View source for John Adams (miniseries)

{{short description|2008 US television miniseries of President John Adams's adult life}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = JohnAdamsHBO.jpg
| image_size           = 200
| image_alt            =
| caption              = Television promotional poster
| genre                = 
| creator              = 
| based_on             = ''[[John Adams (book)|John Adams]]'' by<br />[[David McCullough]]
| writer               = Kirk Ellis
| screenplay           = 
| story                = 
| director             = [[Tom Hooper]]
| starring             = {{Plainlist|
* [[Paul Giamatti]]
* [[Laura Linney]]
* [[Stephen Dillane]]
* [[David Morse]]
* [[Tom Wilkinson]]
* [[Danny Huston]]
* [[Rufus Sewell]]
* [[Justin Theroux]]
* [[Guy Henry (actor)|Guy Henry]]
}}
| theme_music_composer = {{Plainlist|
* Robert Lane
* Joseph Vitarelli
}}
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_episodes         = 7
| executive_producer   = {{Plainlist|
* [[Tom Hanks]]
* [[Gary Goetzman]]
}}
| producer             = {{Plainlist|
* David Coatsworth
* Steve Shareshian
}}
| editor               = 
| cinematography       = 
| runtime              = 501 minutes
| company              = {{Plainlist|
* [[HBO Films]]
* High Noon Productions
* Playtone
* Mid Atlantic Films
}}
| budget               = $100 million<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.courant.com/2008/03/11/hbo-miniseries-gives-john-adams-his-due/ |title=HBO miniseries gives John Adams his due |work=The Courant |first=Roger |last=Catlin |publisher=Hartford Courant |location=Hartford, Connecticut |date=March 11, 2008 |access-date=May 10, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140510144055/http://articles.courant.com/2008-03-11/features/0803100434_1_paul-giamatti-second-president-bartlett-giamatti |archive-date=May 10, 2014 }}</ref>
| network              = [[HBO]]
| first_aired          = {{start date|2008|3|16}}
| last_aired           = {{end date|2008|4|27}}
}}

'''''John Adams''''' is a 2008 American television [[miniseries]] chronicling the political and family life of U.S. [[Founding Father of the United States|Founding Father]] and president [[John Adams]], detailing his many roles in the [[founding of the United States]]. The miniseries is directed by [[Tom Hooper]] and stars [[Paul Giamatti]] in the title role. Kirk Ellis wrote the [[screenplay]] based on the 2001 biography ''[[John Adams (book)|John Adams]]'' by [[David McCullough]].

The [[biopic]] of Adams and the story of the first 50 years of the United States was broadcast in seven parts by [[HBO]] between March 16 and April 20, 2008. ''John Adams'' received generally positive reviews and many prestigious awards. The show won four [[66th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe awards]] and thirteen [[60th Primetime Emmy Awards|Emmy awards]], more than any other miniseries in history.

==Plot summary==
===Part I: Join or Die (1770–1774)===
In 1770 [[John Adams]] is a respected lawyer in his mid-30s known for his dedication to the law and justice. After the [[Boston Massacre]] happens, Adams arrives at the scene and is subsequently sought as a defense counsel for the soldiers involved by their commander, Captain [[Thomas Preston (British Army officer)|Thomas Preston]], who asks him to defend them in court. Reluctant at first, he agrees despite knowing this will antagonize his neighbors and friends. Adams is depicted to have taken the case because he believed everyone deserves a fair trial and he wanted to uphold the standard of justice.

Adams' cousin [[Samuel Adams]] is one of the main colonists opposed to the [[Intolerable Acts]] passed by the [[Parliament of Great Britain]]. He is one of the executive members of the [[Sons of Liberty]], an organization dedicated to resisting the acts. Adams is depicted as a studious man doing his best to defend his clients. The show also illustrates Adams' appreciation and respect for his wife, [[Abigail Adams|Abigail]]. In one scene, Adams is shown having his wife proofread his summation as he takes her suggestions.  After many sessions in court, the jury returns a verdict of not guilty of murder for each defendant, thanks to Adams' arguments. Additionally, the episode illustrates the growing tension over the Intolerable Acts, and Adams' election to the [[First Continental Congress]].

===Part II: Independence (1774–1776)===
The second episode covers the disputes among the members of the [[Second Continental Congress]] toward declaring independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] as well as the final drafting of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]. At the Continental Congresses Adams is depicted as the lead advocate for independence. He is in the vanguard in establishing that there is no other option than to break off and declare independence. He is also instrumental in the selection of then-Colonel [[George Washington]] as the new head of the [[Continental Army]].

However, in his zeal for immediate action, he manages to alienate many of the other [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]], going so far as to insult [[John Dickinson]], who is for conciliation to the Crown, implying that the man suffers from a religiously based moral cowardice. Later, [[Benjamin Franklin]] quietly chastens Adams, saying it is "perfectly acceptable to insult a man in private. He may even thank you for it afterwards. But when you do it in public, they tend to think you are serious." This points out Adams' primary flaw: his bluntness and lack of gentility toward his political opponents, one that would make him many enemies and which would eventually plague his political career. It would also, eventually, contribute to historians' disregard for his many achievements. The episode also shows how Abigail copes with issues at home as her husband was away much of the time participating in the Continental Congress. She employs the use of then pioneer efforts in the field of preventative medicine and inoculation against [[smallpox]] for herself and the children.

===Part III: Don't Tread on Me (1777–1781)===
<!-- [[Don't Tread on Me]] links to this section -->
In Episode 3, Adams travels to Europe with his young son [[John Quincy Adams|John Quincy]] during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] seeking alliances with foreign nations, during which the ship transporting them battles a British [[frigate]]. It first shows Adams' embassy with [[Benjamin Franklin]] in the court of [[Louis XVI of France]]. The old [[French nobility]], who are in the last decade before being consumed by the [[French Revolution]], are portrayed as effete and decadent. They meet cheerfully with Franklin, seeing him as a romantic figure, little noting the democratic infection he brings with him. Adams, on the other hand, is a plain spoken and faithful man, who finds himself out of his depth surrounded by an entertainment- and sex-driven culture among the French elite. Adams finds himself at sharp odds with Benjamin Franklin, who has adapted himself to the French, seeking to obtain by seduction what Adams would gain through histrionics. Franklin sharply rebukes Adams for his lack of diplomatic acumen, describing it as a "direct insult followed by a petulant whine". Franklin soon has Adams removed from any position of diplomatic authority in Paris. His approach is ultimately successful and was to result in the conclusive [[Franco-American alliance|Franco-American]] victory at [[Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]].

