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Trivia: When Adams and Franklin are arguing about whether to remove the slavery clause from the Declaration, Adams' line about never being forgiven by posterity is actually part of a quote by his cousin Sam. The entire line is "If we give in on this issue, there will be trouble a hundred years' hence. Posterity will never forgive us." The part about trouble in a hundred years was deleted because Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone were afraid audiences would think, with the power of hindsight, that they made the line up, instead of it being from an actual historical quote; the prediction Sam Adams made missed the Civil War by just 15 years.

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Trivia: In one of the biggest coincidences in American history, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. This fact was never included in the play, because Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone both knew that no one would believe it.

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Factual error: During "The Lees of Old Virginia", Richard Henry Lee refers to Harry Lee as "Lighthorse Harry Lee". Harry didn't earn that nickname until 1778.

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Trivia: During principal photography, Blythe Danner was pregnant with Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow later played Martha Jefferson's daughter Patsy in Jefferson in Paris.

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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.

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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.

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Trivia: This was the only movie Donald Madden made that was released into theaters.

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Trivia: Act Three (the arrival of Dr. Hall - "But, Mr. Adams") holds the record for the longest period of time in a musical with no music; almost forty-five minutes pass between "The Lees of Old Virginia" and "But, Mr. Adams."

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Question: During "Cool, Considerate Men," what does John Hancock mean by "British half-crown" when he says, ". . . traitors to what? The British crown, or the British half-crown"?

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Trivia: The shuttleboard in the Congressional chamber did not actually exist in 1776. This was added specifically for the film, to give the audience a visual representation of the colonies' votes.

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Trivia: The musical number "Cool Considerate Men" was removed from the theatrical release at president Richard Nixon's request. Nixon was given a private screening, and reportedly objected to the song. It has been edited back into the Director's Cut DVD.

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