Compiled & Edited by MICHAEL T. MOONEY & ANDREW LOWY

Paper Mill's Adopt-A-School Project is generously supported by: Bank of America (Young Critics Program), Horizon Foundation for NJ (Phillipsburg High School), The Provident Bank Foundation, Schering-Plough Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation (Hoboken High School), C.R. Bard Foundation, Nordstrom, PSE&G, and FirstEnergy Foundation.

Additional major support for Paper Mill's Education Outreach is provided by: The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Shirley Aidekman-Kaye, and The Mall at Short Hills. Paper Mills programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Paper Mill Playhouse is grateful for generous contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals.

1776: PRODUCTION HISTORY

Sherman Edwards, who wrote the music and lyrics for 1776, was a high school historyteacher who, while doing research about the American Revolution, realized that thebehind the scenes drama that went into the creation of the Declaration of Independence could be very interesting on the musical stage. At the age of forty, he decided to spend all of his time creating what would become 1776. For seven years, Edwards devoted himself to crafting the songs for the show. He soon realized that he needed a playwright to clarify the characters and their relationships. He was rejected bevery book writer; no one thought this musical was a good idea. This was merely a bump in the road for Edwards, who decided to go ahead and write a draft of the book

himself. He spent his days doing research in New York, Philadelphia, and Morristown, New Jersey. Five years later, he finally had a

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draft of the musical.

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Once again, Edwards met with skepticism; this time from producers who thought the musical too patriotic in a time where the Vietnam War was questioning many of our American values. Luckily for Edwards, there was one producer who understood what he was trying to achieve. Stuart Ostrow thought the musical was extremely timely and immediately decided to produce the show. The one request he made was to enlist a book writer help with the story. Ostrow went to Peter Stone, who years before had actually refused Edwards offer to write the book. After hearing the score again, he realized that the piece was in fact timely and very entertaining. He performed extensive research on the real life figures and was able to create a story that is very true to the real life events. 1776 had its pre-Broadway tryout in New Haven, Connecticut, and was greeted with lackluster reviews. The show had the disadvantage of having no major stars in the cast. After some rewrites, the show was brought to Washington, D.C., and received much better reviews. 1776 opened at the 46th Street Theater (now the Richard Rodgers) on Broadway on March 16, 1969, to rave reviews and lines around the block to buy tickets. Critics embraced the authors use of daring theatrical elements like the absence of a female chorus, no intermission and the presence of some scenes that had no musiat all. The Broadway production starred William Daniels as John Adams, Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson, Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin, and Betty Buckley (Rose in Paper Mill Playhouses Gypsy) as Martha Jefferson. The show ran for three years oBroadway for a total of 1,217 performances and won the 1969 Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Director. After the initial success of 1776, the production was asked to give a special performance in the East Room of the White House for President Richard Nixon. Initially, the White House wanted the authors to cut three of the songs that had antiwar sentiments but Stuart Ostrow refused and they eventually let the songs stay in the show. On February 22, 1970, 1776 became the first musical to be performed in the White House in its entirety. The President and his guests were said to have loved the show!

A film version, released in 1972, was written by Peter Stone and produced by Jack Warner. The film was closely adapted from the stage musical, with the omission of a few songs. It also starred much of the original Broadway cast. In celebration of the United States bicentennial, the stage musical went on a forty six city tour between 1975 and 1976. 1776 was revived on Broadway by the Roundabout Theater Company in 1997. The production was directed by Scott Ellis and starred Michael Cumpsty, Brent Spiner and Gregg Edelman (Father in Paper Mill Playhouses Meet Me In St. Louis).

This production marks the third time 1776 has been seen on the Paper Mill stage. The first production was performed soon after the original Broadway production closed in 1972. The second production, during the 1988-89 season, was directed by Robert Johanson and starred Brent Barrett, George Dvorsky, and Robert Cuccioli, who plays John Dickinson in this all-new production.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS: SHERMAN EDWARDS

SHERMAN EDWARDS, the composer and lyricist for 1776, was born in New York City in 1919. He was raised in Weequahic, New Jersey, located right outside of Newark and he attended Weequahic High School. He graduated from New York University with a B.A. in history and later did graduate work in history at Cornell University. Following his studies, Edwards served in the Air Force during World War II. After the war, he taught American history at James Monroe High School in New York City. At the same time, Edwards found some success as a songwriter and occasionally as an actor.

He wrote many hit songs during the late 1950s and early 1960s, some of which were top ten hits. A few othese include Wonderful, Wonderful, See You in September, Johnny Get Angry, and Broken-HearteMelody. As a pianist with jazz roots, he played in the bands of such luminaries as Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Louis Armstrong. One of his most famous jobs was composing film scores for threElvis Presley movies (Kid Galahad, Flaming Star and G.I. Blues). He appeared as an actor in My Sister Eileen (which later became the musical Wonderful Town) and the revue Pins

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and Needles. It was as a history teacher, though, that he conceived of a musical that would deal with the Second Continental Congress and the events leading to the creation of Declaration of Independence. 1776, for which he won a 1969 Tony Award, was his only Broadway score. Edwards died of a heart attack at the age of 61 in a friends home in Manhattan. He had lived the last years of his life in Boonton, New Jersey.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: PETER STONE

PETER STONE, the librettist for 1776, was born on February 27, 1930, in Los Angeles. His father was a successful producer and screenwriter at Fox Studios. After high school, he went to the east coast to obtain a degree at Bard College and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Once he had his two degrees, he went to Paris for several years to serve as a writer and newsreader for CBS radio and television.