Adams, chastened and dismayed but learning from his mistakes, then travels to the [[Dutch Republic]] to obtain monetary support for the Revolution. Although the Dutch agree with the American cause, they do not consider the new union a reliable and credit-worthy client. Adams ends his time in the Netherlands in a state of progressive illness, having sent his son away as a diplomatic secretary to the [[Russian Empire]].

===Part IV: Reunion (1781–1789)===
The fourth episode shows John Adams being notified of the end of the Revolutionary War and the defeat of the British. He is then sent to Paris to negotiate the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris in 1783]]. While overseas, he spends time with Benjamin Franklin and [[Thomas Jefferson]] and Abigail visits him. Franklin informs John Adams that he was appointed as the first American [[United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom|Ambassador to Great Britain]] and thus has to relocate to [[London]]. John Adams is poorly received by the British during this time—he is the representative for a recently hostile power, and represents in his person what many British at the time regarded as a disastrous end to its [[First British Empire|early Empire]]. He meets with his former sovereign, [[George III]], and while the meeting is not a disaster, he is excoriated in British newspapers. In 1789, he returns to Massachusetts for the [[1788–89 United States presidential election|first presidential election]] and he and Abigail are reunited with their children, now grown. George Washington is elected the first [[President of the United States]] and John Adams as the first [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]].

Initially, Adams is disappointed and wishes to reject the post of Vice President because he feels there is a disproportionate number of electoral votes in favor of George Washington (Adams' number of votes pales in comparison to those garnered by Washington). In addition, John feels the position of Vice President is not a proper reflection of all the years of service he has dedicated to his nation. However, Abigail successfully influences him to accept the nomination.

===Part V: Unite or Die (1788–1797)===
The fifth episode begins with Vice President John Adams presiding over the [[United States Senate|Senate]] and the debate over what to call the new president. It depicts Adams as frustrated in this role: His opinions are ignored and he has no actual power, except in the case of a tied vote. He's excluded from George Washington's inner circle of cabinet members, and his relationships with Thomas Jefferson and [[Alexander Hamilton]] are strained. Even Washington himself gently rebukes him for his efforts to "royalize" the office of the Presidency, although Washington values Adams' counsel in other areas, considering him to be "reasonable company" when compared with Jefferson and Hamilton. A key event shown is the struggle to enact the [[Jay Treaty]] with Britain, which Adams himself must ratify before a deadlocked Senate (although historically his vote was not required). The episode concludes with his inauguration as the second president—and his subsequent arrival in a plundered [[President's House (Philadelphia)|executive mansion]].

===Part VI: Unnecessary War (1797–1801)===
The sixth episode covers Adams's term as president and the rift between the Hamilton-led [[Federalist Party|Federalists]] and Jefferson-led [[Democratic-Republican Party|Republicans]]. Adams's neutrality pleases neither side and often angers both. His shaky relationship with Vice President Thomas Jefferson worsens after taking defensive actions against the [[French First Republic|French Republic]] because of [[XYZ Affair|failed diplomatic attempts]] and the signing of the [[Alien and Sedition Acts]]. Adams also alienates himself from the anti-French Alexander Hamilton after taking all actions possible to prevent a war with France. He disowns his son [[Charles Adams (1770–1800)|Charles]], who soon dies as an alcoholic vagrant. Adams sees success late in his presidency with his campaign of preventing a war with France, but his success is clouded after losing the [[1800 United States presidential election|presidential election of 1800]]. After receiving so much bad publicity while in office, Adams loses the election against his vice-president, Thomas Jefferson, and runner-up [[Aaron Burr]] (both from the same party). Adams leaves the Presidential Palace (now known as the [[White House]]) in March 1801 and retires to his personal life in Massachusetts.

===Part VII: Peacefield (1803–1826)===
The final episode covers Adams's retirement years. His home life at [[Peacefield]] is full of pain and sorrow as his daughter, Nabby, dies of [[breast cancer]] and Abigail succumbs to [[typhoid fever]]. Adams does live to see the [[1824 United States presidential election|election]] of his son, [[John Quincy Adams|John Quincy]], as president, but is too ill to attend the [[Inauguration of John Quincy Adams|inauguration]]. Adams and Jefferson are reconciled through correspondence in their last years. Both die hours apart on [[Independence Day (United States)|July 4]], 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson and Adams were 83 and 90 respectively.

==Cast==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Paul Giamatti]] as [[John Adams]]
* [[Laura Linney]] as [[Abigail Adams]]
* [[Stephen Dillane]] as [[Thomas Jefferson]]
* [[David Morse]] as [[George Washington]]
* [[Tom Wilkinson]] as [[Benjamin Franklin]]
* [[Rufus Sewell]] as [[Alexander Hamilton]]
* [[Justin Theroux]] as [[John Hancock]]
* [[Danny Huston]] as [[Samuel Adams]]
* [[Sarah Polley]] as [[Abigail Adams Smith]]
* [[Andrew Scott (actor)|Andrew Scott]] as [[William Stephens Smith|William S. Smith]]
* [[Željko Ivanek]] as [[John Dickinson]]
* [[Ebon Moss-Bachrach]] as [[John Quincy Adams]]
* [[John Dossett]] as [[Benjamin Rush]]
* [[Mamie Gummer]] as Sally Smith Adams
* Caroline Corrie as [[Louisa Adams]]
* [[Samuel Barnett (actor)|Samuel Barnett]] as [[Thomas Boylston Adams (1772–1832)|Thomas Adams]]
* [[Kevin Trainor]] as [[Charles Adams (1770–1800)|Charles Adams]]
* [[Tom Hollander]] as [[George III|King George III]]
* [[Julian Firth]] as the [[John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset|Duke of Dorset]]
* Damien Jouillerot as [[Louis XVI of France|King Louis XVI]]
* [[Clancy O'Connor]] as [[Edward Rutledge]]
* [[Guy Henry (actor)|Guy Henry]] as [[Jonathan Sewall]]
* [[Brennan Brown]] as [[Robert Treat Paine]]
* [[Paul Fitzgerald (actor)|Paul Fitzgerald]] as [[Richard Henry Lee]]
* Tom Beckett as [[Elbridge Gerry]]
* Del Pentecost as [[Henry Knox]]
* Tim Parati as [[Caesar Rodney]]
* John O'Creagh as [[Stephen Hopkins (politician)|Stephen Hopkins]]
* John Keating as [[Timothy Pickering]]
* Hugh O'Gorman as [[Thomas Pinckney]]
* Timmy Sherrill as [[Charles Lee (attorney general)|Charles Lee]]
* [[Judith Magre]] as [[Anne-Catherine de Ligniville, Madame Helvétius|Madame Helvetius]]
* [[Jean-Hugues Anglade]] as [[Count of Vergennes]]
* Jean Brassard as [[Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing|Admiral d'Estaing]]
* [[Pip Carter]] as [[Francis Dana]]
* Sean McKenzie as [[Edward Bancroft]]
* [[Derek Milman]] as [[James Barron|Lieutenant James Barron]]
* Patrice Valota as [[Jean-Antoine Houdon]]
* [[Nicolas Vaude]] as [[Anne-César, Chevalier de la Luzerne|Chevalier de la Luzerne]]
* [[Bertie Carvel]] as [[Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds|Lord Carmarthen]]
* Alex Draper as [[Robert R. Livingston (chancellor)|Robert Livingston]]
* [[Cyril Descours]] as [[Edmond-Charles Genêt|Edmond-Charles Genet]]
* [[Alan Cox (actor)|Alan Cox]] as [[William Maclay (Pennsylvania senator)|William Maclay]]
* Sean Mahan as [[Joseph Warren|Gen. Joseph Warren]]
* Eric Zuckerman as [[Thomas McKean]]
* Ed Jewett as [[James Duane]]
* Vincent Renart as [[Andrew Holmes (army officer)|Andrew Holmes]]
* [[Ritchie Coster]] as [[Thomas Preston (British Army officer)|Captain Thomas Preston]]
* [[Lizan Mitchell]] as [[Sally Hemings]]
* Pamela Stewart as [[Martha Jefferson Randolph|Patsy Jefferson]]
* Lucas N Hall as Continental Army Officer, [[The Light Infantry Division at Yorktown (1781)#Organization|New York light infantry battalion]]
* Steven Hinkle as Young John Quincy Adams
* Buzz Bovshow as [[John Trumbull]]
{{div col end}}

