Revolution 250 Podcast
Revolution 250 Podcast
Revolution 250 Podcast - National Adams Memorial with Jackie Cushman
The monuments of Washington D.C. are among the most visited sites in our nation's capital. The legacies of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt are carried through the generations by their stone memorials in D.C. Today, there is a national commission to investigate and plan for a new addition to those memorials, one dedicated to John Adams and the many notable members of his family, including Abigail, John Quincy, Louisa Catherine, Charles Francis and Henry Adams. Join Professor Robert Allison in conversation with Jackie Cushman, Chair of the Adams National Memorial Commission.
WEBVTT
00:00:00.029 --> 00:00:01.933
Here we go.
00:00:01.953 --> 00:00:02.694
Hello, everyone.
00:00:02.754 --> 00:00:03.857
Welcome to the Revolution
00:00:03.896 --> 00:00:05.038
two fifty podcast.
00:00:05.078 --> 00:00:05.839
I'm Bob Allison.
00:00:05.881 --> 00:00:07.924
I chair the Rev two fifty advisory group.
00:00:07.985 --> 00:00:09.367
We are a consortium of
00:00:09.428 --> 00:00:10.308
seventy five or so
00:00:10.329 --> 00:00:11.952
organizations in Massachusetts.
00:00:12.417 --> 00:00:13.618
Planning Commemorations of
00:00:13.637 --> 00:00:15.558
the Beginnings of American Independence.
00:00:16.018 --> 00:00:18.620
And our guest today is Jackie G. Cushman.
00:00:18.699 --> 00:00:20.620
Jackie Cushman is the chair
00:00:20.701 --> 00:00:22.981
of the Adams Memorial Commission,
00:00:23.001 --> 00:00:24.181
which was established by
00:00:24.242 --> 00:00:25.542
Congress actually last year,
00:00:25.582 --> 00:00:26.303
although it's been in the
00:00:26.343 --> 00:00:27.663
works for a number of years,
00:00:28.222 --> 00:00:29.364
which is created to
00:00:29.463 --> 00:00:32.284
establish a memorial for John Adams,
00:00:32.325 --> 00:00:34.344
Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams,
00:00:34.365 --> 00:00:36.125
and Louisa Catherine Adams,
00:00:36.426 --> 00:00:37.826
as well as Henry Adams and
00:00:37.866 --> 00:00:39.606
Charles Francis Adams and
00:00:39.627 --> 00:00:40.406
the rest of the Adams.
00:00:40.546 --> 00:00:41.828
So Jackie, thanks for joining us.
00:00:42.591 --> 00:00:44.012
Thank you so much for having me on, Bob.
00:00:44.051 --> 00:00:45.012
I really appreciate it.
00:00:46.073 --> 00:00:47.536
So let me just ask how you
00:00:47.576 --> 00:00:49.076
got interested in the
00:00:49.197 --> 00:00:50.298
Adamses and thought that it
00:00:50.338 --> 00:00:52.200
was really time to build a
00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:52.941
memorial to them.
00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:54.960
Well, that's a great question.
00:00:55.399 --> 00:00:57.582
So I was, as you mentioned,
00:00:57.881 --> 00:00:59.082
I'm going to kind of go back in time.
00:00:59.143 --> 00:01:02.146
This has been a project for a while,
00:01:02.906 --> 00:01:03.807
and I didn't become
00:01:03.847 --> 00:01:05.808
involved until just a few years ago.
00:01:05.868 --> 00:01:06.810
So I was involved in the
00:01:06.829 --> 00:01:08.191
iteration twenty years ago
00:01:08.551 --> 00:01:10.192
when Dave McCullough was
00:01:10.233 --> 00:01:11.134
really at the forefront
00:01:11.353 --> 00:01:12.614
based on his book on John Adams.
00:01:13.015 --> 00:01:14.415
So I was appointed to the
00:01:14.436 --> 00:01:16.378
commission by President
00:01:16.418 --> 00:01:17.998
Trump at the end of his first term.
00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:19.561
So it's been a while.
00:01:20.100 --> 00:01:22.423
And we were not able and I
00:01:22.442 --> 00:01:23.983
can go into the details of the structure,
00:01:24.004 --> 00:01:24.843
but we were not able to
00:01:24.884 --> 00:01:26.725
begin work as a commission
00:01:26.766 --> 00:01:27.947
until we had a majority of
00:01:27.966 --> 00:01:29.487
the commissioners appointed
00:01:29.968 --> 00:01:31.088
based on the legislation,
00:01:31.129 --> 00:01:31.789
the way it's written.
00:01:32.469 --> 00:01:34.010
That really happened just a
00:01:34.070 --> 00:01:35.292
little over a year ago.
00:01:35.331 --> 00:01:36.311
So we've been up and running
00:01:36.352 --> 00:01:38.153
for just a little over a year.
00:01:38.174 --> 00:01:39.194
But I have learned.
00:01:40.094 --> 00:01:41.295
so much about the adams
00:01:41.334 --> 00:01:42.656
family I think they are the
00:01:42.695 --> 00:01:43.555
more I learn the more
00:01:43.635 --> 00:01:45.676
fascinating they are and
00:01:45.736 --> 00:01:46.956
I've really enjoyed getting
00:01:46.996 --> 00:01:47.936
to know more about the
00:01:47.977 --> 00:01:49.557
family and really
00:01:49.617 --> 00:01:50.637
understand now how
00:01:50.697 --> 00:01:53.418
important they are um to
00:01:53.438 --> 00:01:54.298
the founding of our country
00:01:55.718 --> 00:01:57.179
they really are and let me
00:01:57.198 --> 00:01:58.118
just say a little bit about
00:01:58.299 --> 00:01:59.859
your background because
00:01:59.939 --> 00:02:01.099
your background isn't
00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:02.280
you're not in the story and
00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:03.359
in fact it's good not to
00:02:03.379 --> 00:02:04.600
have a story necessarily
00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:06.021
running this charge but you
00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:08.300
come from the world of, well,
00:02:08.320 --> 00:02:10.002
you've done work in the corporate world,
00:02:10.042 --> 00:02:10.682
as well as with the
00:02:10.723 --> 00:02:12.223
Chattahoochee River Trust.
00:02:12.283 --> 00:02:12.403
I mean,
00:02:12.424 --> 00:02:13.905
you've created this wonderful
00:02:14.384 --> 00:02:16.026
outdoor space in Georgia,
00:02:16.826 --> 00:02:19.128
as well as being a writer, columnist,
00:02:19.568 --> 00:02:20.289
commentator.
00:02:20.909 --> 00:02:22.131
But the commission itself is
00:02:22.151 --> 00:02:23.391
a bipartisan group and
00:02:23.572 --> 00:02:25.173
includes members of Congress,
00:02:25.233 --> 00:02:26.373
as well as people who've
00:02:26.433 --> 00:02:27.314
had various roles.
00:02:27.375 --> 00:02:28.716
So it is a diverse group
00:02:28.735 --> 00:02:30.456
that you are chairing.
00:02:31.760 --> 00:02:32.320
Absolutely.
00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:33.641
So I have a mixed background.
00:02:33.662 --> 00:02:34.663
I actually began in finance.
00:02:34.682 --> 00:02:36.804
I have a MBA and a CFA.
00:02:37.924 --> 00:02:38.844
I began working in corporate
00:02:38.865 --> 00:02:40.246
finance out of graduate
00:02:40.265 --> 00:02:42.266
school and was there for many years.
00:02:43.266 --> 00:02:45.729
Ended up running a division
00:02:45.788 --> 00:02:47.389
for Bell South Mobility.
00:02:47.409 --> 00:02:48.890
We had three billion dollars under me.
00:02:48.931 --> 00:02:49.610
I did all the corporate
00:02:49.631 --> 00:02:50.610
planning for that division.
00:02:51.391 --> 00:02:52.331
My team did, not me.
00:02:52.352 --> 00:02:53.712
I could not do all that work.
00:02:53.772 --> 00:02:54.312
My team did.
00:02:55.014 --> 00:02:56.895
I got married and had sort
00:02:56.914 --> 00:02:58.195
of having children and my
00:02:58.216 --> 00:03:00.197
husband and I decided that I'd stay home.
00:03:00.836 --> 00:03:02.038
and spend majority of my
00:03:02.098 --> 00:03:03.260
time raising our two
00:03:03.300 --> 00:03:05.424
children who um I'm so glad
00:03:05.463 --> 00:03:06.686
I had that opportunity and
00:03:06.705 --> 00:03:07.687
I'm so thankful for that
00:03:07.766 --> 00:03:09.409
but in the meantime I did
00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:10.450
some consulting I've
00:03:10.471 --> 00:03:11.633
written three books I've
00:03:11.652 --> 00:03:13.496
been in the um lizzie
00:03:13.536 --> 00:03:14.497
mentioned the columnist and
00:03:14.537 --> 00:03:15.558
I spent a lot of time
00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:19.080
working on projects that are
00:03:19.121 --> 00:03:21.341
important to my husband and myself,
00:03:21.381 --> 00:03:22.241
as well as the community.
00:03:22.281 --> 00:03:23.061
So, for instance,
00:03:24.161 --> 00:03:25.102
I've worked for over twenty
00:03:25.122 --> 00:03:26.521
years on a homeless shelter
00:03:26.542 --> 00:03:28.201
for newborn babies and their families,
00:03:29.241 --> 00:03:30.263
and it's called Our House,
00:03:30.282 --> 00:03:31.643
and I'm still involved with that.
00:03:32.362 --> 00:03:33.483
I've spent, as you mentioned,
00:03:33.502 --> 00:03:34.703
the Chattahoochee Riverlands.
00:03:34.742 --> 00:03:36.783
That's a project by the
00:03:36.843 --> 00:03:38.024
Trust for Public Land,
00:03:38.044 --> 00:03:39.584
which is an amazing organization.
00:03:40.443 --> 00:03:42.004
So I've done a lot of work that is
00:03:43.824 --> 00:03:45.105
It takes a long time to set
00:03:45.165 --> 00:03:46.026
up the Chattahoochee River
00:03:46.045 --> 00:03:47.606
Lines project where we've
00:03:47.667 --> 00:03:48.947
now broken ground and we've
00:03:49.007 --> 00:03:50.328
now actually cut ribbons.
00:03:50.828 --> 00:03:52.908
But it took about seven
00:03:52.949 --> 00:03:55.110
years to get it up and running.
00:03:55.150 --> 00:03:56.509
And now there's over two
00:03:56.530 --> 00:03:58.010
hundred and fifty million
00:03:58.050 --> 00:03:59.072
dollars invested in this
00:03:59.132 --> 00:03:59.951
project on the
00:03:59.991 --> 00:04:01.331
Chattahoochee River in Georgia.
00:04:02.332 --> 00:04:04.354
So I really think it in a lot of ways.