In the early 1960s, Stone returned to America to write for television and film. In 1962, he won an Emmy for an episode for the The Defenders. Later that year, he won a Writers Guild of America Award for his television play The Benefactor. In 1967, he adapted George Bernard Shaws play Androcles and the Lion into a television musical with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and a cast headed by Noel Coward. Stones screenwriting career started off with a bang with a film entitled Charade (1963). Directed by Stanley Donen and starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, the film won the Mystery Writers of Americas Edgar Award and introduced Stone as dynamic writer for the screen. The success of Charade led Cary Grant to ask Stone to write his next film Father Goose (1964), a World War II comedy. The film won the 1965 Oscar for Best Screenplay. His next film was Mirage (1965), a mystery starring Gregory Peck, Diane Baker and the up-and-coming Walter Matthau. Some of Stones other film work include the comic thriller Arabesque (1966), The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968), a war comedy starring Paul Newman, and the film adaptation of the musical Sweet Charity (1969). Although Stone is recognized as a television and screenwriting talent, he is best known as a musical theatre book writer. His first musical to be produced on Broadway was the massive failure Kean (1961), based on the life of 19th century actor Edmund Kean. His next musical, Skyscraper (1965), was adapted from Elmer Rices play Dream Girl and ran 248 performances on Broadway. Two years later, he had his first Broadway success with the book for 1776, for which he won his first Tony Award. Following 1776, Stone wrote the books for many musicals with various levels of success. His adaptation of Billy Wilders classic movie Some Like It Hot into the musical Sugar (1972) was not well received, but ran

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for 505 performances. He worked with Richard Rodgers on the book for the Bible-based musical Two by Two (1970) starring Danny Kaye. In 1981, Stone worked with the team of John Kander and Fred Ebb on a musical adaptation of the Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn film Woman of the Year (1942). The show, starring Lauren Bacall, won Stone his second Tony Award. During the 1980s and 1990s, Stone gained a reputation as a show doctor. This is a person outside of the production staff brought in to help with script revisions or other changes. The musical My One and Only (1983) received horrible reviews during its out of town tryout in Boston, so the production brought Stone in to write an entirely new book. The show went on to be a hit on Broadway, running 767 performances and nominated for nine Tony Awards (winning three). Stone was also famously a show doctor to another Tommy Tune musical, Grand Hotel (1989). One of his last Broadway hits was The Will Rogers Follies (1991), which he wrote with Cy Coleman and the team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The show won the 1991 Tony Award for Best Musical. His next musical, written with composer/lyricist Maury Yeston, was Titanic (1997). This show won all of the five Tony Awards it was nominated for, including Stones third Tony for his book. In 1998, he adapted the book of Annie Get Your Gun for a revival starring Bernadette Peters. He was also the longest tenured President of the Dramatist Guild, serving for 18 years from 1981-1999. Peter Stone died on April 26, 2003, in a Manhattan hospital of pulmonary fibrosis. At the time of his death, he was working on two musicals. The first was Curtains, a backstage musical written with John Kander and Fred Ebb. Following Stones death, Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) was brought in to finish the book. The show made it to Broadway in March 2007 and ran 511 performances. The second musical was Death Takes a Holiday, with a score by Maury Yeston. For this show book writer Thomas Meehan was brought in to finish the job. The show will have a reading by the Roundabout Theater Company this spring. Peter Stone will be remembered as the first writer to have won an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony Award.

Peter Stone with original cast members Ken Howard, Howard Da Silva and William Daniels.

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HISTORICAL NOTE BY THE AUTHORS by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards photos from the original 1969 Broadway production

The first question we are asked by those who have seen - or read - 1776 is invariably: Is it true? Did it really happen that way? The answer is: Yes. Certainly a few changes have been made in order to fulfill basic dramatic tenets. To quote a European dramatist friend of ours, God writes lousy theater. In other words, reality is seldom artistic, orderly, or dramatically satisfying; life rarely provides a sound second act, and its climaxes usually have not been adequately prepared for. Therefore, in historical drama, a number of small licenses are almost always taken with strictest fact, and those in 1776 are enumerated in this addendum. But none of them, either separately or in accumulation, has done anything to alter the historical truth of the characters, the times, or the events of American independence. THINGS ALTERED: Of the two main alterations that were made, one was in the interest of dramatic construction, the other for the purpose of preserving dramatic unity. First, the Declaration, though reported back to Congress for amendments and revisions prior to the vote on

independence on July 2, was not actually debated and approved until after that vote. However, had this schedule been preserved in the play, the audiences interest in the debate would already have been spent. Second, the Declaration was not signed on July 4, 1776, the date it was proclaimed to the citizenry of the thirteen colonies. It was actually signed over a period of several months, many of the signers having not been present at the time of its ratification. The greatest number signed on August 2, but one, Matthew Thornton of New Hampshire, did not even enter Congress until November 4, and the name of Colonel Thomas McKean of Delaware, probably the last to sign, had not yet appeared on the document by the middle of January 1777. It seems fairly obvious, however, that the depiction of a July 4 signing, like the famous Pine-Savage engraving of this non-event, provides the occasion with form and allows the proper emotional punctuation to the entire spectacle. THINGS SURMISED: Because Secretary Thomson did not keep a proper record of the debates in Congress, and because other chronicles are incomplete in certain key areas, a small number of educated suppositions had to be made in order to complete the story. These were based on consistencies of character, ends logically connected to means, and the absence of other possible explanations. It is unknown, for instance, whether Richard Henry Lee was persuaded to go to the Virginia House of Burgesses in order to secure a motion for independence that could be introduced in Congress, or if he volunteered on his own. Certainly Adams was getting nowhere with his own efforts; he had, on twenty-three separate occasions, introduced the subject of independence to his fellows in Congress, and each time it had failed to be considered. It was also true that whenever an issue needed respectability, the influence of a Virginian was brought to bear. (Virginia was the first colony, and its citizens were regarded as a sort of American aristocracy, an honor that was not betrayed by their leaders. The Virginian Washington was given command of the army, and the Virginian Jefferson was given the assignment of writing the Declaration.) Certainly Franklin would have delighted in appealing to Lees vanity and deflating Adams ego at one and the same time, as Scene 2 of the play suggests. But the actual sequence of these events is unknown. And when Lee returned from Virginia (in Scene 3) a transcript of the debate in Congress on his motion for independence was never recorded. But the positions of individual Congressmen are known, and it was possible to glean phrases, attitudes and convictions from the many letters, memoirs, and other papers that exist in abundance, in order to reconstruct a likely facsimile of this debate. (Stick fights, such as the one occurring between Adams and Dickinson in this scene, were common during Congressional debate, and though there is no

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report of this particular one, the sight of the two antagonists whacking away at each other certainly would have surprised no one.) Similarly, a record of the debate on the Declaration was never kept. But in this case there was even more to go on. Jefferson himself, in his autobiography, provided two versions of the documentas originally written and as finally approved. Who was responsible for each individual change is not know, but in most instances convincing conclusions are not too hard to draw. McKean, a proud Scot, surely would have objected to the charge of Scotch & foreign mercenaries [sent] to invade and deluge us in blood. And John Witherspoon of New Jersey, a clergyman and the Congressional chaplain, no doubt would

have supported the addition of the phrase with a firm Reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, which had not been present in Jeffersons original draft. Also, Edward Rutledge must be charged with leading the fight against the condemnation of slavery, being the chief proponent of that practice in Congress. And the exchange between Jefferson and Dickinson, occurring in our version of this debate, includes lines written by Jefferson on other occasions, most notably: The right to be free comes from Nature.