==Shooting locations==
The 110-day shoot took place from 23 February to August 2007 in [[Colonial Williamsburg]], [[Virginia]]; [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], Virginia; and [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Gary Strauss|title=For Giamatti, John Adams was 'endlessly daunting' role|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-03-12-john-adams-side_N.htm|work=[[USA Today]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company, Inc.]]|date=2008-03-12|access-date=2009-01-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Martin Miller|title=A revolutionary leading man|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-mar-16-ca-adams16-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=2008-03-16|access-date=2009-01-11}}</ref> Some European scenes were shot in [[Keszthely]], [[Sóskút]], [[Fertőd]], and [[Kecskemét]], Hungary.<ref name=MTI>{{cite web|title=Tom Hanks a magyar stábnak is köszönetet mondott a Golden Globe-gálán|language=hu|url=http://eu.mti.hu/cikk/342417/|work=[[Magyar Távirati Iroda|MTI]] (Hungarian news agency)|date=2009-01-12|access-date=2008-01-12}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/641973/john-adams#notes | title=John Adams }}</ref>

A Continental Army war room was filmed in the Robert Carter house in Virginia.  Williamsburg's Public Hospital was in the background of the tent encampment of the Continental Army which Adams visited in the winter of 1776, which was replicated using special-effects snow. The College of William and Mary's Wren Building represented a Harvard interior. Scenes were also filmed at the Governor's Palace.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aboutrufus.com/john_adams_miniseries.htm |title=aboutrufus.com |publisher=aboutrufus.com |access-date=2015-04-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314154953/http://www.aboutrufus.com/john_adams_miniseries.htm |archive-date=2012-03-14 }}</ref>

Sets, stage space, backlot and production offices were housed in an old Mechanicsville AMF warehouse in Richmond, Virginia. Some street scenes with cobblestone pavements and colonial storefronts were shot in historic neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia. Countryside surrounding Richmond in Hanover County and Powhatan County was chosen to represent areas surrounding early Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.<ref>http://www2.richmond.com/content/2007/jun/05/a-presidential-production/{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/entertainment/movies/article/hbo_miniseries_highlights_virginia_brings_revenue_to_the_commonwealth/5531/ |title=HBO miniseries highlights Virginia, brings revenue to the Commonwealth &#124; InsideNova |website=www2.insidenova.com |access-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110809052304/http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/entertainment/movies/article/hbo_miniseries_highlights_virginia_brings_revenue_to_the_commonwealth/5531/ |archive-date=9 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
The critical reception to the miniseries was predominantly positive. On review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the series has a rating of 82% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 8.56/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Elegantly shot and relatively educational, ''John Adams'' is a worthy addition to the genre -- though its casting leaves something to be desired."<ref>{{Citation|title=John Adams: Miniseries - Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/john_adams/s01|language=en|access-date=2018-11-04}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the series a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/johnadams?part=rss |title=John Adams - Season 1 Reviews |publisher=Metacritic |date=2008-03-16 |access-date=2013-07-01 |archive-date=2009-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122121230/http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/johnadams?part=rss |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Ken Tucker of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' rated the miniseries A−,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ew.com/article/2008/03/12/john-adams/ |title=John Adams Review |publisher=EW.com |date=2008-03-12 |access-date=2013-07-01}}</ref> and Matt Roush of ''[[TV Guide]]'' praised the lead performances of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.<ref>[https://www.tvguide.com/roush-review/hbo-epic-john/080312-03] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326233929/http://www.tvguide.com/roush-review/hbo-epic-john/080312-03|date=March 26, 2008}}</ref> David Hinckley of the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' felt ''John Adams'' "is, quite simply, as good as TV gets ... Best of all are two extraordinary performances at the center: Paul Giamatti as Adams and Laura Linney as his wife, Abigail ... To the extent that ''John Adams'' is a [[period piece]], it isn't quite as lush as, say, some [[BBC]] productions. But it looks fine, and it feels right, and sometimes what's good for you can also be just plain good."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/03/14/2008-03-14_john_adams_is_a_triumph.html |title='John Adams' is a triumph |publisher=NY Daily News |date=2008-03-13 |access-date=2013-07-01 |location=New York}}</ref>

Alessandra Stanley of ''[[The New York Times]]'' had mixed feelings. She said the miniseries has "a ''[[Masterpiece Theatre]]'' gravity and takes a more somber, detailed and sepia-tinted look at the dawn of American democracy. It gives viewers a vivid sense of the isolation and physical hardships of the period, as well as the mores, but it does not offer significantly different or deeper insights into the personalities of the men — and at least one woman — who worked so hard for liberty ... [It] is certainly worthy and beautifully made, and it has many masterly touches at the edges, especially Laura Linney as Abigail. But Paul Giamatti is the wrong choice for the hero ... And that leaves the mini-series with a gaping hole at its center. What should be an exhilarating, absorbing ride across history alongside one of the least understood and most intriguing leaders of the American Revolution is instead a struggle."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/arts/television/14adam.html?_r=1&oref=slogin | work=The New York Times | first=Alessandra | last=Stanley | title=John Adams - Television - Review | date=2008-03-14}}</ref>

Among those unimpressed with the miniseries were Mary McNamara of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''<ref>{{cite web|last=Villarreal |first=Yvonne |url=http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-adams14mar14,0,1560912.story |title=Entertainment - entertainment, movies, tv, music, celebrity, Hollywood - latimes.com - latimes.com |publisher=Calendarlive.com |access-date=2013-07-01}}</ref> and Tim Goodman of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''.<ref>{{cite news|author=Tim Goodman |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/13/DDGSVJ70F.DTL |title=John, we hardly knew ye |publisher=SFGate |date=2008-03-14 |access-date=2013-07-01}}</ref> Both cited poor casting and the favoring of style over storytelling.