00:04:05.153 --> 00:04:06.655
Those projects and my
00:04:06.694 --> 00:04:08.754
background in finance and
00:04:08.794 --> 00:04:10.675
on boards has really set me
00:04:10.795 --> 00:04:13.997
up to have the experience and the,
00:04:14.037 --> 00:04:14.296
you know,
00:04:14.697 --> 00:04:16.557
the interest to do this project.
00:04:16.617 --> 00:04:17.697
And I think God has a sense
00:04:17.757 --> 00:04:19.098
of humor because, you know,
00:04:20.158 --> 00:04:20.899
he got me appointed to a
00:04:20.918 --> 00:04:22.800
commission I had no idea even existed.
00:04:24.300 --> 00:04:25.642
And I've really enjoyed
00:04:26.463 --> 00:04:27.985
working with the commissioners we have.
00:04:28.004 --> 00:04:28.925
We have a great team.
00:04:29.466 --> 00:04:32.690
And as I said, because I've written books,
00:04:33.290 --> 00:04:34.413
I've always enjoyed reading.
00:04:34.512 --> 00:04:36.535
I've really kind of dug in
00:04:36.595 --> 00:04:37.495
and read a lot of books
00:04:37.555 --> 00:04:38.737
about the Adams and learned
00:04:38.797 --> 00:04:39.517
more about them.
00:04:39.538 --> 00:04:40.660
Yes.
00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:42.300
I see some on your shelf behind you.
00:04:42.982 --> 00:04:43.543
Absolutely.
00:04:44.886 --> 00:04:46.107
And these kind of long
00:04:46.266 --> 00:04:47.528
projects that you've seen
00:04:47.567 --> 00:04:48.709
to fruition really does
00:04:48.749 --> 00:04:49.589
remind us of the kind of
00:04:49.610 --> 00:04:52.732
long projects of the Adamses, you know,
00:04:52.812 --> 00:04:53.312
all of them.
00:04:53.432 --> 00:04:54.192
And, you know,
00:04:54.213 --> 00:04:55.033
the fact that you stayed at
00:04:55.052 --> 00:04:56.074
home also makes us think of
00:04:56.134 --> 00:04:57.834
Abigail and Louisa Catherine,
00:04:57.875 --> 00:04:58.956
who focused on their
00:04:58.995 --> 00:05:00.117
families while they also
00:05:00.156 --> 00:05:02.017
had really bold ideas about
00:05:02.377 --> 00:05:03.139
political life.
00:05:04.055 --> 00:05:04.817
You're exactly right.
00:05:04.836 --> 00:05:05.757
So Abigail, I think,
00:05:05.797 --> 00:05:06.458
is one of the most
00:05:06.658 --> 00:05:08.920
interesting members of the
00:05:09.019 --> 00:05:10.000
Adams family that we're
00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:11.961
recognizing because she lived.
00:05:11.982 --> 00:05:12.983
I mean, first of all,
00:05:13.023 --> 00:05:14.024
you have to understand when
00:05:14.064 --> 00:05:15.125
you think about the Adams family,
00:05:15.144 --> 00:05:18.228
you can't put them in today's world.
00:05:18.387 --> 00:05:19.608
They lived in a different time.
00:05:20.369 --> 00:05:21.689
Yes, they lived in Massachusetts,
00:05:22.571 --> 00:05:23.531
but it was a different
00:05:23.552 --> 00:05:24.452
world in which they lived.
00:05:24.492 --> 00:05:26.134
So women didn't have the
00:05:26.173 --> 00:05:27.055
right to own property.
00:05:28.014 --> 00:05:28.975
when they were married.
00:05:29.375 --> 00:05:31.117
But Abigail, as you mentioned,
00:05:31.137 --> 00:05:32.939
she was very entrepreneurial, right?
00:05:32.978 --> 00:05:34.720
She stayed at home, she raised the kids.
00:05:35.100 --> 00:05:35.841
She actually had them
00:05:36.521 --> 00:05:37.742
vaccinated for smallpox,
00:05:37.762 --> 00:05:41.324
which was very risky at that time.
00:05:41.944 --> 00:05:43.365
She ran the farm.
00:05:43.386 --> 00:05:46.067
You know, John did not have,
00:05:46.468 --> 00:05:47.487
did not come from money
00:05:47.528 --> 00:05:49.408
like George Washington or
00:05:49.449 --> 00:05:50.889
Thomas Jefferson, right?
00:05:50.930 --> 00:05:54.812
So she ran the farm and she also got into,
00:05:55.392 --> 00:05:55.934
for instance,
00:05:56.494 --> 00:05:58.454
He sent pens back to her and
00:05:58.495 --> 00:05:59.855
she sold the pens that the
00:05:59.896 --> 00:06:01.036
women needed for sewing.
00:06:01.497 --> 00:06:03.718
And she made money on that venture.
00:06:04.139 --> 00:06:06.360
So she's very, very, very important.
00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:08.180
She's the one that kept the family going.
00:06:09.141 --> 00:06:10.182
She's the one that provided
00:06:10.223 --> 00:06:11.182
the money for the family
00:06:11.202 --> 00:06:12.963
because John was serving in the Congress,
00:06:12.983 --> 00:06:13.925
the Continental Congress.
00:06:14.605 --> 00:06:16.125
And she really allowed him
00:06:16.485 --> 00:06:18.468
to do as much work as he did.
00:06:18.507 --> 00:06:19.288
Plus, you know,
00:06:19.307 --> 00:06:20.728
we can talk about their
00:06:20.749 --> 00:06:21.649
relationship was so
00:06:21.670 --> 00:06:23.370
incredibly important to both of them.
00:06:24.154 --> 00:06:24.656
It really was.
00:06:25.276 --> 00:06:26.619
And it's fortunate for us
00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:27.961
that they spent so much
00:06:28.002 --> 00:06:28.862
time apart because they
00:06:28.882 --> 00:06:30.206
wrote to each other constantly.
00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:32.220
They did.
00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:33.620
And as you know,
00:06:33.980 --> 00:06:34.661
the Massachusetts
00:06:34.682 --> 00:06:37.384
Historical Society has the online version,
00:06:37.423 --> 00:06:38.345
the Adams Papers.
00:06:38.845 --> 00:06:39.906
So you can go through and
00:06:39.946 --> 00:06:40.646
actually read them.
00:06:40.685 --> 00:06:43.608
But we learned so much about
00:06:43.668 --> 00:06:44.869
who they were as people and
00:06:45.069 --> 00:06:45.910
what they were thinking.
00:06:46.511 --> 00:06:49.151
And she was very much his
00:06:49.192 --> 00:06:50.153
intellectual equal.
00:06:50.634 --> 00:06:52.214
She reminded him of things.
00:06:52.295 --> 00:06:53.355
He sought her counsel.
00:06:53.396 --> 00:06:54.896
And when he was president,
00:06:54.916 --> 00:06:56.838
she really served basically
00:06:56.898 --> 00:06:57.879
as his chief of staff.
00:06:57.899 --> 00:06:57.978
Yes.
00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:02.425
They also lived in a hyper-partisan time,
00:07:02.504 --> 00:07:03.786
and both of them did,
00:07:03.846 --> 00:07:05.769
and we now are in a hyper-partisan time.
00:07:05.790 --> 00:07:06.552
This is something you've
00:07:06.572 --> 00:07:08.214
thought a lot about and
00:07:08.254 --> 00:07:09.596
thinking now how we can use
00:07:09.617 --> 00:07:11.059
their story to bring us
00:07:11.098 --> 00:07:12.141
together as a nation.
00:07:13.100 --> 00:07:13.641
Absolutely.
00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:15.081
I think it's really important.
00:07:15.161 --> 00:07:15.382
I mean,
00:07:15.641 --> 00:07:16.223
there are always going to be
00:07:16.242 --> 00:07:17.023
political divides.
00:07:17.062 --> 00:07:17.262
Right.
00:07:17.283 --> 00:07:18.723
So you have to first of all,
00:07:18.744 --> 00:07:20.404
we have to understand the
00:07:20.425 --> 00:07:21.305
world in which we live.
00:07:21.526 --> 00:07:22.886
We don't live in nirvana.
00:07:22.906 --> 00:07:23.687
We don't live in heaven.
00:07:23.747 --> 00:07:24.666
We live in a world in which
00:07:24.728 --> 00:07:25.788
we have human beings that
00:07:25.807 --> 00:07:26.709
have different opinions.
00:07:27.389 --> 00:07:30.391
But they they remind us that
00:07:30.891 --> 00:07:32.091
they put country first.
00:07:32.112 --> 00:07:33.833
I mean, God, it was God.
00:07:34.812 --> 00:07:36.353
probably actually God, country,
00:07:36.374 --> 00:07:37.754
and family because they
00:07:37.814 --> 00:07:39.375
sacrifice so much as a
00:07:39.435 --> 00:07:41.156
family to make sure that
00:07:41.196 --> 00:07:43.797
the country could be born, actually,
00:07:43.817 --> 00:07:44.576
when it happened.
00:07:45.437 --> 00:07:46.798
But they remind us that it's
00:07:46.838 --> 00:07:48.059
important to have a clear
00:07:48.119 --> 00:07:50.000
goal and to work together
00:07:50.060 --> 00:07:50.860
as much as possible.
00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:52.201
And that's why I really enjoy
00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:53.781
You know,
00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:54.961
the projects that we talked about
00:07:54.982 --> 00:07:56.843
that I've been involved with are all,
00:07:57.083 --> 00:07:58.903
you know, they're nonpartisan,
00:07:58.923 --> 00:08:00.125
they're not involved, you know,
00:08:00.245 --> 00:08:01.204
and they're things that
00:08:01.285 --> 00:08:02.786
most people quite frankly care about.
00:08:02.865 --> 00:08:04.547
Most people care about, you know,
00:08:05.588 --> 00:08:06.708
shelters that help homeless
00:08:06.728 --> 00:08:07.629
babies and their family.
00:08:07.709 --> 00:08:08.968
Most people care about
00:08:09.369 --> 00:08:10.310
making sure we save the
00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:11.290
land on the outdoors.
00:08:11.990 --> 00:08:13.672
And I do think that the more
00:08:13.692 --> 00:08:15.673
people know about the Adams family,
00:08:16.233 --> 00:08:17.213
the more that most
00:08:17.293 --> 00:08:18.353
Americans will think this
00:08:18.413 --> 00:08:20.095
is absolutely the right
00:08:20.115 --> 00:08:21.415
thing to do at this time.
00:08:21.516 --> 00:08:22.016
Mm-hmm.
00:08:22.677 --> 00:08:22.776
Now,
00:08:22.817 --> 00:08:24.817
John Adams often lamented that no one
00:08:24.858 --> 00:08:26.538
would ever build monuments to him.
00:08:26.678 --> 00:08:28.399
So do you have thoughts on
00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:30.161
why it has taken so long to
00:08:30.201 --> 00:08:33.042
get traction for an Adams Memorial?
00:08:33.062 --> 00:08:34.022
That's a great question.
00:08:34.082 --> 00:08:35.383
And he did say that.