The conversion of James Wilson of Pennsylvania from the Nay to the Yea column at the last minute (in Scene 7) is an event without any surviving explanation. All that is definitely known is that Wilson, a former law student of Dickinsons and certainly under his influence in Congress, as his previous voting record testifies, suddenly changed his position on independence and, as a result, is generally credited with casting the vote that decided this issue. But why? A logical solution to this mystery was found when we imagined one fear he might have possessed that would have been stronger than his fear of Dickinsons wrath - the fear of going down in history as the man who single-handedly prevented American independence. Such a position would have been totally consistent with his well-known penchant for caution. The final logical conjecture we made concerned the discrepancy between the appearance of the word inalienable in Jeffersons version of the Declaration and its reappearance as unalienable in the printed copy that is now in universal use. This could have been a misprint, but it might, too, have been the result of interference by Adams (he had written it as unalienable in a copy of the Declaration he had drafted in his own hand), who believed that this seldom-used spelling was correct. There is no doubt that the meddlesome Massachusettesian, a Harvard graduate, was not above speaking to Mr. Dunlap, the printer. It is also consistent with both mens behavior that Adams and Jefferson should have disagreed on this matter, as they did on most. They were to become bitter enemies for much of their lives, only to make up when they had both survived to extreme old age. Both lived long enough to be invited (by Adams son, John Quincy, who was then occupying the White House) to the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Declaration of Independence. But on that very date, July 4, 1826, exactly a half-century later to the day, both of these gigantic figures, Jefferson at eighty-three, Adams at ninety-one - each believing and finding solace in the thought that the other was attending the jubilee - died. Surely this was one of the greatest coincidences in all history and one which never would be believed if included in a play. THINGS ADDED: The three instances of elements that were added to the story of American independence were created in the interest of satisfying the musical-comedy form. Again, it must be stressed that none of them interferes with historic truth in any way. The first concerns Martha Jeffersons visit to Philadelphia in Scene 4. While it is true that Jefferson missed her to distraction, more than enough to effect an unscheduled reunion, it is believed that he journeyed to Virginia to see her. The license of having her come to see him, at Adams instigation, stemmed from our desire to show something of the young Jeffersons personal life without destroying the unity of setting.

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Second, in Scene 5 of the play, Adams, Franklin, and Chase are shown leaving for New Brunswick, New Jersey, for an inspection of the military. This particular trip did not actually take place, though a similar one was made to New York after the vote on independence, during which Adams and Franklin had to share a single bed in an inn. Originally the New Jersey junket was included in the play, represented by two separate scenes (one in an inn, showing the sleeping arrangements mentioned, the other on the military training grounds, showing inspection of a ragtag collection of provincial militiamen and irregulars who could do nothing right until a flock of ducks flew by; the mens hunger molded them into a smoothly operating unit). These scenes were removed, however, during the out-of-town tryout, in the interests of the over-all length of the play and because they were basically cinemagraphic in concept. Needless to say, both should appear in the filmed version of 1776. [ed. They dont.]

And third, the account of General Washingtons dusty young courier, at the end of Scene 5, of a battle he had witnessed, while an actual description of the village green during and after the Battle of Lexington, is a wholly constructed moment, designed to illustrate the feelings and experiences of the Americans outside Congress, who were deeply influenced by the decisions made inside the Congress. One further note: The tally board used throughout the play to record each vote did not exist in the actual chamber in Philadelphia. It has been included in order to clarify the positions of the thirteen colonies at any given moment, a device allowing the audience to follow the parliamentary action without confusion. THINGS DELETED: Certain elements that are historically true have been left out or removed from the play for one of three separate reasons. The first of these was the embarrassment of riches; there are just too many choice bits of information to include in one, two, or even a dozen plays. The fact that Franklin often entered the congressional chamber in a sedan chair carried by convicts, for instance; or that, on several occasions, Indians in full regalia would appear before the Congress, petitioning for one thing or another, and accompanied by their interpreter, a full-blooded Indian who spoke with a flawless Oxford accent. Then there was the advisability of cutting down on the number of Congressmen appearing in the play in the interests of preserving clarity and preventing overcrowding. There is, after all, a limit to an audiences ability to assimilate (and keep separate) a large number of characters, as well as the physical limits of any given stage production. For this reason, several of the lesser known (and least contributory) Congressmen were eliminated altogether, and, in a few cases, two or more were combined into a single character. James Wilson, for example, contains a few of the qualities of his fellow Pennsylvanian, John Morton. And John Adams is, at times, a composite of himself and his cousin Sam Adams, also of Massachusetts. But by far the most frustrating reason for deleting a historical fact was that the audiences would never have believed it. The best example of this is John Adams reply (it was actually Cousin Sam who said it) to Franklins willingness to drop the anti-slavery clause from the Declaration. Mark me, Franklin, he now says in Scene 7, if we give in on this issue, posterity will never forgive us. But the complete line, spoken in July, 1776, was If we give in on this issue, there will be trouble a hundred years hence: posterity will never forgive us. And audiences would never forgive us. For who could blame them for believing that the phrase was the authors invention, stemming from the eternal wisdom of hindsight? After all, the astonishing prediction missed by only a few years. THINGS REARRANGED: Some historical data have been edited dramatically without altering their validity or factuality. The first example of this would be the plays treatment of Adams relationship with his wife, Abigail. Two separate theatrical conventions have been employed; the selection and conversion of sections of their actual letters, written to each other during this period of their separation, into dialogue; and the placing of them in close physical proximity though

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they remain, in reality, over three hundred miles apart. The notion for this last device sprang, oddly, from a line in one of these same letters: Adams was complaining about their continued separation and finally pleaded, Oh, if I could only annihilate time and space! (The description of scenes, at the beginning of the play, defines these meetings by listing the area of dramatic action as certain reaches of John Adams mind.) The exchanges, spoken and sung, between John and Abigail Adams are, as has been stated, the result of distributing, as dialogue, sections and phrases from various letters. The list of their childrens diseases, the constant requests for saltpeter for gunpowder (and the counter request for pins), the use of the tender salutation Dearest friend, the catalogue of Abigails faults, the news of the farm in Braintree failing - even certain song lyrics transferred intact (I live like a num in a cloister and Write to me with sentimental effusion) - all these were edited and rearranged in an attempt to establish a dramatically satisfying relationship.