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="55"| {{center|2008}}
| [[Casting Society of America#Artios Awards|Artios Awards]]
| Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Mini Series
| Kathleen Chopin 
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/2008 |title=2008 Artios Awards |access-date=November 10, 2008 |website=www.castingsociety.com |language=en |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215141255/https://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[Golden Nymph Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Best Mini Series
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="5"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvfestival.com/img/history/documents/2008/2008_palmares.pdf |title=2008 Gracies Golden Nymph Awards Winners |website=[[Golden Nymph Awards]] |access-date=June 12, 2008}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| Outstanding Actor – Mini Series
| [[Paul Giamatti]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Danny Huston]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[David Morse]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Tom Wilkinson]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Hollywood Professional Association|Hollywood Post Alliance Awards]]
| [[Hollywood Post Alliance Award for Outstanding Sound – Television|Outstanding Audio Post – Television]]
| Marc Fishman, [[Tony Lamberti]], <br> [[Stephen Hunter Flick]], and Vanessa Lapato <br> {{small|(for "Don't Tread on Me)}}
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://hpaonline.com/nominees-and-winners/2008-hpa-awards/ |title=2008 HPA Awards |website=[[Hollywood Professional Association]] |access-date=September 8, 2022}}</ref>
|-
| [[Humanitas Prize]]
| [[List of Humanitas Prize recipients#2009 (34th Humanitas Awards)|60 Minute Network or Syndicated Television]]
| Kirk Ellis {{small|(for "Join or Die")}}
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.humanitasprize.org/prize-winners |title=Past Winners & Nominees |website=[[Humanitas Prize]] |access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref>
|-
| [[International Film Music Critics Association|International Film Music Critics Association Awards]]
| [[International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best Original Score for Television|Best Original Score for Television]]
| Robert Lane and Joseph Vitarelli
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmmusiccritics.org/awards-archive/2008-ifmca-awards/ |title=2008 IFMCA Awards |website=[[International Film Music Critics Association]] |date=4 January 2010 |access-date=December 18, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="16"| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Miniseries
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="16"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/television-awards/12th-annual-tv-awards-2007-08/ |title=12th Annual TV Awards (2007-08) |website=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| Paul Giamatti
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| [[Laura Linney]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| [[Stephen Dillane]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Željko Ivanek]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| [[Tom Hooper]]
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| Kirk Ellis and [[Michelle Ashford]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| {{won}}
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Costume Design in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| {{nom}}
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Editing in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| {{won}}
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Lighting in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| {{nom}}
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Makeup/Hairstyling in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| {{won}}
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Music in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| {{won}}
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Production Design in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| {{nom}}
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Sound in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| {{nom}}
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Visual Effects in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="8"| [[60th Primetime Emmy Awards|Primetime Emmy Awards]]
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series|Outstanding Miniseries]]
| [[Tom Hanks]], [[Gary Goetzman]], Kirk Ellis, <br> Frank Doelger, David Coatsworth, and <br> Steven Shareshian
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="23"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/john-adams |title=John Adams |website=Emmys.com |publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]] |access-date=July 13, 2017}}</ref>
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie]]
| Paul Giamatti
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie]]
| Laura Linney
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie]]
| Stephen Dillane
| {{nom}}
|-
| David Morse
| {{nom}}
|-
| Tom Wilkinson
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special]]
| Tom Hooper
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special]]
| Kirk Ellis {{small|(for "Independence")}}
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="15"| [[60th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards|Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards]]
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie|Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie]]
| [[Gemma Jackson]], [[David Crank]], <br> Christina Moore, [[Kathy Lucas]], and <br> Sarah Whittle
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or Special]]
| Kathleen Chopin, [[Nina Gold]], and <br> Tracy Kilpatrick
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie]]
| [[Tak Fujimoto]] {{small|(for "Independence")}}
| {{won}}
|-
| Tak Fujimoto and [[Danny Cohen (cinematographer)|Danny Cohen]] <br> {{small|(for "Don't Tread on Me")}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special|Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special]]
| [[Donna Zakowska]], Amy Andrews Harrell, and <br> Clare Spragge {{small|(for "Reunion")}}
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or Movie|Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Movie]]
| [[Jan Archibald]] and [[Lou Sheppard|Loulia Sheppard]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)|Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Movie (Non-Prosthetic)]]
| [[Trefor Proud]] and John R. Bayless
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup|Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special]]
| Trefor Proud, John R. Bayless, <br> Christopher Burgoyne, and <br> [[Matthew W. Mungle]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special|Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or Special <br> (Original Dramatic Score)]]
| Robert Lane {{small|(for "Independence")}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie]]
| [[Melanie Oliver]] {{small|(for "Independence")}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special|Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special]]
| Stephen Hunter Flick, Vanessa Lapato, <br> Kira Roessler, Curt Schulkey, Randy Kelley, <br> Ken Johnson, Paul Berolzheimer, <br> Dean Beville, Bryan Bowen, <br> Patricio Libenson, Solange S. Schwalbe, <br> David Fein, Hilda Hodges, and <br> Alex Gibson {{small|(for "Don't Tread on Me")}}
| {{won}}
|-
| Jon Johnson, Bryan Bowen, Kira Roessler, <br> Vanessa Lapato, Eileen Horta, <br> Virginia Cook McGowan, <br> Samuel C. Crutcher, Mark Messick, <br> Martin Maryska, Greg Stacy, <br> Patricio Libenson, Solange S. Schwalbe, <br> David Fein, Hilda Hodges, and <br> Nicholas Vitarelli {{small|(for "Unnecessary War")}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie]]
| Jay Meagher, Marc Fishman, and <br> Tony Lamberti {{small|(for "Don't Tread on Me")}}
| {{won}}
|-
| Jay Meagher, [[Michael Minkler]], and <br> [[Bob Beemer]] {{small|(for "Join or Die")}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects|Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special]]
| Erik Henry, Jeff Goldman, Paul Graff, <br> Steve Kullback, Christina Graff, <br> David Van Dyke, Robert Stromberg, <br> Edwardo Mendez, and Ken Gorrell <br> {{small|(for "Join or Die")}}
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[13th Satellite Awards|Satellite Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Satellite Award for Best Miniseries|Best Miniseries]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pressacademy.com/award_cat/2008/ |title=2008 Satellite Awards |work=[[Satellite Awards]] |publisher=[[International Press Academy]] |access-date=July 10, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film|Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television]]
| Paul Giamatti
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film|Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television]]
| Laura Linney
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film|Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or <br> Motion Picture Made for Television]]
| [[Sarah Polley]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[24th TCA Awards|Television Critics Association Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[TCA Award for Program of the Year|Program of the Year]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvcritics.org/2008/06/03/hbo-leads-tca-awards-with-10-nominations/ |title=HBO Leads TCA Awards With 10 Nominations |date=June 3, 2008 |publisher=[[Television Critics Association]] |accessdate=June 16, 2013 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004164130/http://tvcritics.org/2008/06/03/hbo-leads-tca-awards-with-10-nominations/ |archivedate=October 4, 2013}}</ref>
