1776

Rated G • Tubi

The mostly forgotten musical 1776, debuting on Broadway in 1969 with a film version in 1972, is a surprisingly joyful adaptation of the Continental Congress’ thorny debates over the question of independence.

The musical begins with a morose John Adams (William Daniels) complaining that he can’t get any traction for his resolution on independence. One of his only friends in Congress is the venerable Ben Franklin, a man who shares his goal but manages to maintain a sunnier disposition. The story gets going when Franklin and Adams convince a delegate from Virginia to take up the resolution. If independence isn’t seen as merely the cause of rabble-rousing New Englanders, then maybe some of the other Colonies will join in. A young Thomas Jefferson gets tasked with drafting a “declaration.”

1776 isn’t going to appeal to folks who dislike those cheesy Broadway musicals of yesteryear. Also, the movie was rated G in 1972, but standards were a lot looser back then. The delegates tend to take God’s name in vain as they verbally abuse one another. There are also a couple of instances of innuendo.

But this light-hearted patriotic story shows with historical accuracy that the fight for independence was a rather precarious thing because of the Colonies’ internal divisions. It highlights the fact that the first draft of the Declaration condemned the slave trade, but the Southern colonies demanded the language be removed, and men like Adams sacrificed their principles to achieve independence. Today Americans still find themselves divided, and 1776 forces us to consider the uncomfortable truth that for previous generations the price of national unity involved moral compromise.