This same process was used to construct George Washingtons dispatches from the field. Literally dozens were selected, from which individual lines were borrowed and then patched together in order to form the five communiqus that now appear in the play. Therefore, though the dispatches as now constructed were not written by the Commander-in-Chief, each sentence within them is either an actual quotation (O how I wish I had never seen the Continental Army! I would have done better to retire to the back country and live in a wigwam) or paraphrase, or comes from a first-hand report (the final line of the last dispatch, but dear God! What brave men I shall lose before this business ends! was spoken by Washington in the presence of his adjutant, who later reported it). And finally, John Adams extraordinary prophecy, made on July 3, 1776, describing the way Independence Day would be celebrated by future generations of Americans and written in a letter to his wife on that date, has

been paraphrased and adapted into lyric form for the song Is Anybody There? sung by Adams in Scene 7. The original lines are: I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illumination, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore. You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration and support and defend these States. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means. And that posterity will triumph in that days transaction, even although we should rue it, which I trust God we shall not. We have attempted, in the paragraphs above, to answer the question, Is it true?

The final scene of the play shows the members of Congress being called individually to come forward in order to sign the Declaration of Independence. The characters' final positions are an approximation of John Trumbull's famous

painting. Far fewer of the actual number of delegates who were in Congress are represented in the play, but the resemblance to the painting is unmistakable.

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CAST OF CHARACTERS John Hancock: President of the 2nd Continental Congress. First to sign the Declaration with a very large signature so that fat [King] Georgecan read it without his glasses! Dr. Josiah Bartlett: New Hampshire delegate. In favor of independence. John Adams: Massachusetts delegate. A man found to be obnoxious and disliked [his own words] by many members of Congress. The leading advocate for separation from England. Stephen Hopkins: Rhode Island Delegate. He would prefer to be found at all times with a tankard of rum in his hand. Roger Sherman: Connecticut delegate. Sides in favor of independence. A member of the committee formed to write the Declaration. Lewis Morris: New York delegate. Abstains courteously on every vote. Robert Livingston: New York delegate. A member of the committee formed to write the Declaration. Reverend John Witherspoon: Delegate from New Jersey. Witherspoon argues for, and wins, the inclusion of a reference to the God in the Declaration. Benjamin Franklin: Pennsylvania delegate, who, along with Adams, leads those in favor of breaking away from England. John Dickinson: Pennsylvania delegate. Advocates reconciliation with England and King George III. A fierce opponent of Adams. James Wilson: Pennsylvania delegate. Casts the final vote to approve the Declaration because he wishes not to be known as the man who prevented American independence.

Caesar Rodney: Delaware delegate who has skin cancer and leaves his death bed to vote. Favors independence. Colonel Thomas McKean: Delaware delegate. Scottish heritage. Favors independence. George Read: Delaware delegate who sides with Dickinson. Samuel Chase: Maryland delegate. Prefers eating to debating. Changes his allegiances during final vote. Richard Henry Lee: Virginia delegate who returns home to secure a resolution proclaiming independence. Thomas Jefferson: Virginia delegate who writes the initial draft of the Declaration. Eventually, he approves all changes requested by the delegates. Edward Rutledge: Delegate from South Carolina. Youngest member of Congress, he leads the opposition to the Declaration because it advocates the abolition of slavery. Joseph Hewes: North Carolina delegate. Sides with Rutledge on the slavery issue. Dr. Lyman Hall: Georgia delegate. Independent thinker, who weighs all issues before giving his support. Charles Thomson: Congressional Secretary. Andrew McNair: Custodian and bell-ringer. Courier: Brings dispatches from General Washington. Abigail Adams: Wife of John Adams. Not present in Philadelphia, but appears to her husband through letters and fantasies. Martha Jefferson: Wife of Thomas Jefferson. Summoned to Philadelphia when Jefferson develops writers block.

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THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: A HISTORY Nations come into being in many ways.

Military rebellion, civil strife, acts of heroism, acts of treachery, a thousand greater

and lesser clashes between defenders of the old order and supporters of the new -- all

these occurrences and more have marked the emergences of new nations, large and small.

The birth of our own nation included them all. That birth was unique, not only in the

immensity of its later impact on the course of world history and the growth of democracy,

but also because so many of the threads in our national history run back through time to come together in one place, in one time, and

in one document: the Declaration of Independence.

MOVING TOWARD INDEPENDENCE

The clearest call for independence up to the summer of 1776 came in Philadelphia on June 7. On that date in session in the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall), the Continental Congress heard Richard Henry Lee of Virginia read his resolution beginning: "Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."

The Lee Resolution was an expression of what was already beginning to happen throughout the colonies. When the Second Continental Congress, which was essentially the government of the United States from 1775 to 1788, first met in May 1775, King George III (left) had not replied to the petition for redress of grievances that he had been sent by the First Continental Congress. The Congress gradually took on the responsibilities of a national government. In June 1775 the Congress established the Continental Army as well as a continental currency. By the end of July of that year, it created a post office for the "United Colonies."

In August 1775 a royal proclamation declared that the King's American subjects were "engaged in open and avowed rebellion." Later that year, Parliament passed the American Prohibitory Act, which made all American vessels and cargoes forfeit to the Crown. And in May 1776 the Congress learned that the King had negotiated treaties with German states to hire mercenaries to fight in America. The weight of these actions combined to convince many Americans that the mother country was treating the colonies as a foreign entity.

One by one, the Continental Congress continued to cut the colonies' ties to Britain. The Privateering Resolution, passed in March 1776, allowed the colonists "to fit out armed vessels to cruize [sic] on the enemies of these United Colonies." On April 6, 1776, American ports were opened to commerce with other nations, an action that severed the economic ties fostered by the Navigation Acts. A "Resolution for the Formation of Local Governments" was passed on May 10, 1776.

