Factual error: The Liberty Bell is depicted ringing as the Declaration of Independence is being signed on July 4 (a mistake itself) in the film. The bell actually did not ring on that date, but on July 8, when the Declaration had been returned from the printer and unveiled to the public.
1776 (1972)
Directed by: Peter H. Hunt
Starring: William Daniels, John Cullum, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard, Donald Madden
Continuity mistake: Near the end of "The Lees of Old Virginia," Richard Henry Lee is seated on a water fountain, and then stands up. In the following shot from behind, he is back on the fountain and stands up again.
Deliberate mistake: In the film, Martha Jefferson visits Thomas in Philadelphia. While this is factually inaccurate (she was actually at home recovering from a miscarriage), it was changed for the sake of drama.
Trivia: During principal photography, Blythe Danner was pregnant with Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow later played Martha Jefferson's daughter Patsy in Jefferson in Paris.
Trivia: During the filming of "Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve", William Daniels sucked on ice cubes, as not to give away the fact that the night was freezing cold, rather than a warm Philadelphia evening.
Edward Rutledge: Mr. Adams is now calling our black slaves "Americans." Are they, now?
John Adams: Yes, they are. They're people, and they're here. If there's any other requirement, I've never heard of it.
Edward Rutledge: They are here, yes. But they are not people, sir, they are property.
Thomas Jefferson: No, sir, they are people who are being treated as property!
[After hearing Dickinson bang on a desk.]
Benjamin Franklin: Please, Mr. Dickinson, but must you start banging? How is a man to sleep?
John Dickinson: Forgive me, Doctor Franklin, but must you start speaking? How is a man to stay awake?
John Dickinson: We'll promise to be quiet, sir. I'm sure everyone prefers that you remain asleep.
Benjamin Franklin: If I'm to hear myself called an Englishman, sir, I assure I prefer I'd remained asleep.
John Dickinson: What's so terrible about being called an Englishman? The English don't seem to mind.
Benjamin Franklin: Nor would I, were I given the full rights of an Englishman. But to call me one without those rights is like calling an ox a bull. He's thankful for the honor, but he'd much rather have restored what's rightfully his.
John Dickinson: When did you first notice they were missing, sir?
Benjamin Franklin: Revolutions come into this world like bastard children, Mr. Dickinson; half improvised and half compromised.
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Chosen answer: By "the British Crown" he meant the king. By "the British half Crown" he was just referring to the money in use by the British at the time.
papajim
Exactly contrasting loyalty to the country with loyalty to profit.