00:08:35.702 --> 00:08:36.464
And I think he's probably
00:08:36.484 --> 00:08:37.403
chuckling somewhere right
00:08:37.443 --> 00:08:38.664
now that we're in the
00:08:38.684 --> 00:08:40.306
middle of trying to do this.
00:08:41.706 --> 00:08:44.067
He was in an interesting
00:08:44.106 --> 00:08:45.388
spot because he came after
00:08:45.408 --> 00:08:46.168
George Washington,
00:08:46.207 --> 00:08:47.989
who was a physically big
00:08:48.028 --> 00:08:49.110
figure for his time.
00:08:50.070 --> 00:08:51.731
He was the commanding general.
00:08:52.373 --> 00:08:53.793
And then he was followed by
00:08:53.874 --> 00:08:54.774
Thomas Jefferson,
00:08:54.815 --> 00:08:56.856
who was a southern gentleman,
00:08:57.038 --> 00:08:59.419
plantation owner, you know, very, very,
00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:00.500
you know, a gentleman, you know,
00:09:00.561 --> 00:09:02.523
gentleman, very, you know, dashing.
00:09:02.943 --> 00:09:04.325
And so in the middle of that,
00:09:04.365 --> 00:09:05.645
you have John Adams.
00:09:06.706 --> 00:09:09.570
And John Adams was he said,
00:09:09.629 --> 00:09:10.291
I think he's so interesting
00:09:10.331 --> 00:09:11.351
because he's the one.
00:09:12.192 --> 00:09:13.333
that nominated George
00:09:13.374 --> 00:09:15.875
Washington to be the general.
00:09:16.054 --> 00:09:17.254
And he nominated him.
00:09:17.635 --> 00:09:18.655
Samuel Adams seconded.
00:09:18.716 --> 00:09:19.696
They had a unanimous vote.
00:09:20.177 --> 00:09:21.256
But without that,
00:09:21.797 --> 00:09:23.638
who knows what would have happened.
00:09:23.677 --> 00:09:24.818
He also served on the
00:09:24.859 --> 00:09:26.058
committee for the
00:09:26.099 --> 00:09:27.259
Declaration of Independence.
00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:28.080
And he's the one that
00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:31.282
suggested Thomas Jefferson write it.
00:09:32.481 --> 00:09:33.403
And he and Franklin were
00:09:33.442 --> 00:09:34.883
part of the discussion.
00:09:34.923 --> 00:09:36.644
But yeah, so here he is.
00:09:36.663 --> 00:09:38.524
He's like, we need Washington here.
00:09:38.565 --> 00:09:39.745
We need Jefferson there.
00:09:40.745 --> 00:09:41.446
And in the middle,
00:09:42.106 --> 00:09:43.927
when it came back to the
00:09:43.967 --> 00:09:44.748
Continental Congress,
00:09:44.768 --> 00:09:46.068
when the declaration came back,
00:09:46.928 --> 00:09:47.929
he's the one that was the
00:09:48.090 --> 00:09:51.871
most vocal advocate for us to sign.
00:09:52.351 --> 00:09:54.832
And so he really deserves to
00:09:54.873 --> 00:09:55.734
be recognized.
00:09:56.173 --> 00:09:57.114
I think it's taken a long
00:09:57.153 --> 00:09:58.475
time because he is stuck
00:09:58.514 --> 00:10:02.136
between these two commanding figures.
00:10:02.677 --> 00:10:04.118
And as we know,
00:10:04.378 --> 00:10:06.778
Washington was a compromise, right?
00:10:06.818 --> 00:10:07.740
It was a created city.
00:10:08.780 --> 00:10:09.020
Right.
00:10:09.041 --> 00:10:11.003
The District of Columbia.
00:10:11.043 --> 00:10:12.004
Yeah, exactly.
00:10:12.065 --> 00:10:13.505
So it was a creative city.
00:10:13.525 --> 00:10:14.607
It was a compromise.
00:10:14.628 --> 00:10:17.250
So it was very much close to Virginia.
00:10:17.270 --> 00:10:19.793
It was down farther from New England.
00:10:19.813 --> 00:10:21.775
And so I think in many ways,
00:10:22.657 --> 00:10:24.058
it is very much a southern city.
00:10:24.458 --> 00:10:25.519
And we need to have New
00:10:25.640 --> 00:10:26.822
England represented and
00:10:26.881 --> 00:10:28.283
especially the Adams family.
00:10:29.092 --> 00:10:30.033
thank you for someone from
00:10:30.094 --> 00:10:31.414
georgia for recognizing
00:10:31.495 --> 00:10:32.635
that the need to recognize
00:10:32.676 --> 00:10:33.655
new england but I should
00:10:33.696 --> 00:10:35.096
point out that there's not
00:10:35.116 --> 00:10:36.738
a statue of john adams in
00:10:36.778 --> 00:10:38.219
boston you know and only
00:10:38.239 --> 00:10:39.519
it's only recently that one
00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:40.721
was put up in quincy and
00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:41.902
that was in conjunction
00:10:41.922 --> 00:10:43.202
with the statue of abigail
00:10:43.263 --> 00:10:44.823
so you know he wasn't
00:10:44.864 --> 00:10:45.945
thinking a monument in
00:10:46.004 --> 00:10:47.426
washington but a monument
00:10:47.446 --> 00:10:48.105
at home it's only in the
00:10:48.125 --> 00:10:49.106
last twenty years that the
00:10:49.826 --> 00:10:51.328
um superior courthouse in
00:10:51.389 --> 00:10:53.090
boston was renamed for john adams
00:10:53.590 --> 00:10:55.432
as he was Chief Justice of
00:10:55.471 --> 00:10:56.753
the Supreme Judicial Court.
00:10:56.773 --> 00:10:57.052
So yeah,
00:10:57.092 --> 00:10:59.654
so recognition has come late everywhere.
00:10:59.674 --> 00:11:00.615
And I really thank you for
00:11:00.655 --> 00:11:02.317
leading the charge in
00:11:02.376 --> 00:11:03.677
Washington for this.
00:11:05.458 --> 00:11:06.559
And also, John Quincy,
00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:08.761
both of them are voted out of office,
00:11:08.802 --> 00:11:11.644
which also does something, I think.
00:11:11.703 --> 00:11:14.826
But then in the long lens of history,
00:11:14.866 --> 00:11:16.207
they look much better.
00:11:17.442 --> 00:11:17.623
Well,
00:11:17.722 --> 00:11:18.722
I think they're I think they're also
00:11:18.883 --> 00:11:20.344
they're very complicated figures.
00:11:20.403 --> 00:11:21.104
And then to your point,
00:11:21.384 --> 00:11:22.984
they both have very long careers.
00:11:23.043 --> 00:11:23.264
Right.
00:11:23.764 --> 00:11:26.424
They span decades in their careers.
00:11:26.924 --> 00:11:28.706
And for both of the both
00:11:28.725 --> 00:11:29.485
John and John Quincy,
00:11:29.505 --> 00:11:30.206
who both served as
00:11:30.265 --> 00:11:31.427
presidents for one term,
00:11:32.086 --> 00:11:33.527
their presidency was not
00:11:33.687 --> 00:11:35.206
really the highlight of their career,
00:11:35.246 --> 00:11:36.467
which is very unusual.
00:11:36.488 --> 00:11:37.607
I mean, usually I mean,
00:11:37.648 --> 00:11:38.727
if you're president, that's I mean,
00:11:38.768 --> 00:11:39.288
that's right.
00:11:39.389 --> 00:11:40.288
That's the best you can do.
00:11:40.308 --> 00:11:40.509
Right.
00:11:40.889 --> 00:11:42.109
But you have John Adams who
00:11:42.149 --> 00:11:43.409
really if you think about
00:11:43.850 --> 00:11:44.909
what he accomplished,
00:11:45.450 --> 00:11:46.451
He's the driving force
00:11:46.490 --> 00:11:47.792
behind the Declaration of Independence.
00:11:47.831 --> 00:11:49.613
He's the one that said we have to make.
00:11:49.993 --> 00:11:52.193
So that's really what he
00:11:52.214 --> 00:11:53.355
should be recognized for.
00:11:53.414 --> 00:11:55.976
Without him and without Abigail's help,
00:11:56.496 --> 00:11:57.658
I do not think that we
00:11:57.677 --> 00:11:58.677
would have been formed at
00:11:58.717 --> 00:12:00.339
that time in that way.
00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:01.419
Not saying it wouldn't have
00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:02.581
happened differently,
00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:03.841
but I think it would be very different.
00:12:04.581 --> 00:12:05.623
For John Quincy,
00:12:06.144 --> 00:12:07.426
who had a great career
00:12:07.485 --> 00:12:09.427
before being president and
00:12:09.447 --> 00:12:11.210
the Secretary of State, I mean,
00:12:11.510 --> 00:12:12.552
Monroe Doctrine, I mean,
00:12:12.572 --> 00:12:13.994
he made a huge contribution
00:12:15.535 --> 00:12:16.376
in that situation.
00:12:16.397 --> 00:12:17.378
But then he also,
00:12:17.918 --> 00:12:20.221
after he loses the presidency,
00:12:20.261 --> 00:12:21.623
he runs for Congress, which
00:12:22.364 --> 00:12:22.985
was unheard of.
00:12:23.004 --> 00:12:25.986
Like, why would you go be a congressman?
00:12:26.006 --> 00:12:27.467
That's such a demotion.
00:12:27.488 --> 00:12:28.448
But he was determined to
00:12:28.489 --> 00:12:29.190
serve his country.
00:12:29.789 --> 00:12:32.231
And he served so well.
00:12:32.773 --> 00:12:35.054
And he argued against the gag rule,
00:12:35.235 --> 00:12:36.576
which was the rule where
00:12:36.615 --> 00:12:37.236
you wouldn't be able to
00:12:37.256 --> 00:12:38.277
talk about slavery.
00:12:38.418 --> 00:12:39.859
And he was put in place because of him.
00:12:40.379 --> 00:12:40.599
Right.
00:12:41.019 --> 00:12:41.899
But but yeah,
00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:43.100
so he knew that we had to be
00:12:43.160 --> 00:12:44.442
able to talk about this issue.
00:12:44.461 --> 00:12:45.582
He knew it was an important issue.
00:12:46.062 --> 00:12:49.345
Neither he nor John Adams owned slaves.
00:12:49.745 --> 00:12:49.904
Right.
00:12:49.924 --> 00:12:50.806
So they are the only first
00:12:50.846 --> 00:12:52.226
of the only two of the
00:12:52.246 --> 00:12:53.207
first seven presidents that
00:12:53.227 --> 00:12:54.048
didn't own slaves.
00:12:54.808 --> 00:12:57.551
And then when when they came
00:12:57.571 --> 00:12:59.152
with the homicide slave case,
00:12:59.371 --> 00:13:00.732
so the homicide slaves, as you know,
00:13:01.072 --> 00:13:03.595
they revolted and they were captured.
00:13:03.615 --> 00:13:04.475
And the question was,
00:13:04.534 --> 00:13:05.696
were they free or not?