At the same time, more of the colonists themselves were becoming convinced of the inevitability of independence. Thomas Paine's Common Sense, published in January 1776, was sold by the thousands. By

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the middle of May 1776, eight colonies had decided that they would support independence. On May 15, 1776, the Virginia Convention passed a resolution that "the delegates appointed to represent this colony in General Congress be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent states."

It was in keeping with these instructions that Richard Henry Lee (left), on June 7, 1776, presented his resolution. There were still some delegates, however, including those bound by earlier instructions, who wished to pursue the path of reconciliation with Britain. On June 11 consideration of the Lee Resolution was postponed by a vote of seven colonies to five, with New York abstaining. Congress then recessed for 3 weeks. The tone of the debate indicated that at the end of that time the Lee Resolution would be adopted. Before Congress recessed, therefore, a Committee of Five was appointed to draft a statement presenting to the world the colonies' case for independence.

THE COMMITTEE OF FIVE

The committee consisted of two New England men, John Adams of Massachusetts and Roger Sherman of Connecticut; two men from the Middle Colonies, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York; and one southerner, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. In 1823 Jefferson wrote that the other members of the committee "unanimously pressed on myself alone to undertake the draught [sic]. I consented; I drew it; but before I reported it to the committee I communicated it separately to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams requesting their corrections. . . I then wrote a fair copy, reported it to the committee, and from them, unaltered to the Congress." (If Jefferson did make a "fair copy," incorporating the changes made by Franklin and Adams, it has not been preserved. It may have been the copy

that was amended by the Congress and used for printing, but in any case, it has not survived. Jefferson's rough draft, however, with changes made by Franklin and Adams, as well as Jefferson's own notes of changes by the Congress, is housed at the Library of Congress.)

Jefferson's account reflects three stages in the life of the Declaration: the document originally written by Jefferson; the changes to that document made by Franklin and Adams, resulting in the version that was submitted by the Committee of Five to the Congress; and the version that was eventually adopted.

On July 1, 1776, Congress reconvened. The following day, the Lee Resolution for independence was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, New York not voting. Immediately afterward, the Congress began to consider the Declaration. Adams and Franklin had made only a few changes before the committee submitted the document. The discussion in Congress resulted in some alterations and deletions, but the basic document remained Jefferson's. The process of revision continued through all of July 3 and into the late morning of July 4. Then, at last, church bells rang out over Philadelphia; the Declaration had been officially adopted.

The Declaration of Independence is made up of five distinct parts: the introduction; the preamble; the body, which can be divided into two sections; and a conclusion. The introduction states that this document will "declare" the "causes" that have made it necessary for the American colonies to leave the British Empire. Having stated in the introduction that independence is unavoidable, even necessary, the preamble sets out principles that were already recognized to be "self-evident" by most 18th- century Englishmen, closing with the statement that "a long train of abuses and usurpations . . . evinces a design to reduce [a people] under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new

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Guards for their future security." The first section of the body of the Declaration gives evidence of the "long train of abuses and usurpations" heaped upon the colonists by King George III. The second section of the body states that the colonists had appealed in vain to their "British brethren" for a redress of their grievances. Having stated the conditions that made independence necessary and having shown that those conditions existed in British North America, the Declaration concludes that "these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved."

Although Congress had adopted the Declaration submitted by the Committee of Five, the committee's task was not yet completed. Congress had also directed that the committee supervise the printing of the adopted document. The first printed copies of the Declaration of Independence were turned out from the shop of John Dunlap (right), official printer to the Congress. After the Declaration had been adopted, the committee took to Dunlap the manuscript document, possibly Jefferson's "fair copy" of his rough draft. On the morning of July 5, copies were dispatched by members of Congress to various assemblies, conventions, and committees of safety as well as to the commanders of Continental troops. Also on July 5, a copy of the printed version of the approved Declaration was inserted into the "rough journal" of the Continental Congress for July 4. The text was followed by the words "Signed by Order and in Behalf of the Congress, John Hancock, President. Attest. Charles Thomson, Secretary." It is not known how many copies John Dunlap printed on his busy night of July 4. There are 24 copies known to exist of what is commonly referred to as "the Dunlap broadside," 17 owned by American institutions, 2 by British institutions, and 5 by private owners.

THE ENGROSSED DECLARATION

On July 9 the action of Congress was officially approved by the New York Convention. All 13 colonies had now signified their approval. On July 19, therefore, Congress was able to order that the Declaration be "fairly engrossed on parchment, with the title and stile [sic] of 'The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America,' and that the same, when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress."

Engrossing is the process of preparing an official document in a large, clear hand. Timothy Matlack (left) was probably the engrosser of the Declaration. He was a Pennsylvanian who had assisted the Secretary of the Congress, Charles Thomson, in his duties for over a year and who had written out George Washington's commission as commanding general of the Continental Army. Matlack set to work with pen, ink, parchment, and practiced hand, and finally, on August 2, the journal of the Continental Congress records that "The declaration of independence being engrossed and compared at the table was signed." One of the most widely held misconceptions about the Declaration is that it was signed on July 4, 1776, by all the delegates in attendance.

John Hancock, the President of the Congress, was the first to sign the sheet of parchment measuring 24 by 29 inches. He used a bold signature centered below the text. In accordance with prevailing custom, the other delegates began to sign at the right below the text, their signatures arranged according to the geographic location of the states they represented. New Hampshire, the northernmost state, began the list, and Georgia, the southernmost, ended it. Eventually 56 delegates signed, although all were not present on August 2. Among the later signers were Elbridge Gerry, Oliver Wolcott, Lewis Morris, Thomas McKean, and Matthew Thornton, who found that he had no room to sign with the other New Hampshire delegates. A few delegates who voted for adoption of the Declaration on July 4 were never to sign in spite of the July 19 order of Congress that the engrossed document "be signed by every member of Congress." Nonsigners included John Dickinson, who clung to the idea of reconciliation with Britain, and Robert R. Livingston, one of the Committee of Five, who thought the Declaration was premature.