|-
| colspan="2"| [[TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials|Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama|Individual Achievement in Drama]]
| Paul Giamatti
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="24"| {{center|2009}}
| [[American Cinema Editors Awards 2009|American Cinema Editors Awards]]
| [[American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television|Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television]]
| Melanie Oliver {{small|(for "Independence")}}
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|last1=Finke|first1=Nikki|title=Nominees For Editors' ACE Eddie Awards|url=https://deadline.com/2010/01/nominees-for-editors-ace-eddie-awards-22118/|website=Deadline|accessdate=12 April 2017|date=12 January 2010}}</ref>
|-
| [[American Film Institute Awards#2008|American Film Institute Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Top 10 Television Programs
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|title=AFI Awards 2008|url=https://www.afi.com/award/afi-awards-2008/|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|date=|accessdate=January 19, 2022|archive-date=October 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017235855/https://www.afi.com/award/afi-awards-2008/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Art Directors Guild Awards 2008|Art Directors Guild Awards]]
| [[Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design for a Television Movie or Limited Series|Excellence in Production Design Award – Television Movie or Mini-series]]
| Gemma Jackson, David Crank, <br> Christina Moore, John P. Goldsmith, <br> Tibor Lázár, Dan Kuchar, Michael H. Ward, <br> Ted Haigh, Richard Salinas, Kathy Lucas, <br> and Sarah Whittle
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://adg.org/awards/adg/winners/2009/ |title=Nominees/Winners |publisher=[[Art Directors Guild]] |accessdate=July 28, 2018}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[Cinema Audio Society Awards 2008|Cinema Audio Society Awards]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Cinema Audio Society Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movie or Limited Series|Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Miniseries]]
| Jay Meagher, Marc Fishman, and <br> Tony Lamberti {{small|(for "Don't Tread on Me")}}
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemaaudiosociety.org/casawards/cas2009nominees.php |title=THE WINNERS AND NOMINEES FOR THE CINEMA AUDIO SOCIETY AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING FOR 2008 |publisher=www.cinemaaudiosociety.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725085101/http://www.cinemaaudiosociety.org/casawards/cas2009nominees.php |archivedate=2011-07-25 }}</ref>
|-
| Jay Meagher, Michael Minkler, and <br> Bob Beemer {{small|(for "Independence")}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| Jay Meagher, Michael Minkler, and <br> Bob Beemer {{small|(for "Join or Die")}}
| {{won}}
|-
| [[11th Costume Designers Guild Awards|Costume Designers Guild Awards]]
| [[Costume Designers Guild Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries|Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries]]
| Donna Zakowska
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.costumedesignersguild.com/awards-archives/11th-cdga-2009/ |title=11th Costume Designers Guild Awards |work=[[Costume Designers Guild]] |access-date=May 21, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[14th Critics' Choice Awards|Critics' Choice Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Best Picture Made for Television
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.digitalhit.com/critics-choice-awards/2009/ |title=14th Critics' Choice Awards (2009) |date=January 8, 2009 |work=DigitalHit.com |access-date=January 8, 2009}}</ref>
|-
| [[61st Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television or Miniseries]]
| Tom Hooper
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/2000s/2008.aspx?value=2008 |title=61st DGA Awards |website=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[66th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film|Best Miniseries or Television Film]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/tv-show/john-adams |title=John Adams – Golden Globes |website=[[HFPA]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|2009}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film|Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film]]
| Paul Giamatti
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film|Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film]]
| Laura Linney
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film|Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film]]
| Tom Wilkinson
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Gracie Awards]]
| Outstanding Female Lead – Drama Special
| Laura Linney
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://allwomeninmedia.org/gracies/2009-gracies-winners/ |title=2009 Gracies Gala Winners |website=[[Gracie Awards]] |date=13 October 2016 |access-date=September 11, 2022}}</ref>
|-
| [[Movieguide Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Faith & Freedom Award for Television
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with ''The Medal: Our Nation's Highest Honor''.}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://movieguideawards.com/2009-movieguide-awards-winners/ |title=2009 Movieguide Awards Winners |website=[[Movieguide Awards]] |date=2 February 2009 |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[20th Producers Guild of America Awards|Producers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Producers Guild of America Award for Best Long-Form Television|David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television]]
| David Coatsworth, Frank Doelger, <br> Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and <br> Steven Shareshian
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite news|last1=Siegel|first1=Tatiana|title='Slumdog' is top dog at PGAs|url=https://variety.com/2009/film/awards/slumdog-is-top-dog-at-pgas-1117999029/|accessdate=September 21, 2017|work=Variety|date=January 24, 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922002710/http://variety.com/2009/film/awards/slumdog-is-top-dog-at-pgas-1117999029/|archivedate=September 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[15th Screen Actors Guild Awards|Screen Actors Guild Awards]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie|Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie]]
| Paul Giamatti
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sagawards.org/awards/nominees-and-recipients/15th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards |title=The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards |work=[[Screen Actors Guild Awards]] |access-date=May 21, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| Tom Wilkinson
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie|Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie]]
| Laura Linney
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[7th Visual Effects Society Awards|Visual Effects Society Awards]]
| [[Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode|Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie, or Special]]
| Steve Kullback, Eric Henry, <br> Robert Stromberg, and Jeff Goldman <br> {{small|(for "Join or Die")}}
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visualeffectssociety.com/ayear/7th-annual-ves-awards |title=7th Annual VES Awards |date=March 24, 2015 |publisher=[[Visual Effects Society]] |access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref>
|-
| [[Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project|Outstanding Created Environment in a Broadcast Program or Commercial]]
| Paul Graff, Robert Stromberg, and <br> Adam Watkins {{small|(for "Join or Die" – [[Boston Harbor]])}}
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in an Episode|Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial]]
| Paul Graff, Joshua LaCross, and <br> Matt Collorafice {{small|(for "Join or Die" – Boston Harbor)}}
| {{won}}
|-
| [[61st Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted|Long Form – Adaptation]]
| Kirk Ellis {{small|(for "Join or Die" and "Independence")}}; <br> Based on the [[John Adams|book]] by [[David McCullough]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web| title = Previous Nominees & Winners: 2008 Awards Winners| publisher = Writers Guild Awards| url = http://www.wga.org/wga-awards/previous-nominees-winners.aspx| access-date = 2014-05-07| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150512181500/http://www.wga.org/wga-awards/previous-nominees-winners.aspx| archive-date = 2015-05-12| url-status = dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[30th Young Artist Awards|Young Artist Awards]]
| Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – <br> Supporting Young Actor
| Steven Hinkle
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms30.html |title=30th Annual Young Artist Awards |access-date=2011-03-31 |work=YoungArtistAwards.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719205923/http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms30.html |archive-date=2011-07-19 }}</ref>
|-
| {{center|2019}}
| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Hall of Fame – Television Programs
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/tv-hall-of-fame/television-hall-of-fame-productions-2/ |title=Television Hall of Fame: Productions |website=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=May 15, 2021 |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026212823/http://www.oftaawards.com/tv-hall-of-fame/television-hall-of-fame-productions-2/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|}

