1776 corrections

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1776 (1972) - 5 corrections

Directed by Peter H. Hunt, starring Donald Madden, Howard Da Silva, John Cullum, Ken Howard, William Daniels

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The film opens with John Adams meditating at the top of the high bell tower of Independence Hall in the year 1776. In reality, the tower was not added to the building until some years later. [Independence Hall's construction was begun in 1732 and completed in 1756.]

When the Declaration Committee is deciding who should actually write it, Robert Livingston declines because he will be leaving Philadelphia shortly. In fact Livingston was in New York at the time of the vote on Independence and did not sign the Declaration (although he was for it). [He may not have signed it but he WAS part of the committee to write it. http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/livingston_r.htm.]

After Jefferson's wife arrives, he appears briefly in the doorway then goes back inside and slams the door shut behind him. The 'brick' wall surrounding the door shakes violently, showing that it is not real brick, but just a flimsy set piece. [On close examination, it can be seen that it is the ivy on the brick wall that shakes, not the wall itself.]

When Adams wakes up on the staircase his hair is disheveled. But by the time the next song begins, it's perfectly neat again, even though he showed no evidence of fixing it. [If you watch the widescreen version on DVD, you'll see that John walks over to a horse trough and cleans himself up, including fixing his hair.]

In the film, the Continental Congress discusses changes in the Declaration of Independence before voting on whether or not to declare independence. In reality, they passed the Declaration and then discussed changes. [This series of events was changed intentionally, as not to bore the audience.]