00:13:06.255 --> 00:13:08.357
John Quincy Adams argues
00:13:08.378 --> 00:13:09.879
that in front of the Supreme Court.
00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:12.980
and wins yes um so it was I
00:13:13.041 --> 00:13:15.042
mean it's just it's
00:13:15.142 --> 00:13:16.743
unbelievable and that's the
00:13:16.763 --> 00:13:18.083
other thing that I found um
00:13:18.364 --> 00:13:19.304
you know of course we all
00:13:19.605 --> 00:13:20.666
many of us have seen the
00:13:20.745 --> 00:13:21.907
the john adams miniseries
00:13:21.927 --> 00:13:23.768
the hbo right series which
00:13:23.807 --> 00:13:26.250
was amazing I suggest
00:13:26.309 --> 00:13:27.169
everyone go see that again
00:13:27.591 --> 00:13:29.052
but there's also um there's
00:13:29.172 --> 00:13:30.371
also a steven stillberg
00:13:30.392 --> 00:13:33.654
film film about yes which
00:13:33.695 --> 00:13:35.576
is a great film and then I
00:13:35.596 --> 00:13:36.917
did not remember and maybe
00:13:36.956 --> 00:13:39.639
you know this but there is also a musical
00:13:40.499 --> 00:13:41.078
Mm-hmm, yes.
00:13:41.119 --> 00:13:42.759
Titled, Seventeen Seventy-Six.
00:13:42.820 --> 00:13:44.580
Yes, yes, yes.
00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:45.280
Yeah,
00:13:45.321 --> 00:13:47.620
where John Adams is one of the
00:13:47.660 --> 00:13:49.081
leading figures in that musical,
00:13:49.101 --> 00:13:50.701
which is also a very good movie.
00:13:50.721 --> 00:13:54.062
Yeah, so he pops up in popular culture.
00:13:55.163 --> 00:13:56.083
You know, and John Quincy,
00:13:56.104 --> 00:13:56.943
it was said that he lost
00:13:56.984 --> 00:13:58.144
the presidency because he
00:13:58.184 --> 00:13:59.205
had written one too many
00:13:59.245 --> 00:14:01.046
books and learned one too many languages.
00:14:01.066 --> 00:14:02.066
That he's really a very
00:14:02.105 --> 00:14:03.225
serious intellectual,
00:14:03.245 --> 00:14:04.986
but then his career in
00:14:05.047 --> 00:14:06.586
Congress with the gag rule, I mean,
00:14:06.626 --> 00:14:07.827
really is an illustration of
00:14:08.481 --> 00:14:09.782
how you get people who are
00:14:09.802 --> 00:14:10.903
not going to be slaves to
00:14:10.942 --> 00:14:12.363
care about those who are.
00:14:12.923 --> 00:14:13.842
And it is that this,
00:14:14.523 --> 00:14:15.764
and the institution of
00:14:15.823 --> 00:14:16.663
slavery actually is a
00:14:16.724 --> 00:14:18.104
limitation on everyone's freedom.
00:14:18.423 --> 00:14:19.764
You can't present petition.
00:14:20.104 --> 00:14:21.445
His constituents could not
00:14:21.504 --> 00:14:22.585
petition Congress.
00:14:22.605 --> 00:14:23.865
Their representative in
00:14:23.904 --> 00:14:24.825
Congress had no voice
00:14:24.865 --> 00:14:27.025
because he spoke out about this issue.
00:14:27.086 --> 00:14:28.785
So it's really a sobering
00:14:28.826 --> 00:14:30.807
tale about politics and
00:14:30.846 --> 00:14:33.427
about relationships in this period.
00:14:33.447 --> 00:14:36.927
So I'm wondering if you could,
00:14:37.321 --> 00:14:39.942
talk a little bit about the
00:14:39.982 --> 00:14:41.844
Louisa Catherine and the others.
00:14:41.884 --> 00:14:42.043
I mean,
00:14:42.063 --> 00:14:43.544
Louisa Catherine is a fascinating
00:14:43.605 --> 00:14:44.645
woman as well.
00:14:44.725 --> 00:14:46.366
She's until Melania Trump
00:14:46.386 --> 00:14:47.408
was the first first lady
00:14:47.467 --> 00:14:49.249
not born in the United States.
00:14:50.529 --> 00:14:51.309
Yes, very good.
00:14:51.389 --> 00:14:52.230
I'm glad you brought that up.
00:14:52.270 --> 00:14:54.052
But she's very she wasn't born here,
00:14:54.451 --> 00:14:55.493
even though her parents
00:14:55.572 --> 00:14:57.234
were I guess they were they
00:14:57.254 --> 00:14:58.054
weren't they were they were
00:14:58.095 --> 00:14:59.014
born in the colonies.
00:14:59.154 --> 00:14:59.416
Right.
00:14:59.436 --> 00:15:00.937
So they were there for the time.
00:15:01.496 --> 00:15:03.938
And she was very highly educated.
00:15:05.081 --> 00:15:08.081
very different from the
00:15:08.201 --> 00:15:10.582
Adams family and her mother-in-law,
00:15:10.722 --> 00:15:11.062
Abigail.
00:15:11.082 --> 00:15:11.844
Because Abigail,
00:15:12.764 --> 00:15:14.403
they were a farming family.
00:15:14.465 --> 00:15:16.845
I mean, they did have help,
00:15:16.884 --> 00:15:18.086
but they worked hard.
00:15:18.125 --> 00:15:19.086
They worked with their hands.
00:15:19.145 --> 00:15:19.466
They worked.
00:15:19.566 --> 00:15:20.187
They got involved.
00:15:20.586 --> 00:15:21.807
Louisa Catherine was raised
00:15:21.866 --> 00:15:22.447
very differently.
00:15:22.486 --> 00:15:24.788
She was raised, right?
00:15:24.807 --> 00:15:26.349
She was a London society.
00:15:26.948 --> 00:15:27.548
Exactly.
00:15:27.589 --> 00:15:28.349
London society.
00:15:28.408 --> 00:15:29.169
And she knew, you know,
00:15:29.210 --> 00:15:30.429
she knew a lot of to your
00:15:30.450 --> 00:15:31.769
point languages and she was
00:15:31.809 --> 00:15:32.909
very accomplished in terms
00:15:32.970 --> 00:15:34.370
of the finer things.
00:15:35.270 --> 00:15:37.390
But she also you could tell
00:15:37.431 --> 00:15:38.571
between she and John Quincy,
00:15:38.610 --> 00:15:41.211
they had such I think such
00:15:41.231 --> 00:15:42.412
an interesting relationship
00:15:42.451 --> 00:15:44.472
because it was both very passionate.
00:15:44.493 --> 00:15:44.552
Now,
00:15:44.572 --> 00:15:47.692
he he he his mother had kind of driven
00:15:47.753 --> 00:15:49.614
off a couple of potential wives.
00:15:49.634 --> 00:15:49.754
Yeah.
00:15:50.754 --> 00:15:53.015
And so it's a very
00:15:53.056 --> 00:15:54.116
interesting relationship.
00:15:54.677 --> 00:15:56.178
But they worked very well together.
00:15:56.198 --> 00:15:57.200
I think she really enjoyed
00:15:57.240 --> 00:15:58.039
her time at the White House.
00:15:58.059 --> 00:15:59.782
She was known for being an
00:15:59.822 --> 00:16:02.203
incredible hostess, which is really,
00:16:02.563 --> 00:16:03.105
really important,
00:16:03.144 --> 00:16:04.265
especially in a time where
00:16:04.725 --> 00:16:05.647
that was the main time you
00:16:05.667 --> 00:16:06.727
would communicate with people.
00:16:06.967 --> 00:16:07.288
Obviously,
00:16:07.327 --> 00:16:08.389
no telephones or any other way
00:16:08.408 --> 00:16:08.970
to communicate.
00:16:09.330 --> 00:16:12.472
So the in-person events were
00:16:12.533 --> 00:16:13.553
incredibly important.
00:16:14.024 --> 00:16:15.446
Yes, it really is true.
00:16:15.485 --> 00:16:17.128
And when he was Secretary of State,
00:16:17.168 --> 00:16:19.110
she hosted gatherings that,
00:16:19.490 --> 00:16:20.770
as did other cabinet wives,
00:16:20.791 --> 00:16:22.413
this was during the Monroe administration,
00:16:22.432 --> 00:16:23.693
and the Monroe women didn't
00:16:23.714 --> 00:16:24.735
want to entertain.
00:16:24.774 --> 00:16:26.537
And so Louisa Catherine
00:16:26.557 --> 00:16:27.977
really becomes a center for
00:16:28.038 --> 00:16:29.820
Washington society when he
00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:31.020
is Secretary of State.
00:16:31.601 --> 00:16:33.062
It's really fascinating.
00:16:33.981 --> 00:16:34.261
Yeah,
00:16:34.322 --> 00:16:35.783
it's really interesting and it
00:16:35.822 --> 00:16:37.123
reminds you how important
00:16:37.243 --> 00:16:39.583
it can be to have a couple
00:16:39.624 --> 00:16:41.365
who care greatly about the
00:16:41.384 --> 00:16:42.345
same thing that can help
00:16:42.384 --> 00:16:44.385
each other accomplish things.
00:16:45.427 --> 00:16:46.746
Now the foundation and the
00:16:46.767 --> 00:16:48.347
commission are both working
00:16:48.388 --> 00:16:49.748
to kind of perpetuate these
00:16:49.827 --> 00:16:51.609
ideas and it's not simply, you know,
00:16:51.668 --> 00:16:53.370
let's build statues,
00:16:53.490 --> 00:16:54.409
but thinking about other
00:16:54.429 --> 00:16:55.191
things and you've just
00:16:55.431 --> 00:16:56.671
announced the Adams Public
00:16:56.711 --> 00:16:58.631
Service Award for high school students,
00:16:58.652 --> 00:16:59.591
which is a very exciting
00:16:59.712 --> 00:17:00.712
thing that you're creating.
00:17:01.760 --> 00:17:02.280
Absolutely.
00:17:02.301 --> 00:17:03.961
So so I'm going to back up a
00:17:03.981 --> 00:17:04.682
little bit and tell you
00:17:04.821 --> 00:17:05.482
just a little bit.
00:17:05.823 --> 00:17:08.104
It's a little confusing, the structure,
00:17:08.144 --> 00:17:08.763
just because they're two
00:17:08.784 --> 00:17:09.644
different organizations.
00:17:09.703 --> 00:17:11.285
So I keep getting confused.
00:17:11.904 --> 00:17:12.545
I mean, that's why.
00:17:12.625 --> 00:17:12.704
Yes,
00:17:12.744 --> 00:17:13.925
I'm going to give a little bit of kind
00:17:13.965 --> 00:17:15.006
of background of why.