==Soundtrack==
The score for the miniseries was composed by Robert Lane and Joseph Vitarelli. Lane wrote the main theme and scored "Join or Die," "Independence," "Unite or Die" and "Peacefield," with Vitarelli doing "Don't Tread on Me," "Reunion" and "Unnecessary War." The two composers worked independently of each other, with Lane writing and recording his segments in [[London]] and Vitarelli in [[Los Angeles]]. There are also pieces by classical composers, including [[Mozart]], [[Boccherini]], [[Gluck]], [[Handel]] and [[Schubert]].<ref>[http://www.scoringsessions.com/news/127 ''John Adams'' at   ScoringSessions.com]</ref> The soundtrack was released on the [[Varèse Sarabande]] label.

==Historical authenticity==
The series deviates from David McCullough's book on several occasions, using creative license throughout.<ref name="Stern">{{cite web|author=Jeremy Stern |url=http://hnn.us/articles/56155.html |title=History News Network |publisher=Hnn.us |date=2008-10-27 |access-date=2013-07-01}}</ref>

===Part I===
* John Adams addresses Captain Preston immediately after the massacre, while deliberating whether to defend the soldier; he says: "As of this morning, five are dead". Only three men were killed immediately: Samuel Maverick died the next morning, and [[Patrick Carr (Boston Massacre)|Patrick Carr]] did not die until two weeks later.
* Around the time of the trial, John Adams's son [[Charles Adams (1770–1800)|Charles]] is depicted playing with his sister, though he was not born until May 29, 1770 (making him still an infant). Likewise, his older son [[John Quincy Adams]] was born in July 1767, but he is depicted as a near-adolescent.
* [[Samuel Adams]] is depicted as disapproving of John Adams's decision to defend Captain Preston and the other Boston Massacre soldiers, when no other lawyer would act as their counsel. It is implied that the [[Sons of Liberty]] also disapproved, and that John for his part disapproved of their group. In fact, Samuel Adams encouraged his cousin John to take the case.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Alexander|first1=John K.|title=Samuel Adams: America's Revolutionary Politician|date=January 13, 2004|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=074252115X|page=84|edition=Paperback}}</ref> John and other leading members of the Sons of Liberty also convinced [[Josiah Quincy II]], another cousin who was a lawyer, to aid Adams in his preparation of the case.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zobel|first1=Hiller B.|title=The Boston Massacre|date=April 17, 1996|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=0393314839|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bostonmassacre00hill/page/220 220–221]|edition=Paperback|url=https://archive.org/details/bostonmassacre00hill/page/220}}</ref> 
* Captain Preston and the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre are shown being tried in a single trial in what seems to be the dead of winter, and declared not guilty of all charges. In actuality, Captain Preston's trial took place on October 24 and ran through October 29, when he was found not guilty. The eight soldiers were brought to trial weeks later in a separate trial that concluded on November 29.  Six of the soldiers were found not guilty, but Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Killroy were convicted of manslaughter. They both received brands on their right thumbs as punishment.<ref>Douglas Linder, [http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials19.htm The Boston Massacre Trials] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430001102/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials19.htm |date=2008-04-30 }}, JURIST, July 2001</ref>
* [[John Hancock]] is confronted by a British customs official, and he orders the crowd to "teach him a lesson, tar the bastard". Hancock and [[Samuel Adams]] then look on while the official is [[tarring and feathering|tarred and feathered]], to the disapproval of John Adams. The scene is fictional and does not appear in McCullough's book. According to Samuel Adams biographer [[Ira Stoll]], there is no evidence that Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were opposed to mob violence, were ever present at a tarring and feathering, and so the scene succeeds in "tarring the reputations of Hancock and Samuel Adams".<ref>Ira Stoll, [http://www.nysun.com/arts/bring-forth-the-tar-and-feathers/72671/ "Bring Forth the Tar and Feathers"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204142530/https://www.nysun.com/arts/bring-forth-the-tar-and-feathers/72671/ |date=2020-12-04 }}, ''The New York Sun'', March 11, 2008.</ref> Jeremy Stern writes, "Despite popular mythology, tarrings were never common in Revolutionary Boston, and were not promoted by the opposition leadership. The entire sequence is pure and pernicious fiction."<ref name="Stern" /> According to Stern, the scene is used to highlight a schism between Samuel and John Adams, which is entirely fictional.<ref name="Stern" />
* The tar and feather scene also improperly uses a black, modern tar. In reality, the liquid known as tar in the 18th century was [[pine tar]], a liquid which is more often light-brown in color. The tar that we know today is actually called petroleum tar or bitumen. Pine tar also has a low melting point, and would not burn the skin the way that hot petroleum tar would. 
* While in bed, Adams mentions his parents, saying his mother could not read. However, in his memoirs, John Adams himself wrote that "as my parents were both fond of reading...I was very early taught to read at home," indicating that his mother likely possessed at least a basic level of literacy.<ref>Autobiography of John Adams, "[https://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/archive/doc?id=A1_2&bc=%2Fdigitaladams%2Farchive%2Fbrowse%2Fautobio1.php Parents and schooling]," p. 2.</ref> However, in the book McCullough does speculate that Adams's mother may have been illiterate, citing the lack of written correspondence either to or from her and evidence that she had letters read aloud to her.<ref>David McCullough, ''John Adams'', Simon & Schuster, 2001, chapter 1.</ref>
* [[David McCullough]]'s biography makes no mention of a pulpit speech by John Adams after being chosen, in summer 1774, to be one of Massachusetts' representatives to the [[First Continental Congress]] in Philadelphia. The text for that speech, at the end of Part I, comes mainly from two documents Adams penned during the [[Stamp Act 1765|Stamp Act]] crisis eight years earlier, apparently stitched together in the film so as to evoke the similar-sounding famous passage in the [[United States Declaration of Independence]], about men being created equal and endowed thereby with unalienable rights. Adams (instead of Jefferson) might have served as lead author of the Declaration two years later, and might have foreshadowed key portions of it oratorically before leaving Massachusetts for Philadelphia, but actually did neither. The climactic final words of that speech, "Liberty will reign in America," appear to be a dramatic invention, not a passage Adams is known to have ever spoken or written.<ref>McCullough, pp. 59-61, [http://www.enjoyingphiladelphia.com/first_continental_congress.html/ First Continental Congress in 1774] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429185636/http://www.enjoyingphiladelphia.com/first_continental_congress.html |date=2016-04-29 }}, [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/a-dissertation-on-the-canon-and-feudal-law/ Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law (1765)], [https://web.archive.org/web/20201021025203/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-01-02-0063-0004 Boston Gazette, under penname, "Earl of Clarendon" (1766)], [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89803195/ NPR, "Everyone loves George" (2008)]. Retrieved February 18, 2017.</ref>
*When Adams is set off to join the 1774 [[First Continental Congress]], [[Abigail Adams]] is shown pregnant with a child. Adams is seen saying if the child was a girl, they would name her Elizabeth. While Abigail did give birth to a stillborn daughter they named Elizabeth, this happened in 1777, not 1774.