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EDITING THOMAS JEFFERSONS DECLARATION

Thomas Jefferson delivered a rough draft of The Declaration of Independence to the delegates of the Second Continental Congress on June 28, 1776. It did not take very

long before objections arose and the delegates began requesting, suggesting and demanding changes. A number of these changes have been worked into the libretto of 1776 by Peter Stone. Ultimately, 86 emendations were made to the document before it

was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Arguably, the most significant deletion/emendation to Jeffersons document concerns the section focusing on the abolition of slavery. The following is a transcript of Jeffersons original and the changes, deletions, additions that were made. Insertions are presented in CAPITAL

LETTERS. All deletions are printed in bold and enclosed in brackets.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with CERTAIN [inherent and] unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, [begun at a distinguished period and] pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. -- Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to ALTER [expunge] their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of REPEATED [unremitting] injuries and usurpations, ALL HAVING [among which appears no solitary fact to contradict the uniform tenor of the rest, but all have] in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world [for the truth of which we pledge a faith yet unsullied by falsehood].

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly [and continually], for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

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He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has OBSTRUCTED [suffered] the administration of justice, BY [totally to cease in some of these states] refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made [our] judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of new offices, [by a self-assumed power] and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies [and ships of war] without the consent of our legislature. He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation; for quartering large bodies of armed troops among us; for protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states; f or cutting off our trade with all parts of the world; for imposing taxes on us without our consent; for depriving us IN MANY CASES, of the benefits of trial by jury; for transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses; for abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these COLONIES [states]; for taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments; for suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here, BY DECLARING US OUT OF HIS PROTECTION, AND WAGING WAR AGAINST US [withdrawing his governors, and declaring us out of his allegiance and protection]. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy SCARCELY PARALLELED IN THE MOST BARBAROUS AGES, AND TOTALLY unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has EXCITED DOMESTIC INSURRECTION AMONG US, AND HAS endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions [of existence]. [He has incited treasonable insurrections of our fellow citizens, with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation of our property. He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation hither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of INFIDEL powers, is the warfare of the CHRISTIAN king of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce. And that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people on whom he also obtruded them: thus paying off former crimes committed against the LIBERTIES of one people, with crimes which he urges them o commit against the LIVES of another.] In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.

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A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a FREE people [who mean to be free. Future ages will scarcely believe that the hardiness of one man adventured, within the short compass of twelve years only, to lay a foundation so broad and so undisguised for tyranny over a people fostered and fixed in principles of freedom]. Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend AN UNWARRANTABLE [a] jurisdiction over US [these our states]. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here, [no one of which could warrant so strange a pretension: that these were effected at the expense of our blood and treasure, unassisted by the wealth or the strength of Great Britain: that in constituting indeed our several forms of government, we had adopted one common king, thereby laying a foundation for perpetual league and amity with them: but that submission to their parliament was no part of our constitution, nor ever in idea, if history may be credited: and,] we HAVE appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, AND WE HAVE CONJURED THEM BY [as well as to] the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, WOULD INEVITABLY [were likely to] interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. WE MUST, THEREFORE, [and when occasions have been given them, by the regular course of their laws, of removing from their councils the disturbers of our harmony, they have, by their free election, re-established them in power. At this very time too, they are permitting their chief magistrate to send over not only soldiers of our common blood, but Scotch and foreign mercenaries to invade and destroy us. These facts have given the last stab to agonizing affection, and manly spirit bids us to renounce forever these unfeeling brethren. We must endeavor to forget our former love for them, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends. We might have a free and a great people together; but a communication of grandeur and of freedom, it seems, is below their dignity. Be it so, since they will have it. The road to happiness and to glory is open to us, too. We will tread it apart from them, and] acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our [eternal] separation, AND HOLD THEM AS WE HOLD THE REST OF MANKIND, ENEMIES IN WAR, IN PEACE FRIENDS!

**We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America in General Congress assembled, appealing to the supreme judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connections between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

**We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these [states reject and renounce all allegiance and subjection to the kings of Great Britain and all others who may hereafter claim by, through or under them; we utterly dissolve all political connection which may heretofore have subsisted between us and the people or parliament of Great Britain: and finally we do assert and declare these colonies to be free and independent states,] and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. ** Jeffersons version is on the left. The final adopted text is in the box on the right.

