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American Experience: John and Abigail Adamsx$14.39
  (13 reviews)
Best Price: $24.99 $14.39
Relying heavily on the extraordinary correspondence between the second president and his wife, this joint biography sheds light not only on the characters of two remarkable people, but also on the tumultuous times through which they lived. John and Abigail Adams played a critical role in many of the pivotal events of their era: he was a vociferous participant at the Continental Congress; she was an important eye-witness reporter during the Siege of Boston; he was an important war-time emissary to France. This AMERICAN EXPERIENCE reminds us that the Founding Fathers - and Mothers - were not men and women of marble following a script that made independence and American national success a pre-ordained conclusion, but rather real, flawed, multi-dimensional people, who had no idea how things would turn out.
MPN: D705052D - UPC: 841887050524
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Customer Reviews
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Impressive.
By A2MFNDNS1L7D16 on 2006-01-30
I'm a John Adams fan & know him as the most competant of the founding fathers. Until recently he hasn't received his due. This is the story of John & Abigail Adams, their life together & more often as not, their life apart. He was pretty much disliked by his contemporaries. He was respected for his abilities & resented because he told the truth, no matter how painful. It bothered him all his life that he never got the adulation & celebrity of Washington, Jefferson & Franklin. However unlike many obnoxious people he knew his strengths & weaknesses. A fine orator he knew Washington was a better leader, Franklin a better diplomat & Thomas Jefferson, a better writer. It fell to Jefferson, with Adams & Franklin's help to author the Declaration of Independence.
During his lenghty absences, Abigail kept the home fires burning, first, during his trips to to Philadelphia as a member of the Continential Congress & later as a diplomat to France & Holland. She managed their modest property as well as he could have. She was a community leader during British occupation & through the terrible small pox & typhoid epidemics that were so common in those days. She was first & always his most trusted confidant & political advisor, if not in person then in the long correspondences they kept up. Her love was unconditional & someone he could always count on. She made one trip overseas when he was Ambassador to England, which opened her eyes to the big world outside of her small one in Braintree, MA. Truly a woman of character, patriotism & a great American. The portrayals by the actors in this history were dead on as I imagined John & Abigail might have been. This dvd is an essential for high school American history classes. A real keeper & an example of television at it's best.
Interesting beyond belief
By A22FRDB9RA3I3D on 2006-01-24
This documentary was extremely well done and had our whole family enthralled as the development of John and Abigail ensued. This is a very "real" portrayel of two incredibly strong and vivacious people that exhibited stamina far beyond what one can expect to endure today. Narrative interludes were appropriate and engaging. The acting was believable and well done with the dimention and deepness of the individuals clearly exhibited. THe connection between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was astonishing to say the least. I think most anyone would throughly enjoy all aspects of this production! I also recommend seeing the musical video 1776 to compare the portrayel of John Adams with this narrative. Enjoy!
Wonderful
By A298J8GQUTUQWA on 2006-05-16
I caught this documentary on PBS tonight and immediately went online to see if it was available on DVD. The story of John and Abigail Adams is one of the most poignant in American history, and this film makes it accessible to even the most uninterested history-phobe. Interviews and cheesy re-enactments are cut to a minimum, and most of the story is told in voice-over and with quotes from letters written by John, Abigail, and their contemporaries, making it easy to watch as well as riveting. I was pleased with the portryal of John Adams here as well as Abigail; the insight into the founding of the US through their correspondence was eye-opening.
History brought to life
By A30KTP78LZ07KO on 2006-12-23
In American Experience: John and Abigail Adams, we have a masterful blending of drama and documentary. Fine actors portray the characters, while some of our generation's most popular historians (Freeman, McCullough, Ferling, Ellis, etc.) provide the commentary. It is a celebration of individuals who of late have finally been getting the credit that the U.S. public has never given. Both John and Abigail come across as passionate patriots who are utterly devoted to one another, the image one perceives if one reads their personal correspondence. Jefferson comes across in a less than complimentary manner, taking some well-deserved lumps for his behavior during Adams' presidency. Interestingly, Abigail is placed squarely within a discussion of the highly controversial Sedition Act, citing concern over John's safety and the security of the U.S. government. Another reviewer called this television at its best. Imagine the world if this sort of quality was what was featured nightly on television.