00:17:15.426 --> 00:17:17.207
So the the the Adams
00:17:17.227 --> 00:17:18.087
Memorial Commission is a
00:17:18.127 --> 00:17:19.188
congressional commission
00:17:19.548 --> 00:17:20.868
that was passed by Congress
00:17:20.909 --> 00:17:22.548
that specifically follows
00:17:22.608 --> 00:17:23.630
the law in which it was written.
00:17:24.269 --> 00:17:25.050
And what I've learned is
00:17:25.070 --> 00:17:25.931
that every commission is
00:17:26.010 --> 00:17:26.852
actually structured
00:17:26.892 --> 00:17:27.873
differently based on the
00:17:28.012 --> 00:17:29.294
legislation that was passed,
00:17:29.933 --> 00:17:30.595
which is interesting.
00:17:31.375 --> 00:17:33.477
We have twelve the way it's written.
00:17:33.497 --> 00:17:36.719
We have twelve commissioners right now.
00:17:36.739 --> 00:17:38.500
We have eight of those actually appointed.
00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:39.681
We're still waiting for the
00:17:40.501 --> 00:17:42.583
senator senators to be appointed.
00:17:43.123 --> 00:17:45.045
So we have four presidential appointees.
00:17:45.085 --> 00:17:46.746
We have four congressional appointees.
00:17:47.385 --> 00:17:48.826
And since we have a majority
00:17:48.866 --> 00:17:49.926
of the commissioners appointed,
00:17:49.987 --> 00:17:50.906
we can begin work.
00:17:51.047 --> 00:17:52.468
And so that started a little
00:17:52.488 --> 00:17:52.867
over a year ago.
00:17:52.887 --> 00:17:53.087
Yeah.
00:17:53.167 --> 00:17:55.248
And so and then and the
00:17:55.288 --> 00:17:56.028
mission of that
00:17:56.048 --> 00:17:58.368
organization is strictly to
00:17:58.568 --> 00:18:01.049
build a memorial to the Adams.
00:18:01.890 --> 00:18:03.310
And there is a process that
00:18:03.330 --> 00:18:04.471
the National Park Service
00:18:04.510 --> 00:18:05.951
has a structured process
00:18:05.971 --> 00:18:06.951
that we go through.
00:18:07.612 --> 00:18:09.273
most memorials take you know
00:18:09.493 --> 00:18:10.674
seven to twelve fifteen
00:18:10.714 --> 00:18:12.056
years these are not as you
00:18:12.076 --> 00:18:13.836
can imagine yeah right
00:18:13.856 --> 00:18:14.678
these are not these are not
00:18:14.718 --> 00:18:15.838
fast projects because you
00:18:15.858 --> 00:18:16.519
have to go through the
00:18:16.539 --> 00:18:18.500
whole process so all of
00:18:18.540 --> 00:18:20.782
these um these projects so
00:18:20.803 --> 00:18:21.604
for instance recently the
00:18:21.644 --> 00:18:22.785
world war one opened up
00:18:23.065 --> 00:18:25.547
last fall the eisenhower um
00:18:26.307 --> 00:18:27.368
was done just a few years
00:18:27.429 --> 00:18:28.849
ago so the way they're
00:18:28.869 --> 00:18:30.330
structured is you have the commission
00:18:31.132 --> 00:18:31.932
And then there's a separate
00:18:31.991 --> 00:18:33.393
organization that set up,
00:18:33.472 --> 00:18:36.034
which for us is Adams Memorial Foundation,
00:18:36.753 --> 00:18:37.775
that set up as a five oh
00:18:37.875 --> 00:18:40.915
one C three to accept private donations.
00:18:41.316 --> 00:18:41.516
Right.
00:18:41.536 --> 00:18:42.836
Because this is a this is a
00:18:42.856 --> 00:18:44.076
going to be a project that
00:18:44.617 --> 00:18:46.397
is both privately funded
00:18:46.438 --> 00:18:47.318
with individuals and
00:18:47.338 --> 00:18:49.078
corporations and foundations.
00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:50.740
And we do have a little
00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:52.141
money left over from the.
00:18:53.221 --> 00:18:56.304
prior iteration of that twenty years ago.
00:18:56.683 --> 00:18:57.605
It's actually like a little
00:18:57.644 --> 00:18:59.166
money leftover that the
00:18:59.186 --> 00:19:00.688
commission has in the US Treasury.
00:19:00.708 --> 00:19:01.307
Okay.
00:19:01.348 --> 00:19:03.089
But since it's very rare to
00:19:03.109 --> 00:19:04.570
get people to write checks
00:19:04.590 --> 00:19:05.612
to the US Treasury unless
00:19:05.652 --> 00:19:06.093
it's for the IRS.
00:19:06.113 --> 00:19:07.253
That's right.
00:19:07.273 --> 00:19:08.494
We all did a lot of that last month.
00:19:09.194 --> 00:19:09.776
Exactly.
00:19:10.195 --> 00:19:12.297
So the foundation is the way it's set up.
00:19:12.336 --> 00:19:13.377
So we've received our five
00:19:13.397 --> 00:19:15.278
oh one C three approval from the IRS,
00:19:15.318 --> 00:19:16.140
which is great.
00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:17.881
We have a website.
00:19:17.921 --> 00:19:19.541
It's the Adams Memorial dot org.
00:19:20.182 --> 00:19:22.623
And in addition to assisting
00:19:23.084 --> 00:19:25.924
the the Adams Commission
00:19:25.984 --> 00:19:28.007
with its work of creating
00:19:28.047 --> 00:19:29.907
this this organization, this I mean,
00:19:29.928 --> 00:19:31.189
this this memorial.
00:19:31.989 --> 00:19:33.609
The additional work of the foundation,
00:19:33.750 --> 00:19:34.872
exactly as you said,
00:19:34.971 --> 00:19:36.252
is for educational purposes.
00:19:36.472 --> 00:19:38.434
So it's to educate the
00:19:38.494 --> 00:19:39.655
public about the atoms.
00:19:39.715 --> 00:19:43.759
It's to inspire Americans to
00:19:43.798 --> 00:19:45.901
get more involved in civic society.
00:19:47.122 --> 00:19:49.983
So it'll continue to work
00:19:50.484 --> 00:19:51.586
after the memorial is built,
00:19:51.625 --> 00:19:53.166
where once the ribbon is
00:19:53.186 --> 00:19:53.928
cut for the memorial,
00:19:53.948 --> 00:19:55.469
the commission will actually go away.
00:19:55.489 --> 00:19:57.790
OK.
00:19:57.830 --> 00:19:58.811
Will the foundation remain?
00:19:59.484 --> 00:20:00.586
The foundation will remain
00:20:00.605 --> 00:20:01.425
and we'll focus on
00:20:01.526 --> 00:20:03.886
educational programs around
00:20:03.906 --> 00:20:04.708
the Adams family.
00:20:04.907 --> 00:20:05.107
Yeah.
00:20:05.127 --> 00:20:06.288
And so it's really, I think,
00:20:06.307 --> 00:20:07.028
a great opportunity.
00:20:07.048 --> 00:20:09.730
The Adams family lives such
00:20:09.849 --> 00:20:11.611
lives of service to our country.
00:20:12.431 --> 00:20:13.892
They sacrifice so much.
00:20:13.932 --> 00:20:16.333
And so as we think about the
00:20:16.393 --> 00:20:17.094
Adams Memorial,
00:20:17.134 --> 00:20:18.134
we want to make sure that
00:20:18.153 --> 00:20:20.154
the memorial is not just a place to be,
00:20:20.214 --> 00:20:22.836
but also is in service to
00:20:22.855 --> 00:20:23.616
our country through our
00:20:23.676 --> 00:20:24.757
educational programming.
00:20:24.777 --> 00:20:25.018
Yeah.
00:20:25.117 --> 00:20:25.538
Great.
00:20:25.617 --> 00:20:25.917
Thanks.
00:20:27.036 --> 00:20:28.396
Now, here in Massachusetts,
00:20:28.416 --> 00:20:29.278
there's a group creating
00:20:29.317 --> 00:20:31.359
the Adams Presidential Center in Quincy.
00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:32.160
I wonder if you have much
00:20:32.221 --> 00:20:33.961
interaction with those folks.
00:20:34.422 --> 00:20:36.124
Yes, and we're thrilled about that.
00:20:36.163 --> 00:20:37.525
He clearly deserves to have
00:20:37.545 --> 00:20:38.625
a presidential center.
00:20:39.566 --> 00:20:39.826
You know,
00:20:39.846 --> 00:20:41.367
they're totally two different projects.
00:20:41.387 --> 00:20:43.229
That is a, you know, in fact,
00:20:43.410 --> 00:20:44.609
as you mentioned, I'm from Georgia.
00:20:45.310 --> 00:20:46.592
You may be able to tell from my,
00:20:46.652 --> 00:20:47.853
I have a little bit of a, right,
00:20:47.893 --> 00:20:49.034
a little bit of a southern twang.
00:20:49.213 --> 00:20:50.434
Yeah, it's totally detected.
00:20:51.715 --> 00:20:54.038
And we obviously have the Carter Center.
00:20:54.057 --> 00:20:54.877
I live in Atlanta.
00:20:55.278 --> 00:20:56.219
And we have the Carter
00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:58.299
Center that you're probably
00:20:58.319 --> 00:20:58.840
familiar with.
00:20:59.540 --> 00:21:00.761
So we're thrilled to support
00:21:02.343 --> 00:21:03.644
the Adams Presidential Center.
00:21:03.963 --> 00:21:04.824
We think it actually is
00:21:04.864 --> 00:21:06.244
complimentary to us because
00:21:06.285 --> 00:21:08.767
we're interested in the same things.
00:21:09.346 --> 00:21:10.606
The difference is going to be, you know,
00:21:10.626 --> 00:21:11.527
people will see that when
00:21:11.547 --> 00:21:12.627
they go to Massachusetts.
00:21:12.728 --> 00:21:14.988
But, you know, there are a lot,
00:21:15.387 --> 00:21:16.948
a lot of visitors, obviously,
00:21:16.968 --> 00:21:18.308
that go to Washington, D.C.,
00:21:18.328 --> 00:21:19.729
that don't go to Massachusetts.
00:21:20.209 --> 00:21:21.328
And we want them to make sure,
00:21:21.368 --> 00:21:23.189
we want to make sure they have, right,
00:21:23.490 --> 00:21:24.869
access and information
00:21:24.910 --> 00:21:25.849
about the Adams family.
00:21:26.250 --> 00:21:27.589
And quite frankly, we'd love to, you know,
00:21:27.869 --> 00:21:29.190
once both are done, right,
00:21:29.490 --> 00:21:30.471
we'd love to send them back
00:21:30.510 --> 00:21:33.191
up to Massachusetts to go learn more,
00:21:33.230 --> 00:21:33.471
right?
00:21:33.490 --> 00:21:36.152
So I think they're actually, you know,
00:21:36.251 --> 00:21:36.791
I think they're great.
00:21:36.811 --> 00:21:36.932
Right.