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SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Names in bold appear as characters in 1776. Italicized names are not characters in the play. NAME STATE PLACE OF BIRTH BORN DIED OCCUPATION Adams, John Massachusetts Braintree, MA 10/30/1735 7/4/1826 Lawyer Adams, Samuel Massachusetts Boston, MA 9/27/1722 10/21/1803 Merchant Bartlett, Josiah New Hampshire Amesbury, MA 11/21/1729 5/19/1795 Physician Braxton, Carter Virginia Newington, VA 9/10/1736 10/10/1797 Plantation Owner Carroll, Charles Maryland Annapolis, MD 9/19/1737 11/14/1832 Merchant Chase, Samuel Maryland Princess Anne, MD 4/17/1741 6/19/1811 Lawyer Clark, Abraham New Jersey Elizabethtown, NJ 2/15/1741 9/15/1794 Lawyer / Surveyor Clymer, George Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 3/16/1739 1/24/1813 Merchant Ellery, William Rhode Island Newport, RI 12/22/1727 2/15/1820 Lawyer / Merchant Floyd, William New York Brookhaven, NY 12/17/1734 8/4/1821 Land Speculator Franklin, Benjamin Pennsylvania Boston, MA 1/17/1706 4/17/1790 Scientist / Printer Gerry, Elbridge Massachusetts Marblehead, MA 7/17/1744 11/23/1814 Merchant Gwinnett, Button Georgia Gloucestshire , England 1735 5/19/1777 Merchant Hall, Lyman Georgia Wallingford, CT 4/12/1724 10/19/1790 Physician / Minister Hancock, John Massachusetts Quincy, MA 1/12/1737 10/8/1793 Merchant Harrisson, Benjamin Virginia Berkeley, VA 4/5/1726 4/24/1791 Merchant Hart, John New Jersey Hopewell, NJ 1711 5/11/1779 Land Owner Hewes, Joseph North Carolina Princeton, NJ 1/23/1730 10/10/1779 Merchant Heyward Jr., Thomas South Carolina St. Lukes Parrish, SC 7/28/1746 3/6/1809 Merchant Hooper, William North Carolina Boston, MA 6/28/1742 10/14/1790 Lawyer Hopkins, Stephen Rhode Island Providence, RI 3/7/1707 4/13/1785 Merchant Hopkinson, Francis New Jersey Philadelphia, PA 9/21/1737 5/9/1791 Lawyer / Musician Huntington, Samuel Connecticut Windham, CT 7/3/1731 1/5/1796 Lawyer Jefferson, Thomas Virginia Shadwell, VA 4/13/1743 7/4/1826 Merchant Lee, F. Lightfoot Virginia Mt. Pleasant, VA 10/14/1734 1/11/1797 Plantation Owner Lee, Richard Henry Virginia Stratford, VA 1/20/1732 6/19/1794 Merchant Lewis, Francis New York Llandaff, Wales 3/21/1713 12/30/1802 Merchant Livingston, Philip New York Albany, NY 1/15/1716 6/12/1778 Merchant Lynch Jr., Thomas South Carolina Winyah, SC 8/5/1749 1779 Lawyer McKean, Thomas Delaware New London, PA 3/19/1735 6/24/1817 Lawyer Middleton, Arthur South Carolina Charleston, SC 6/26/1742 1/1/1787 Plantation Owner Morris, Lewis New York Morrisania, NY 4/8/1726 1/22/1798 Plantation Owner Morris, Robert Pennsylvania Lancashire, England 1/31/1734 5/8/1806 Merchant Morton, John Pennsylvania Ridley, PA 1725 April, 1777 Farmer Nelson Jr., Thomas Virginia Yorktown, VA 12/26/1738 1/4/1789 Merchant Paca, William Maryland Abington, MD 10/31/1740 10/13/1799 Merchant Paine, Robert Treat Massachusetts Boston, MA 3/11/1731 5/11/1814 Lawyer / Scientist Penn, John North Carolina Carolina Co. VA 5/17/1741 9/14/1788 Lawyer Read, George Delaware North East, MD 9/18/1733 9/21/1798 Lawyer Rodney, Caesar Delaware Dover, DE 10/7/1728 6/29/1784 Merchant Ross, George Pennsylvania New Castle, DE 5/10/1730 7/14/1799 Lawyer Rush, Benjamin Pennsylvania Byberry, PA 12/24/1745 4/19/1813 Physician Rutledge, Edmund South Carolina Charleston, SC 11/23/1749 1/23/1800 Lawyer Sherman, Roger Connecticut Newton, MA 4/19/1721 7/23/1793 Lawyer Smith, James Pennsylvania Dublin, Ireland 1719 7/11/1806 Lawyer Stockton, Richard New Jersey Princeton, NJ 10/1/1730 2/28/1781 Lawyer Stone, Thomas Maryland Charles Cty. MD 1743 10/5/1787 Lawyer Taylor, George Pennsylvania Ireland 1716 2/23/1781 Merchant

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Thornton, Matthew New Hampshire Ireland 1714 6/24/1803 Physician Walton, George Georgia Prince Edward Cty. VA 1741 2/2/1804 Lawyer Whipple, William New Hampshire Kittery, ME 1/14/1730 11/28/1785 Merchant Williams, William Connecticut Lebanon, CT 4/18/1731 8/2/1811 Merchant Wilson, James Pennsylvania Carskerdo, Scotland 9/14/1742 8/21/1798 Lawyer Witherspoon, John New Jersey Gifford, Scotland 2/5/1723 11/15/1794 Minister Wolcott, Oliver Connecticut Litchfield, CT 11/26/1726 12/1/1797 Lawyer Wythe, George Virginia Elizabeth City Cty., VA 1726 6/8/1806 Lawyer

WORDS & CONCEPTS FROM 1776

Stamp Acts A stamp act is a law enacted by a government that requires a tax to be paid on the transfer of certain documents. Those that pay the tax receive an official stamp on their documents. The Stamp Act of 1765 required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, wills, and pamphlets in the colonies to carry a tax stamp. Townshend Acts The Townshend Acts were Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1767 having been proposed by Charles Townshend, Chancellor of the Exchequer, just before his death. These laws placed a tax on common products imported into the American Colonies, such as lead, paper, paint, glass, and tea.

Sugar Act The Sugar Act, passed on April 5, 1764, was a revenue-raising Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. It revised the earlier Sugar and Molasses Act, which had imposed a tax of sixpence per gallon on molasses in order to make English products cheaper than those from the French West Indies. Tea Act The Tea Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain to allow a drawback of the duties of customs on the exportation of tea to any of his Majestys colonies or plantations in America. Molasses Act Sugar and Molasses Act of March 1733 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which imposed a tax of sixpence per gallon on molasses in order to make English products cheaper than those from the French West Indies. ADAMS: THEY MAY SIT HERE FOR YEARS AND YEARS IN PHILADELPHIA! THESE INDECISIVE GRENADIERS OF PHILADELPHIA!

Grenadier (French for Grenademan) - originally a specialized assault soldier for siege operations, first established as a distinct role in the mid to late 17th century. Grenadiers were soldiers who would throw grenades and storm breaches, leading the forefront of such a break through.

ABIGAIL: OUR CHILDREN ALL HAVE DYSENTERY, LITTLE TOM KEEPS TURNING BLUE. LITTLE ABBY HAS THE MEASLES AND IM COMING DOWN WITH FLU. THEY SAY WE MAY GET SMALLPOX.

Dysentery - general term for a group of diseases which trigger inflammation of the lining of the large intestines, leading to stomach pains, and diarrhea, and possibly vomiting and fever. Untreated dysentery can cause death. Smallpox - a highly contagious disease caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor.

FRANKLIN: With one hand they can raise an army, dispatch one of their own to lead it and cheer the news from Bunkers Hill while with the other they wave the olive branch, begging the King for a happy and permanent reconciliation.

Battle of Bunkers Hill - took place on June 17, 1775, as part of the Siege of Boston during the American Revolutionary War. General Israel Putnam was in charge of the revolutionary forces, while Major-General William Howe commanded the British forces.

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ADAMS: I asked you to organize the ladies to make saltpeter for gunpowder. Saltpeter - another name for potassium nitrate, a naturally occurring mineral source of nitrogen, but makes up the critical oxidizing component of gun powder.

ADAMS: The mans no Botticelli. FRANKLIN: And the subjects no Venus.

Reference to The Birth of Venus, a painting by 15th century Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli.