===Part II===
* In the opening scene, the final meeting site of the [[First Continental Congress]] is incorrectly shown as the Pennsylvania State House (now known as [[Independence Hall]]). In fact, the First Continental Congress was held in [[Carpenters' Hall]], located approximately {{convert|250|yd}} east of the state house, along Chestnut Street. Carpenters' Hall was and still is privately owned by The Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia. It offered more privacy than the Pennsylvania State House. The venue depicted for the Second Continental Congress, however, is correctly depicted as the Pennsylvania State House.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carpentershall.org/index.htm |title=Carpenters' Hall |publisher=Carpentershall.org |date=1995-07-04 |access-date=2013-07-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902031742/http://carpentershall.org/index.htm |archive-date=2013-09-02 }}</ref>
* Benjamin Franklin is shown being brought to the Continental Congress in a [[Litter (vehicle)|litter]], but he did not use this mode of transport in Philadelphia until the Constitutional Convention, 11 years later.
* John Adams did not ride to [[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Lexington and Concord]] while the battle was still in progress; he visited on April 22, several days later.<ref>John Ferling, ''John Adams: A Life'', Amer Political Biography Press (January 1997)  p. 127.</ref>
* The first version of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] read by Adams' family was depicted as a printed copy; in reality, it was a copy in Adams' own hand, which led Mrs. Adams to believe that he had written it himself.<ref>David McCullough, ''John Adams'', Simon & Schuster, 2001, chapter 2. Part 2, 1:25:37.</ref>
* General [[Henry Knox]]'s ox-driven caravan of cannon (taken from [[Fort Ticonderoga]]) is depicted passing by the Adams' house in [[Braintree, Massachusetts]] en route to [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].  In reality, General Knox's caravan almost certainly did not pass through Braintree.  Fort Ticonderoga is in upstate New York, northwest of Cambridge, and Knox is assumed to have taken the most likely routes of the day, from the New York border through western and central Massachusetts via what are now Routes 23, 9, and 20, never entering Braintree, which is located approximately {{convert|15|mi}} southeast of Cambridge.<ref>[http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/services/KnoxTrail/kthistory.html The Knox Trail History] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090531221428/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/services/KnoxTrail/kthistory.html |date=2009-05-31 }}, New York State Museum website 2008</ref>
* General Knox is played by actor Del Pentecost (b. 1963), who at the time of filming was age 45, far older than the 25 years old that Henry Knox was in 1775.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0672360/|title = Del Pentecost|website = [[IMDb]]}}</ref> 
* The illness of the daughter following the inoculation of [[smallpox]] was inaccurate. In fact, it was their son Charles who developed the pox and who was unconscious and delirious for 48 hours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/z_x02smallpox_g.htm |title=Health and Medical History of President John Adams: Smallpox Inoculation in 1764 |publisher=Doctorzebra.com |date=2013-03-05 |access-date=2013-07-01}}</ref><ref>Blinderman, A. John Adams: fears, depressions, and ailments. NY State J Med. 1977;77:268-276. Pubmed. [a] pp. 274-275</ref>

===Part III===
* Adams is shown departing for [[Europe]] without an upset nine-year-old son Charles, leaving only with older son John Quincy Adams. Adams actually took multiple trips to Europe. According to David McCullough's book, on one such trip young Charles accompanied his brother and father to Paris. He later became ill in Holland, and traveled alone on the troubled vessel ''South Carolina''. After an extended journey of five months, Charles returned to Braintree at 11 years of age.
* During Adams's first voyage to France, his ship engages a British ship in a fierce battle while Adams assists a surgeon performing an amputation on a patient who dies. In reality, Adams helped perform the amputation several days after the capture of the British ship, following an unrelated accident. The patient died a week after the amputation, rather than during the operation as shown in the episode.<ref>David McCullough, ''John Adams'', Simon & Schuster, 2001, pg. 186</ref>

===Part IV===
* Abigail and John are depicted reuniting outside Paris after many years, but in reality were first reunited in London and traveled to Paris together.
* Abigail Adams is depicted reprimanding [[Benjamin Franklin]] for cheating on [[Deborah Read|his wife]] in France, but his wife died seven years earlier in 1774.
* Abigail and John are depicted reuniting with their grown up children Nabby, John Quincy, Charles, and Thomas Boylston after returning to the United States, but in reality Nabby accompanied her mother Abigail to London where they reunited with John, and after joined by John Quincy, the four traveled to Paris where they stayed for a year until 1785 when John was appointed the first American ambassador to Great Britain, at which Nabby accompanied her parents to England while John Quincy returned home to Massachusetts to attend Harvard.  
* Multiple references are made in dialogue throughout the episode to the impending "Constitutional Convention." In reality, the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] was only referred to as such after it disbanded, since the Philadelphia convention was originally called only to revise the [[Articles of Confederation]]. When the Convention met, strict secrecy was imposed on its proceedings. It was only under this veil of secrecy that the convention goers changed their mission from one of revising the Articles to one of crafting a new constitution.