00:21:38.630 --> 00:21:40.070
I'm wondering too, I mean,
00:21:40.090 --> 00:21:41.771
you are focusing on the
00:21:41.811 --> 00:21:42.592
monument and then the
00:21:42.632 --> 00:21:43.412
educational outreach.
00:21:43.491 --> 00:21:45.792
I wonder any thoughts about, you know,
00:21:45.854 --> 00:21:47.854
further digitization of projects.
00:21:47.874 --> 00:21:48.055
I mean,
00:21:48.075 --> 00:21:49.154
the Mass Historical has done a
00:21:49.174 --> 00:21:50.915
great job with the Adams letters,
00:21:50.955 --> 00:21:52.576
but then John Adams also
00:21:52.636 --> 00:21:54.076
talked about the need for
00:21:54.116 --> 00:21:54.817
people to read the
00:21:54.837 --> 00:21:55.258
committees of
00:21:55.278 --> 00:21:56.818
correspondence and the other
00:21:56.878 --> 00:21:57.818
records of towns.
00:21:57.858 --> 00:21:57.979
I mean,
00:21:58.019 --> 00:21:59.579
he really understood what had
00:21:59.599 --> 00:22:01.240
happened during his lifetime,
00:22:01.280 --> 00:22:03.261
this revolution that he had been part of.
00:22:03.281 --> 00:22:03.842
And I'm wondering,
00:22:05.397 --> 00:22:06.077
If you haven't,
00:22:06.097 --> 00:22:07.038
I'm just putting this in
00:22:07.078 --> 00:22:08.460
your head about the idea of
00:22:09.520 --> 00:22:10.761
supporting digitization
00:22:10.821 --> 00:22:12.343
efforts for a lot of these records,
00:22:12.383 --> 00:22:13.824
which otherwise people in
00:22:13.923 --> 00:22:15.105
Idaho or other places,
00:22:15.144 --> 00:22:15.846
if they can't come to
00:22:15.885 --> 00:22:17.326
Washington or Massachusetts,
00:22:18.027 --> 00:22:18.667
should be able to.
00:22:18.748 --> 00:22:19.848
And people in other parts of
00:22:19.868 --> 00:22:20.729
the world as well,
00:22:20.990 --> 00:22:22.711
because it really is this.
00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:23.211
Absolutely.
00:22:24.011 --> 00:22:25.093
It's so interesting because
00:22:25.113 --> 00:22:26.294
we live in such a different world, right?
00:22:26.314 --> 00:22:27.173
So here we are having this
00:22:27.193 --> 00:22:30.396
conversation on a podcast.
00:22:30.416 --> 00:22:31.397
We're not in the same place.
00:22:31.438 --> 00:22:32.759
We're interacting.
00:22:33.578 --> 00:22:34.559
It'll be on the web.
00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:35.660
It'll be available for
00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:36.760
people to see whenever at
00:22:36.780 --> 00:22:37.580
their convenience.
00:22:37.701 --> 00:22:39.422
So it's a different world.
00:22:39.442 --> 00:22:40.962
So part of what we want to do,
00:22:41.282 --> 00:22:42.124
exactly what you're saying,
00:22:42.163 --> 00:22:43.904
is we have some educational
00:22:43.944 --> 00:22:44.785
programs in the work.
00:22:45.526 --> 00:22:47.487
Some will be in Washington itself,
00:22:47.886 --> 00:22:48.946
a speaker series.
00:22:50.008 --> 00:22:50.847
We have scholars.
00:22:51.088 --> 00:22:52.108
The books you see behind me,
00:22:52.148 --> 00:22:53.309
many of those authors are
00:22:53.349 --> 00:22:54.651
on our scholar team.
00:22:55.171 --> 00:22:56.270
And so the idea is to have
00:22:56.310 --> 00:22:57.132
them in Washington.
00:22:57.592 --> 00:22:59.653
But exactly as is done here,
00:22:59.972 --> 00:23:00.933
we would record that and
00:23:00.953 --> 00:23:02.634
make that available right online.
00:23:03.335 --> 00:23:04.476
And the other, I think,
00:23:04.536 --> 00:23:05.477
interesting project is to
00:23:05.557 --> 00:23:06.616
also use the same authors,
00:23:06.656 --> 00:23:08.758
but to do basically an
00:23:09.598 --> 00:23:12.760
online virtual book club about the Adams.
00:23:13.060 --> 00:23:14.842
There's so many books about the Adams.
00:23:15.942 --> 00:23:16.682
And just to be able to have
00:23:16.722 --> 00:23:18.183
that chance to be able to
00:23:18.284 --> 00:23:19.664
interact with the authors
00:23:19.724 --> 00:23:21.766
online would be a great opportunity.
00:23:21.786 --> 00:23:22.707
But you're exactly right.
00:23:22.727 --> 00:23:23.686
You have to both have things
00:23:23.707 --> 00:23:25.167
that would be in person,
00:23:25.188 --> 00:23:26.169
but you also have to make
00:23:26.209 --> 00:23:27.148
sure that there are ways
00:23:27.490 --> 00:23:28.829
that people that are spread
00:23:28.869 --> 00:23:31.332
out virtually have access to it as well.
00:23:31.936 --> 00:23:34.199
That's great.
00:23:34.219 --> 00:23:34.499
That's true.
00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:35.759
And many of your authors
00:23:35.779 --> 00:23:37.181
have been guests on our podcast,
00:23:37.221 --> 00:23:37.980
and we hope this will
00:23:38.020 --> 00:23:38.981
continue because it is.
00:23:39.481 --> 00:23:41.884
Now, the Adams is too, I mean,
00:23:41.943 --> 00:23:43.144
diplomacy is another area,
00:23:43.164 --> 00:23:44.205
just started thinking about
00:23:44.246 --> 00:23:44.826
the rest of the world.
00:23:44.846 --> 00:23:45.006
You know,
00:23:45.026 --> 00:23:46.626
John Quincy's a kid when he goes
00:23:46.666 --> 00:23:48.848
off to Russia, first as a secretary,
00:23:48.868 --> 00:23:49.528
and then he's the first
00:23:49.589 --> 00:23:50.809
ambassador to Russia.
00:23:50.869 --> 00:23:52.451
And then Charles Francis is
00:23:52.471 --> 00:23:54.133
the ambassador to Great Britain.
00:23:55.713 --> 00:23:57.674
I'm wondering what you see
00:23:57.734 --> 00:23:59.076
as the role of the Adams is
00:23:59.115 --> 00:23:59.957
in thinking about the role
00:23:59.997 --> 00:24:01.438
of the United States in the world.
00:24:02.676 --> 00:24:02.916
And you know,
00:24:02.936 --> 00:24:03.538
it's interesting because
00:24:03.577 --> 00:24:05.358
there is an Adams Institute in Europe.
00:24:05.378 --> 00:24:06.099
I'm trying to remember.
00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:07.099
You may know where they are.
00:24:07.941 --> 00:24:09.402
But they are, you know, he was probably,
00:24:09.602 --> 00:24:10.643
John Quincy was,
00:24:10.682 --> 00:24:11.763
he began traveling with his
00:24:11.804 --> 00:24:13.846
father when I think he was twelve,
00:24:13.905 --> 00:24:14.766
I think eleven or twelve.
00:24:15.467 --> 00:24:16.968
And he was overseas,
00:24:17.307 --> 00:24:18.229
ended up serving as his
00:24:18.249 --> 00:24:19.769
father's secretary and then
00:24:19.849 --> 00:24:22.132
ended up serving as someone else,
00:24:22.392 --> 00:24:23.773
a different diplomat's secretary.
00:24:24.513 --> 00:24:25.595
But he was probably the most
00:24:25.674 --> 00:24:27.895
traveled person of his generation,
00:24:28.915 --> 00:24:30.436
fluid in many languages,
00:24:30.877 --> 00:24:32.018
knew a lot about the world.
00:24:32.699 --> 00:24:34.500
And as you mentioned earlier
00:24:34.539 --> 00:24:36.740
in his role dealing with
00:24:36.800 --> 00:24:39.021
other countries in the Foreign Service,
00:24:39.301 --> 00:24:40.903
he really he used that
00:24:41.042 --> 00:24:42.384
knowledge to his advantage
00:24:42.403 --> 00:24:43.605
because he understood
00:24:44.605 --> 00:24:45.565
how to work with with
00:24:45.644 --> 00:24:47.826
different countries and he
00:24:47.965 --> 00:24:49.186
understood how they thought
00:24:49.686 --> 00:24:50.826
and therefore because of
00:24:50.866 --> 00:24:53.347
that um he really made a
00:24:53.407 --> 00:24:55.068
huge difference and um yeah
00:24:55.088 --> 00:24:56.128
so the john adams institute
00:24:56.230 --> 00:24:58.029
is in in north holland it's
00:24:58.069 --> 00:24:59.411
an amazing institute and we
00:24:59.431 --> 00:25:00.391
have not yet reached out to
00:25:00.431 --> 00:25:01.912
them we need to but you
00:25:01.951 --> 00:25:04.873
know is this is a very um a
00:25:04.952 --> 00:25:06.113
very accomplished family
00:25:06.153 --> 00:25:07.213
that made their mark not
00:25:07.294 --> 00:25:09.074
only in the united states
00:25:09.094 --> 00:25:10.095
but also around the world
00:25:10.555 --> 00:25:11.194
Yes, yes.
00:25:11.674 --> 00:25:12.155
And then, of course,
00:25:12.215 --> 00:25:13.256
Henry Adams wrote the great
00:25:13.296 --> 00:25:14.135
history of the United
00:25:14.175 --> 00:25:15.336
States during the Jefferson
00:25:15.356 --> 00:25:16.856
and Madison administrations.
00:25:17.998 --> 00:25:19.137
I was just actually reading
00:25:19.657 --> 00:25:20.959
letters between John Adams
00:25:21.098 --> 00:25:22.278
and Josiah Quincy,
00:25:22.318 --> 00:25:23.579
who was a member of Congress.
00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:25.160
Quincy, member of Congress,
00:25:25.180 --> 00:25:26.300
very much opposed to the
00:25:26.361 --> 00:25:27.701
Jefferson's embargo.
00:25:27.881 --> 00:25:30.041
And he's writing a highly
00:25:30.102 --> 00:25:31.403
critical letter about what
00:25:31.722 --> 00:25:32.923
and he insults Jefferson.
00:25:32.962 --> 00:25:34.624
He calls him a dish of skim milk.
00:25:35.778 --> 00:25:37.500
But Adams' answer is really
00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:38.779
interesting because, you know,
00:25:38.859 --> 00:25:40.340
Adams disagrees with Jefferson,
00:25:40.361 --> 00:25:41.240
but he kind of understands
00:25:41.280 --> 00:25:42.221
the role of the president.
00:25:42.260 --> 00:25:44.981
That is, he's less critical, I think,
00:25:45.082 --> 00:25:46.542
than Quincy was,
00:25:47.363 --> 00:25:48.762
thinking of someone who's been there.