A Must-Have
By A1CP902TEMX9SK on 2007-05-27
This is an in-depth account of the remarkable team of John and Abigail Adams. It's a must-have for any history buff or anyone interested in the period of time of our nation's founding. An incredible story.
- John and Abigail Adams
By A2RU3W2PURA5E2 on 2007-09-05
This historic piece was refreshingly well executed. From the casting to the cinematography, the romantic tale of John and Abigail Adams was well represented. It put forth the atmosphere of that period, as if you were actually living these times. The main three characters, were well cast, and did a wonderful job to bring forth the amicable, sometimes stressed, relationship between the Adams and Jefferson.
A highly recommended historic piece to be included in high school and college American history classrooms.
- America's First Politcal Power Couple
By AGEIT17HENDIS on 2008-03-13
Over the past twenty years or so there have been various attempts by historians of the period to reshuffle and expand the pantheon of the American Revolution. These efforts have included highlighting lesser male personalities like financier Robert Morris, paying attention to the role of the Founding Mothers and a deeper look into the plebian base of that revolution. Those efforts have also, most prominently of late, included reordering the place that John Adams, an acknowledged early revolutionary leader and second President of the United States, in that pantheon. Leading this charge has been David McCullough's (one of the inevitable `talking heads' in this docudrama) best-selling book and now this PBS film. Brother Adams (and Sister Abigail) have arrived.
I will confess here, as I have previously in this space, that I am something of a `homer' on the Adams family. I was born in their hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts and so imbibed the spirit of the place and their effect on it from early youth with visits to their homes and tombs. Some of my first political readings in elementary school were biographies of various members of the family (Which may explain quite a bit, right?). I never, however, at that time, or later, saw them as central to the revolutionary experience. Washington, Samuel Adams (a cousin), the Sons of Liberty and, above all, Tom Paine fired my imagination. To be kind, as I have also mentioned before in this space, I had characterized John Adams as a `conservative revolutionary' (an oxymoron, to be sure) and nothing in this documentary has changed my opinion on that matter. John Adams represented (except in his early firebrand pre-revolutionary period) individually and later through his `party', the Federalists, the closest approximation to what Lafayette represented in the French revolution- the idea of rule by a small-entrenched elite over the `mob'-the so-called Republic of Virtue.
This documentary, although something of a valentine to John and Abigail, does not hide this fact but rather downplays it by highlighting other aspects of a rather long political career. The chronology presents Adams as the pre-revolutionary firebrand, the supreme political operative of the Continental Congresses, the diplomatic emissary to various European countries during the war including invaluable service in getting funds from the Dutch, the gentleman farmer chafing at the bit in political slow times, the formative role as first Vice President, the stormy one term as a beleaguered president, the love- hate relationship with his arch political opponent Jefferson and threaded throughout this career his strong dependence on Abigail as wife, mother, political confidante and `soul mate'. For those who thought that political power couples only started with Bill and Hillary this will be a surprise. Frankly, what this documentary has done for me is to reinforce my elementary school-derived high opinion of Abigail. As for the closet (and at times not so closet) Tory John I will let David McCullough argue his case.
- John & Abigail are real!
By A3VDZGMBLT1B0T on 2008-03-22
Growing up, my image of the Founding Fathers always seemed to focus on Washington, Jefferson & Franklin. Adams seemed secondary.
After seeing this, the viewer must come away with a high respect for both John & Abigail. One was nothing without the other.
A little acting, and a bit of historian narration, this DVD is both entertaining and informative. The actors do a wonderful job of conveying the lives of the people of the times.
- More of a movie than good documentary
By A2LIV11R0Q3DP on 2006-07-03
Whether or not you would give it low stars is all about your personal taste. If you like documentaries like Ken Burns makes or the other presidential documentaries in the American Experience, this is not for you! This is largely just actors being filmed, which I find very dissappionting! I would never use it in the classroom.
- Very good
By APDWD52T6DDB9 on 2007-04-07
Very good! Fills in more details than the Play & Movie 1776.
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