===Part V===
* Alexander Hamilton attributes himself the quote, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." However, this quote, found in [[Federalist No. 51]], is generally attributed to [[James Madison]], though there is some dispute on the matter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-04-02-0151-0001 |title=Introductory Note: The Federalist, [27 October 1787–28 May 1788]|website=Founders Online|publisher=National Archives|access-date=2025-01-12}}</ref>
* Vice President John Adams is shown casting the tiebreaker vote in favor of ratifying the [[Jay Treaty]]. In reality, his vote was never required as the Senate passed the resolution by 20–10.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1784_timeline/john_jays_treaty.html |title=John Jay's Treaty |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=2000-12-23 |access-date=2013-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310065044/http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1784_timeline/john_jays_treaty.html |archive-date=2012-03-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Furthermore, the vice president would never be required to cast a vote in a treaty ratification because Article II of the Constitution requires that treaties receive a two-thirds vote.
*[[Thomas Pinckney]] is portrayed as a Senator. Pinckney was never a Senator, though he would be appointed Ambassador to Great Britain by Washington in 1792.
* Nabby Adams meets and marries Colonel [[William Stephens Smith]] upon her parents' return to America from London.  John Adams is depicted as refusing to use his influence to obtain political positions for his daughter's new husband, though Colonel Smith requests his father-in-law's assistance repeatedly with an almost grasping demeanor.  Mr. Adams upbraids his son-in-law each time for even making the request, stating that Colonel Smith should find himself an honest trade or career and not depend upon [[property market|speculation]]. In reality, Nabby met Colonel Smith abroad while her father was serving as United States minister to France and Great Britain, and the couple married in London prior to the end of John Adams' diplomatic posting to the Court of St. James.  Both John and Abigail used their influence to assist Colonel Smith and obtain political appointments for him, although this did not curb Colonel Smith's tendency to invest unwisely.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}
*Following his election as president, John Adams is shown delivering his inauguration speech in the Senate chamber, on the second floor of [[Congress Hall]], to an audience of senators. The speech was actually given in the much larger House of Representatives chamber on the first floor of Congress Hall.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inaugural.senate.gov/swearing-in/event/john-adams-1797 |title=Swearing-In Ceremony for President John Adams |publisher=Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies |access-date=2016-01-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018023900/http://www.inaugural.senate.gov/swearing-in/event/john-adams-1797 |archive-date=2012-10-18 }}</ref> The room was filled to capacity with members of both the House and Senate, justices of the Supreme Court, heads of departments, the diplomatic corps, and others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sheilaomalley.com/archives/000966.html |title=1797 – The Inauguration of John Adams &#124; The Sheila Variations |publisher=Sheilaomalley.com |date=2004-02-16 |access-date=2013-07-01}}</ref>
*Though Adams was inaugurated as president on March 4, 1797, Washington, DC would not become the capital city until November 1, 1800.  John and Abigail Adams moved in to the [[President's House (Philadelphia)|President's House]] in Philadelphia where he had been inaugurated as it was still the temporary capital city.  Adams had moved to a private home in Washington, DC during the summer of 1800 and under the provisions of the plans for Washington to become the capital, took up residency in the unfinished President's House (renamed the White House later in the century) on November 1, 1800.  His wife was home in Quincy.  She was not with him as depicted in the series.  This is especially important to note because due to her not being with him, President Adams wrote a letter to Abigail on his second night in the mansion that included a very famous quote which President Franklin Roosevelt had inscribed in the fireplace mantle in the State Dining Room—"I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof."

===Part VI===
* After President Adams refuses to assist Colonel Smith for the last time, Smith is depicted as leaving Nabby and their children in the care of the Adams family at Peacefield; according to the scene, his intention is to seek opportunities to the west and either return or send for his family once he can provide for them.  In reality, Smith brought his family with him from one venture to the next, and Nabby only returned to her father's home in Massachusetts after it was determined that she would undergo a mastectomy rather than continue with the potions and poultices prescribed by other doctors at that time.
* After President Adams consults with his wife as to whether he should sign the laws, Adams is seen affixing his name to the ‘Punishment for Certain Crimes Against the United States’. In reality, it is entitled ‘An Act in addition to an Act entitled “An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States”. The “[[Crimes Act of 1790|Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States]]” was done during the second session of the first congress on April 30, 1790, by President Washington.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/1st-congress/c1.pdf|title=Act of the First Congress pdf LOC|website=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/5th-congress/c5.pdf|title=Acts of the Fifth Congress|website=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref>

===Part VII===
*Nabby is living with her family when she discerns the lump in her right breast, has her [[mastectomy]], and dies two years later. Smith does not return until after Nabby's death and it is implied that he has finally established a stable form of income; whether he was returning for his family as he had promised or was summoned ahead of his own schedule by the Adamses pursuant to Nabby's death is not specified. Smith was with her during and after the mastectomy, and by all accounts had thrown himself into extensive research in attempts to find any reputable alternative to treating his wife's cancer via mastectomy.  The mastectomy was not depicted in the series as it is described in historical documents.  In fact, Nabby's tumor was in the left breast. She returned to the Smith family home after her operation and died in her father's home at Peacefield only because she expressed a wish to die there, knowing that her cancer had returned and would kill her, and her husband acceded to her request. Dr. [[Benjamin Rush]] was also not the surgeon who conducted the operation which was actually performed by the noted surgeon Dr. [[John Warren (surgeon, born 1753)|John Warren]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Bathsheba's Breast: Women, Cancer, and History|last=Olson|first=James S.|year=2002|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=0-8018-6936-6|url=https://archive.org/details/bathshebasbreast00olso}}</ref> Throughout the miniseries, Dr. Rush is shown making occasional house calls to the Adams residence. However, this is highly unlikely as Rush's practice was in far-away Philadelphia, not New England. That said, John and Abigail did consult with Rush regarding Nabby's condition, albeit this consultation was done through the mail.
* Adams is shown inspecting [[John Trumbull]]'s painting ''[[Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)|Declaration of Independence]]'' (1817) and stating that he and Thomas Jefferson are the last surviving people depicted. This is inaccurate since [[Charles Carroll of Carrollton]], who is also depicted in the painting, survived until 1832. In fact, Adams never made such a remark. In reality, when he inspected Trumbull's painting, Adams' only comment was to point to a door in the background of the painting and state, "When I nominated George Washington of Virginia for Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, he took his hat and rushed out that door."<ref>David McCullough, ''John Adams'', Simon & Schuster, 2001, pg. 627.</ref>
* Benjamin Rush is portrayed as encouraging Adams to start a correspondence with Thomas Jefferson after the death of Abigail Adams. Abigail's death occurred in 1818 but the Adams-Jefferson correspondence started in 1812, and Rush died in 1813.<ref name="Stern" />

==See also==
* [[List of television series and miniseries about the American Revolution]]
* [[List of films about the American Revolution]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0472027|title=John Adams}}

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