00:25:49.483 --> 00:25:52.124
And he disagrees with the embargo,
00:25:52.163 --> 00:25:53.384
thinks it's a bad idea,
00:25:53.545 --> 00:25:55.405
but he's not going to call
00:25:55.685 --> 00:25:57.625
Jefferson a dish of skim milk.
00:25:57.685 --> 00:25:58.747
And I think one of the
00:25:58.767 --> 00:25:59.826
important pieces of the
00:25:59.886 --> 00:26:01.607
story of Adams is his
00:26:01.688 --> 00:26:03.327
reconciliation with Jefferson,
00:26:03.347 --> 00:26:05.469
these two big political foes who then,
00:26:06.172 --> 00:26:07.271
have this extraordinary
00:26:07.311 --> 00:26:08.532
correspondence over the
00:26:08.553 --> 00:26:10.394
last two decades of their lives.
00:26:10.413 --> 00:26:12.153
BETSY FISCHER MARTIN- Absolutely.
00:26:12.273 --> 00:26:14.015
I mean, they were very close, obviously,
00:26:14.654 --> 00:26:16.056
during the formation of our country,
00:26:17.256 --> 00:26:18.557
had very different opinions,
00:26:18.596 --> 00:26:19.416
had a falling out.
00:26:21.377 --> 00:26:24.999
When Jefferson won his term
00:26:25.078 --> 00:26:26.940
and Adams lost his second
00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:28.200
term and only was there for one,
00:26:28.641 --> 00:26:30.080
that was deeply wounding for him,
00:26:31.422 --> 00:26:32.102
deeply wounding.
00:26:35.163 --> 00:26:36.604
It's strange for quite a long time,
00:26:36.624 --> 00:26:37.805
but it was great that they
00:26:37.825 --> 00:26:38.865
were able to reconnect
00:26:38.885 --> 00:26:40.607
through letters and on a
00:26:40.647 --> 00:26:42.108
much more personal basis.
00:26:42.689 --> 00:26:43.269
I think it's a great
00:26:43.309 --> 00:26:46.192
reminder for all of us that as Americans,
00:26:46.813 --> 00:26:48.394
part of what we fought for
00:26:48.413 --> 00:26:49.394
was freedom of speech, right?
00:26:49.414 --> 00:26:50.536
Like that we thought it was
00:26:50.615 --> 00:26:52.096
important for us to be able to talk.
00:26:52.137 --> 00:26:53.318
And I think with that,
00:26:54.058 --> 00:26:55.079
with that freedom of speech
00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:55.980
we also have to remember
00:26:56.060 --> 00:26:57.701
that that means by
00:26:57.741 --> 00:26:58.923
definition unless you're
00:26:58.942 --> 00:26:59.864
the one talking you're
00:26:59.884 --> 00:27:00.644
probably going to disagree
00:27:00.664 --> 00:27:01.806
with somebody right I mean
00:27:01.826 --> 00:27:03.067
there's no one there's no
00:27:03.086 --> 00:27:04.587
one you agree with all the
00:27:04.627 --> 00:27:07.250
time it's impossible so to
00:27:07.269 --> 00:27:08.612
be able to be respectful
00:27:09.432 --> 00:27:10.492
um to be able to listen to
00:27:10.512 --> 00:27:11.755
the other person without
00:27:12.115 --> 00:27:13.076
you know personally tearing
00:27:13.096 --> 00:27:14.938
them down and to be able to
00:27:14.978 --> 00:27:17.461
to argue and disagree um
00:27:17.840 --> 00:27:18.281
and to be able to
00:27:18.321 --> 00:27:19.442
articulate your ideas I
00:27:19.462 --> 00:27:20.183
think is incredibly
00:27:20.203 --> 00:27:21.605
important and unfortunately
00:27:22.205 --> 00:27:24.008
all too often today um that
00:27:24.048 --> 00:27:25.469
is overlooked and it turns
00:27:25.528 --> 00:27:27.111
you know very personal and
00:27:27.151 --> 00:27:29.353
very nasty very fast but
00:27:30.473 --> 00:27:30.993
In that case,
00:27:31.013 --> 00:27:32.414
you really don't win anyone over, right?
00:27:32.434 --> 00:27:32.555
I mean,
00:27:32.575 --> 00:27:33.736
the whole idea is if you have an
00:27:33.796 --> 00:27:35.056
idea that you think is correct,
00:27:35.455 --> 00:27:36.436
the only way to really get
00:27:36.457 --> 00:27:37.436
it out there is to be able
00:27:37.477 --> 00:27:39.258
to discuss it openly and to
00:27:39.397 --> 00:27:41.078
argue about it civilly and
00:27:41.098 --> 00:27:42.578
to see if you can change people's minds.
00:27:43.299 --> 00:27:44.799
Right.
00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:45.560
Very well put.
00:27:47.409 --> 00:27:49.171
So I did want to just speak
00:27:49.191 --> 00:27:50.031
a little bit about the
00:27:50.112 --> 00:27:51.292
Adams Public Service Award,
00:27:51.313 --> 00:27:52.294
which may be something that
00:27:52.334 --> 00:27:54.096
the foundation is doing as
00:27:54.135 --> 00:27:55.176
opposed to the commission.
00:27:55.657 --> 00:27:56.858
And this is for current high
00:27:56.878 --> 00:27:58.500
school seniors of a GPA of
00:27:58.540 --> 00:27:59.961
three point or higher who
00:28:00.001 --> 00:28:01.104
want to go to college.
00:28:01.223 --> 00:28:03.086
And they also need to show
00:28:03.185 --> 00:28:05.208
some leadership and service.
00:28:05.288 --> 00:28:05.548
Again,
00:28:05.567 --> 00:28:06.910
things that are keeping with the
00:28:06.990 --> 00:28:07.871
Adamses and the
00:28:08.490 --> 00:28:10.191
A deadline is actually May sixteenth,
00:28:10.211 --> 00:28:11.050
so it's coming up,
00:28:11.070 --> 00:28:11.851
but hopefully this will be
00:28:11.871 --> 00:28:12.711
a continuing thing.
00:28:12.751 --> 00:28:15.633
It's a way of producing more
00:28:15.673 --> 00:28:16.993
John and John Quincy Adams
00:28:17.054 --> 00:28:18.933
is out here in the broad republic.
00:28:19.013 --> 00:28:21.275
It's a great idea and a great initiative.
00:28:22.276 --> 00:28:24.656
We're super excited about announcing this.
00:28:24.737 --> 00:28:25.116
I mean,
00:28:25.136 --> 00:28:26.678
we're a relatively young organization,
00:28:27.137 --> 00:28:29.159
but the most important thing exactly,
00:28:29.179 --> 00:28:29.598
as you said,
00:28:29.699 --> 00:28:30.939
and John Adams talks about
00:28:30.979 --> 00:28:31.539
this a good bit,
00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:33.579
is the education of our children, right?
00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:34.201
The education.
00:28:35.181 --> 00:28:37.583
If you don't have an educated citizen,
00:28:37.923 --> 00:28:38.683
you really can't do
00:28:38.703 --> 00:28:40.884
anything because there's no knowledge.
00:28:41.445 --> 00:28:41.786
Of course,
00:28:41.806 --> 00:28:43.287
the Massachusetts Constitution
00:28:43.326 --> 00:28:45.669
does require the foster education.
00:28:45.689 --> 00:28:47.711
He says, not only the college at Cambridge,
00:28:47.750 --> 00:28:49.051
but grammar schools and
00:28:49.092 --> 00:28:50.532
primary schools in all the towns.
00:28:50.972 --> 00:28:51.192
That is,
00:28:51.212 --> 00:28:53.555
you really need this educated citizenry.
00:28:54.429 --> 00:28:55.809
absolutely and so we're
00:28:55.829 --> 00:28:56.710
thrilled to announce this
00:28:56.750 --> 00:28:57.611
we we are planning on
00:28:57.631 --> 00:28:58.510
having it every year to
00:28:58.550 --> 00:28:59.571
your point you know this
00:28:59.592 --> 00:29:01.073
will be a continuing um you
00:29:01.093 --> 00:29:02.133
know scholarship moving
00:29:02.173 --> 00:29:03.354
forward but it's just a
00:29:03.394 --> 00:29:05.174
chance for um to have for
00:29:05.214 --> 00:29:06.494
people to for students to
00:29:06.515 --> 00:29:07.776
be able to highlight one of
00:29:07.796 --> 00:29:09.636
the adams family uh write
00:29:09.656 --> 00:29:10.498
about it and then we're
00:29:10.518 --> 00:29:11.758
gonna we're gonna award two
00:29:11.778 --> 00:29:12.598
different scholarships
00:29:12.618 --> 00:29:14.339
they'll be a first um the
00:29:14.380 --> 00:29:15.000
first one will be a
00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:15.941
thousand dollars and the
00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:16.901
second will be five hundred
00:29:16.941 --> 00:29:17.942
so we'll have we'll have
00:29:18.021 --> 00:29:19.142
two different scholarship
00:29:19.321 --> 00:29:20.343
winners which will be great
00:29:20.728 --> 00:29:21.489
Great, very good.
00:29:21.808 --> 00:29:22.528
Well, thank you.
00:29:22.588 --> 00:29:24.470
Congratulations on launching that.
00:29:25.131 --> 00:29:26.451
And I'm reminded of a quote,
00:29:26.471 --> 00:29:27.531
I can't get the quote right
00:29:27.551 --> 00:29:28.292
from John Adams,
00:29:28.313 --> 00:29:30.433
that I must study war and
00:29:30.574 --> 00:29:32.035
politics so that my son may
00:29:32.095 --> 00:29:33.695
study diplomacy and his son
00:29:33.715 --> 00:29:34.797
may study poetry.
00:29:34.936 --> 00:29:37.278
And just seeing how we do
00:29:37.318 --> 00:29:38.759
something in one generation
00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:40.141
so that further generations
00:29:40.340 --> 00:29:41.741
will have other opportunities.
00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:43.140
Absolutely.
00:29:43.160 --> 00:29:44.160
I think it's very important.
00:29:44.220 --> 00:29:45.961
And part of the challenge
00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:47.260
too is if we don't educate
00:29:47.280 --> 00:29:48.881
our children about what has happened.
00:29:48.901 --> 00:29:49.340
So for instance,
00:29:49.361 --> 00:29:51.582
if we don't talk about the
00:29:51.642 --> 00:29:52.701
war and the revolution and
00:29:52.761 --> 00:29:53.662
how we became free,
00:29:54.182 --> 00:29:56.083
then they take it for granted, right?
00:29:56.103 --> 00:29:57.423
So it's really important to
00:29:57.482 --> 00:29:58.623
pass down the stories of
00:29:58.682 --> 00:30:01.644
how we came to be as we are.
00:30:01.663 --> 00:30:01.864
Jackie,
00:30:01.923 --> 00:30:02.943
I wonder if you can tell us how
00:30:03.003 --> 00:30:04.223
people can get involved if
00:30:04.243 --> 00:30:05.963
they want to support the
00:30:06.003 --> 00:30:06.924
work of the Memorial
00:30:06.944 --> 00:30:08.644
Commission or the Adams Foundation.