FRANKLIN: Now if we could think of a Virginian with enough influence to go down there and persuade the House of Burgesses.

The House of Burgesses - the first elected legislative assembly in the New World established in the Colony of Virginia in 1619. Over time, the name came to represent the entire official legislative body of the Colony of Virginia, and later, after the American Revolution, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

RICHARD HENRY LEE: LOOK OUT! THERES ARTHUR LEE! BOBBY LEE! AN GENERAL LIGHTHORSE HARRY LEE! JESSE LEE! WILLIE LEE!

Dr. Arthur Lee (1740-1792) - an American diplomat during the American Revolutionary War. Arthur was trained as a doctor, but later decided to study law. During the American Revolution he was sent as envoy of the Continental Congress to Spain and Prussia to gain support, but was unsuccessful. Henry Lee III, called Light Horse Harry (17561818) - a cavalry officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He was the Governor of Virginia and a U.S. Congressman, as well as the father of American Civil War general Robert E. Lee. Jesse Lee (1758-1816) - an American Methodist Episcopal clergyman and pioneer, he formed the first Methodist class in New England, and was often called the Apostle of Methodism. Lee was three times chosen chaplain of the national House of Representatives and once of the Senate. Willie Lee (1739-1795) - an American diplomat during the Revolutionary War. His brothers, all also active within the Continental Congress, were Arthur Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, and Richard Henry Lee.

RUTLEDGE: Enter Delaware tria juncta in uno! Tria juncta in uno - Latin for three joined in one.

FRANKLIN: Yes, I have that honor unfortunately the gout accompanies the honor.

Gout - a disease causing an inflammatory reaction of the joint tissues. Gout was traditionally viewed as a disease of the rich because the foods which contribute to its development were only available in quantity to the wealthy.

DICKINSON: Would you have us forsake Hastings and Magna Carta, Strongbow and Lionhearted, Drake and Marlborough, Tudors, Stuarts, and Plantagenets? For what, sir? Tell me for what? For you?

The Battle of Hastings - the decisive Norman victory in the Norman conquest of England. The location was a hill approximately six miles north of Hastings, The battle took place on October 14, 1066, between the Normans of Duke William of Normandy (William the Conqueror) and the Saxon army led by King Harold II. Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter, literally Great Paper) issued in 1215, is considered one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy. It required the king to renounce certain rights, respect certain legal procedures and accept that the will of the king could be bound by the law. Strongbow - Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Lord of Leicester, Justicar of Ireland (1130 20 April 1176), known as Strongbow, was a Cambro-Norman lord notable his leading role in the Norman invasion of Ireland.

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Lionhearted - King Richard I of England was King of England from 1189 to 1199. Writers referred to him as Richard the Lionheart, or Coeur de Leon. Drake - Sir Francis Drake was an English privateer (or a pirate), navigator, slave trader, politician, and civil engineer of the Elizabethan era. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. Marlborough - The Dukedom of Marlborough is a hereditary title of British nobility in the Peerage of England. The first holder of the title was John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (16501722), the noted English general, and indeed an unqualified reference to the Duke of Marlborough in a historical text will almost certainly be a reference to him. Tudors - The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a series of six monarchs of a Welsh origin who ruled England and Ireland from 1485 until 1603. Three of them, (Henry VII, Henry VIIIand Elizabeth I) played important roles in transforming England from a comparatively weak European backwater still immersed in the Middle Ages into a powerful Renaissance state that in the coming centuries would dominate much of the world, Stuarts - The House of Stuart (or Stewart) was a royal house of the Kingdom of Scotland, later also of the Kingdom of England, and finally of the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Stuarts were followed by the House of Hanover. Plantagenets - The House of Plantagenet, also called the House of Anjou, was originally a noble family from France, which ruled the County of Anjou. They later came to rule the Kingdom of England (11541485), as well as Jerusalem (11311205), Normandy (11441204 and 14151450), and Gascony and Guyenne (11531453).

ADAMS: Are you calling me a madman, you you you fribble!

Fribble - a trifling, frivolous person.

FRANKLIN: View-hal-loo! And whose little girl are you? View-halloo - the shout given by a huntsman on seeing a fox break cover.

HANCOCK: Traitors to what, Mr. Dickinson the British Crown? Or the British half-crown? Hancock is making a pun using the word crown, meaning both the British monarchy and the British monetary denomination. Crown and half-crown coins were discontinued in 1967.

RUTLEDGE: MOLASSES TO RUM TO SLAVES! WHO SAILS THE SHIPS BACK TO BOSTON LADEN WITH GOLD? SEE IT GLEAM! WHOSE FORTUNES ARE MADE IN THE TRIANGLE TRADE?

Triangle Trade - Triangular trade is a historical term denoting trade between three ports or regions. They have tended to evolve where a region had an export commodity that was not required in the region from which its major imports came. Triangular trade thus provided a mechanism for rectifying trade imbalances. The most notorious of these was the slave trade between North America, Africa and the West Indies.

ADAMS: FOR I HAVE CROSSED THE RUBICON, LET THE BRIDGE BE BURND BEHIND ME! COME WHAT MAY, COME WHAT MAY

The Rubicon - a river in northern Italy. Crossing the Rubicon is a popular expression meaning to go past a point of no return because the river was an ancient boundary between Gaul and Italy. Julius Caesar crossed the river in 49 BC as a deliberate act of war.

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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE GUIDE Declaration of Independence Charters of Freedom Main Page http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_style.html Join the Signers Page http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_join_the_signers.html Lesson Plan on American Revolution http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/ Images of the Revolution http://www.archives.gov/research/american-revolution/pictures/index.html Archival Research Catalog: American Revolution Gallery http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/revolutionary-war/ Military Resources: American Revolution http://www.archives.gov/research/american-revolution/index.html National Archives on Footnote.com http://go.footnote.com/nara/ Digitized version of American Revolutionary War records (pension files, military service records, and Papers of the Continental Congress) http://www.footnote.com/page/74_papers_of_the_continental_congress/

PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE AUDIENCE GUIDE Contributors include: Andrew Lowy, Michael T. Mooney, Peter Stone, Sherman Edwards,

Christopher Zarr of The National Archives and www.archives.gov. Thanks to the The Guthrie Theatre (MN) and Goodspeed Musicals (CT)

as well as www.ibdb.com and www.wikipedia.com.