank you very much. i said yesterday in a fairly long speech i gave regarding senator biden as i call him, his life is what movies should be made of and are made of. what a story. i have great affection for joe biden for how he i

john adams said very pessimistic lee, democracies commit suicide. they choked themselves and go out of existence. not if we fight for it. not if the american people take their government back. if we do the kinds of things people are doing across the states, getting reforms in the state government and if we do that at the federal level, i think we will have trust restored in this system. host: let's go to tim in massachusetts, independent. i want to thank you for coming in, this morning and by extension, i would like to thank all of the guests who come in to c-span throughout the year. cs, out here.-aholi we continuously watch people when it is not an election year. we definitely need to make some changes to have a more representative government than we have, correctly. one ofyou had mentioned the reasons you have to raise a billion dollars or more is people of the size of represented by each representative. i want to ask if you are aware the sizehe last time of the house of representatives was increased. many decades ago and there have been proposal