00:30:10.261 --> 00:30:10.982
So the easiest way,
00:30:11.002 --> 00:30:12.282
you can actually Google
00:30:12.364 --> 00:30:13.963
Adams Memorial and it will pop up,
00:30:14.023 --> 00:30:17.767
but our website is theadamsmemorial.org.
00:30:18.307 --> 00:30:20.748
So there you'll see the
00:30:20.807 --> 00:30:22.088
scholars that we work with,
00:30:22.769 --> 00:30:24.029
you'll see a place to donate,
00:30:24.069 --> 00:30:25.070
you'll see a place to
00:30:26.111 --> 00:30:27.152
you know register if you
00:30:27.172 --> 00:30:27.791
want to find out more
00:30:27.832 --> 00:30:29.012
information so there's lots
00:30:29.073 --> 00:30:30.554
of ways to get involved we
00:30:30.614 --> 00:30:32.836
do have um legislation in
00:30:32.895 --> 00:30:34.256
front of congress right now
00:30:34.817 --> 00:30:36.117
uh congressman john molinar
00:30:36.137 --> 00:30:37.778
who's from michigan um
00:30:38.038 --> 00:30:39.200
entered the legislation in
00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:40.881
for us so we would love to
00:30:40.901 --> 00:30:41.601
have anyone that's
00:30:41.681 --> 00:30:42.801
interested in this project
00:30:42.821 --> 00:30:43.823
to write their congressman
00:30:43.863 --> 00:30:44.623
and tell us and tell them
00:30:44.663 --> 00:30:45.923
that they want the
00:30:46.104 --> 00:30:46.624
commission to be
00:30:46.683 --> 00:30:48.425
reauthorized um so we're
00:30:48.445 --> 00:30:49.266
going through that process
00:30:49.306 --> 00:30:51.126
now but we're super excited
00:30:51.166 --> 00:30:52.147
about where we are we've
00:30:52.167 --> 00:30:53.548
gotten a lot of great feedback
00:30:54.128 --> 00:30:55.730
And we know that this is a
00:30:55.770 --> 00:30:57.491
really important mission for our country.
00:30:57.511 --> 00:30:58.452
It really is.
00:30:59.034 --> 00:31:00.115
And I should just point out
00:31:00.154 --> 00:31:01.296
that my congressman and
00:31:01.316 --> 00:31:02.436
good friend Steve Lynch is
00:31:02.497 --> 00:31:04.057
a co-sponsor of the legislation.
00:31:04.858 --> 00:31:05.358
Absolutely.
00:31:05.660 --> 00:31:07.461
He's been incredibly helpful, as you know,
00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:08.962
for a very long time.
00:31:09.182 --> 00:31:10.364
We appreciate his help.
00:31:10.423 --> 00:31:11.664
And it's clearly very
00:31:11.684 --> 00:31:12.605
important to have the
00:31:12.645 --> 00:31:14.047
congressman from Quincy.
00:31:14.587 --> 00:31:16.128
And he's done a great job.
00:31:16.148 --> 00:31:17.049
He's got great staff.
00:31:17.069 --> 00:31:18.070
So we're very excited.
00:31:18.403 --> 00:31:18.784
He does.
00:31:18.824 --> 00:31:19.183
Thank you.
00:31:19.545 --> 00:31:20.965
Good, good.
00:31:21.026 --> 00:31:22.165
Well, anything else we should talk about,
00:31:22.185 --> 00:31:22.425
Jackie?
00:31:22.446 --> 00:31:22.987
This has been fun.
00:31:24.188 --> 00:31:24.288
Well,
00:31:24.347 --> 00:31:25.367
I just I do want to mention just as
00:31:25.387 --> 00:31:25.769
we're on,
00:31:25.909 --> 00:31:28.029
it's been great with the other two.
00:31:28.049 --> 00:31:29.691
So we have John Molinar, as you mentioned,
00:31:29.770 --> 00:31:30.751
and Congressman Lynch.
00:31:31.132 --> 00:31:32.772
And we also have Congressman
00:31:32.792 --> 00:31:34.354
Jerry Connolly, who's from Virginia,
00:31:34.953 --> 00:31:36.194
and Congressman Morgan Griffith,
00:31:36.214 --> 00:31:37.375
who's from Virginia as well.
00:31:38.115 --> 00:31:39.596
And, you know, the nice thing, as you said,
00:31:39.636 --> 00:31:41.178
it was a bipartisan commission.
00:31:41.238 --> 00:31:42.138
And when we're all together,
00:31:42.759 --> 00:31:43.960
we talk about adams which is
00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:45.641
fantastic and they're all
00:31:45.760 --> 00:31:47.561
in they all love history um
00:31:47.622 --> 00:31:48.261
and they all are really
00:31:48.281 --> 00:31:49.323
excited about this project
00:31:49.343 --> 00:31:50.042
so we're thrilled to have
00:31:50.063 --> 00:31:50.663
them as part of the
00:31:50.683 --> 00:31:52.424
commission I know
00:31:52.464 --> 00:31:53.285
congressman lynch has
00:31:53.325 --> 00:31:54.326
talked about it and told me
00:31:54.365 --> 00:31:55.686
about it so it's very very
00:31:55.707 --> 00:31:57.207
exciting so yeah and it's
00:31:57.228 --> 00:31:58.548
great two virginians on a
00:31:58.587 --> 00:31:59.528
commission to honor the
00:31:59.608 --> 00:32:01.289
adamses which is really a triumph
00:32:02.329 --> 00:32:02.869
It really is.
00:32:03.131 --> 00:32:03.951
It is kind of interesting.
00:32:03.971 --> 00:32:04.671
And then you have, right,
00:32:04.711 --> 00:32:05.590
and now I was voted in as
00:32:05.971 --> 00:32:06.751
chair of the commission and
00:32:06.771 --> 00:32:08.152
president of the foundation, as you said.
00:32:08.172 --> 00:32:09.272
I'm from Georgia,
00:32:09.292 --> 00:32:10.252
but I think that makes it a
00:32:10.272 --> 00:32:11.192
little more interesting, right?
00:32:11.554 --> 00:32:13.834
So this is not a Massachusetts project,
00:32:13.894 --> 00:32:15.035
even though it honors
00:32:15.075 --> 00:32:16.295
someone from Massachusetts
00:32:16.714 --> 00:32:17.715
or people from Massachusetts.
00:32:18.056 --> 00:32:19.455
This is an American project.
00:32:19.596 --> 00:32:21.217
This is a project for the whole nation.
00:32:21.237 --> 00:32:21.957
Well,
00:32:21.977 --> 00:32:23.077
I think that's really what makes it
00:32:23.097 --> 00:32:23.897
so valuable.
00:32:24.837 --> 00:32:26.919
It is a national story, which
00:32:27.421 --> 00:32:28.784
The Adams is certainly understood.
00:32:29.044 --> 00:32:30.446
John Quincy wanted to build
00:32:30.487 --> 00:32:31.669
roads and canals to connect
00:32:31.689 --> 00:32:32.570
the different sections of
00:32:32.611 --> 00:32:33.573
the country together
00:32:33.613 --> 00:32:35.296
because he saw what happens
00:32:35.336 --> 00:32:35.837
if you're not.
00:32:35.857 --> 00:32:38.623
Very important.
00:32:39.419 --> 00:32:39.818
It is.
00:32:39.838 --> 00:32:42.060
So we've been talking with Jackie Cushman,
00:32:42.080 --> 00:32:43.121
who is the chair of the
00:32:43.201 --> 00:32:44.582
Adams Memorial Commission
00:32:44.842 --> 00:32:46.163
and working on creating a
00:32:46.222 --> 00:32:47.923
memorial to the Adams family,
00:32:47.982 --> 00:32:48.983
not only John Adams,
00:32:49.023 --> 00:32:51.125
but Abigail and John Quincy
00:32:51.144 --> 00:32:52.266
and Louisa Catherine and
00:32:52.306 --> 00:32:53.786
Charles Francis and Henry
00:32:53.885 --> 00:32:54.946
Adams and the rest of the
00:32:55.067 --> 00:32:56.007
Adams family made an
00:32:56.367 --> 00:32:57.748
extraordinary contribution
00:32:57.788 --> 00:32:58.888
to the story of the
00:32:59.509 --> 00:33:00.490
American independence.
00:33:00.509 --> 00:33:01.630
So thank you so much, Jackie,
00:33:01.650 --> 00:33:02.851
for being with us and for
00:33:02.871 --> 00:33:04.291
the work you're doing.
00:33:04.311 --> 00:33:05.372
Thank you so much for having me on.
00:33:05.412 --> 00:33:06.353
I really appreciate it.
00:33:08.153 --> 00:33:09.334
And I want to thank Jonathan Lane,
00:33:09.354 --> 00:33:09.953
our producer,
00:33:09.973 --> 00:33:12.155
who has been behind the curtain as well.
00:33:12.316 --> 00:33:13.215
Every week, Jackie,
00:33:13.236 --> 00:33:15.616
we thank listeners who tune in regularly.
00:33:15.657 --> 00:33:16.218
And if you're in one of
00:33:16.238 --> 00:33:17.298
these places and want some
00:33:17.337 --> 00:33:19.660
of our Revolution Two-Fifty swag,
00:33:19.700 --> 00:33:20.941
send Jonathan an email,
00:33:20.961 --> 00:33:23.241
jlane of revolution two five oh dot org.
00:33:23.922 --> 00:33:25.163
And so if you're in one of
00:33:25.182 --> 00:33:26.183
these places or if you're not,
00:33:26.223 --> 00:33:26.923
you want to contact
00:33:26.963 --> 00:33:28.964
Jonathan with questions or ideas,
00:33:29.105 --> 00:33:29.625
let him know.
00:33:30.046 --> 00:33:30.746
So this week,
00:33:30.786 --> 00:33:32.086
I want to thank our listeners
00:33:32.146 --> 00:33:33.807
in Tel Aviv and Amman.
00:33:34.460 --> 00:33:38.003
and in Matsuyama, Japan.
00:33:38.104 --> 00:33:38.964
Aman is in Jordan.
00:33:39.704 --> 00:33:41.547
Johannesburg, Quebec,
00:33:41.747 --> 00:33:43.669
Quincy in Massachusetts,
00:33:43.689 --> 00:33:46.011
as well as Arlington and Amherst, Seguin,
00:33:46.071 --> 00:33:48.193
Texas, Georgetown, South Carolina,
00:33:48.753 --> 00:33:51.057
and around the country, Tuscaloosa, Tampa,
00:33:51.116 --> 00:33:52.397
Long Beach, and Riverside,
00:33:52.438 --> 00:33:53.898
and all places between and beyond.
00:33:53.939 --> 00:33:54.720
Thanks for joining us.
00:33:54.740 --> 00:33:56.122
And now we'll be piped out
00:33:56.162 --> 00:33:57.022
on the road to Boston.