John Adams Continental Congress and Edward Rutledge

[caitsidhe]

Edward Rutledge of South Carolina (wealthy Southerners wore brighter clothing, elaborate wigs, and adopted European mannerisms), was a British-trained lawyer, described by Dr. Hall of GA (iirc) as having a "very nasal voice, like New Englanders when they sing hymnody." His opposition, having been overridden, Rutledge went on to serve his new country with distinction. He was 26 at the time of the Continental Congress.

[Mycroft93]

Wait he's not gay? Well there go my chances XD

[EmilyLovesYouXD]

Just to let everyone know the actor who plays Edward Rutledge name is Clancy O'Connor. Weird name I agree! Rutledge may had been a badass but he is quite attractive and to all of you who said he's gay...he's not!

[SwiftyMchvey]

Yepp, I read that in a book that John was the Redhead of that generation of Rutledges. Apparently it was tradition to have one redhead per generation. book from 1942? 2 generations later and the trend is still true!

[SwiftyMchvey]

Direct descendant of Edward here: I'm wondering if the guy actually had red hair...cause I do haha. Shame they portrayed him so....fruitily. Washington said that Edward was one of the best orators of the entire bunch.

[shadowkitty56]

@SwiftyMchvey Interesting you should mention this man's name as your ancestor. He was a colorful character, alright. Shame he's not mentioned more.

Edward Rutledge, the real Edward, was rather young when all this was happening-he was only 26, so even younger than Jefferson (33) and much younger than Adams (41). Adams described him as a "dandy" and like a lot of rich Southern gents he was given to dressing up in silks and aping the fashions of Europe (he even went (CONT)

[shadowkitty56]

@SwiftyMchvey to study law in England and his oratory skills came from going head to head at a young age with the best the UK had, unlike Adams, which came from experience.) He was of medium height, and had dark hair (his brother was the redhead) but obviously he carried the gene for red as he passed it on to his descendants.

Other than that, stubborn ass though he was regarding a resolution for independence, he threw himself whole hog into the fray once it was clear the (CONT)

[shadowkitty56]

@SwiftyMchvey British were going to go after Charleston. He spent time as a prisoner of war in Saint Augustine, FL and was treated rather badly by the redcoats, and it was some time before he was able to see his wife and young ones again.

Okay, end of spiel. This is the real Rutledge. He was a stubborn ox when it came to Adams's view of independence, and he really was the voice of a nay voting block, but it worked out in the end.

[TheVenturino123]

whats with everyone saying edward is "hot"..he looks like a fucking dope with that piece of shit wig on and did u not see his gay mannerism? thats hot?

[rocketman544]

"France."

"FRAAAANCE?!?!?"

[MyLoveisallyouneed]

I shall go back in time and marry Edward Rutledge <3

[nochillarickroller]

yessssssssssssssssssss i love rutledgeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee OMG I LUV HIM SO FUCKING MUCH

[softballfreako]

i find Rutledge kind of attractive... :)

[KSmoothSaxG]

lol I love how no one ever cares about the mediator

[TheIcelandicPatriot]

And if no alliance comes what then sir? Then so be it. So be it!!?

Love that line :D

[Lissbirds]

Rutledge's best King Leonidas impression to date.

[therealrapantaleo]

Edward Rutledge.... what weaselly little fop....

[folklore19]

Ladies and gentlemen, our Founding Fathers

Truly God blessed America, because there is no other explanation for us getting passed the Second Continental Congress.

[skyfrank]

@folklore19 only if you guys can bring back the old school English value, you guys can stand a chance against China in 21st century, rather than the corrupted Spanish culture, which made Spain a third world country in Europe, or the African culture, which made the entire Africa third world country.

[folklore19]

@skyfrank The English ones we rebelled against? O_o

[kirakirashiya]

oh my dear lord. The hand thing he did made my laugh so hard. xD

[thesephantomeyes]

Check that little hand wave at the end lmao oh he went there girlfriend! Lmao!

[canadarox14]

@helenbug1 Yeah, I think Rutledge is a cutie. You're not alone :)

[bublaikenchal23]

SASSY GAY RUTLEDGE.

I love it. C:

[ricosuave3355]

How is it the guy in the room wearing the foppiest clothing and using gay mannerisms the most badass

[folklore19]

@ricosuave3355 Charisma.

[NeferNaklah]

I like how Edward Rutledge talks.

[mistax2k]

RUTLEDGE: TALK TO THE HAND!

[Stardweller1]

This gives an idea of just how miraculous it is that the United States even came into being. The disunity and arguing of the Continental Congress alone presents a near insurmountable obstacle.

[ltjosh10]

The actor that plays franklin is the same guy that did Cornwallis in The patriot

[olentangy74]

@ltjosh10 His name is David Wilkinson.

[cschnei08]

...and then Rutledge voted for independence, haha.

[saddleup04]

who plays edward rutledge?

[flik221]

haha he is an asshole though

[MyToySoldierMyPixie]

Edward Putledge Is AMAZING :) hahah my class loves him. Very cool

[a55kiker]

@MyToySoldierMyPixie Edward Rutledge is a badass. Youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence at 26 years old.

[Sanadaluver22]

hahahaha i fucking love edward xD NOT NOW !!! NOT EVER!! hahah his hand at the end!

[890buddha]

i am a straight male, and yet i want rutledge in my bed. i like it when he says 'we southerners are used to a more courtly form'.

[brisco42]

Great comment by Franklin at the beginning of this scene.

[canadarox14]

The actor who plays Rutledge would be really cute without that wig. (Actually, he's kind of cute even with the wig.)

[Chuichupachichi]

There wouldn't even be an existent, American Founders, historic account if it were not for what HBO completely omitted from this mini series. Their omission is evident throughout every scene, but never so obviously as when in this scene, they arrive at discussing the possible scenario in which they might not garner the support of any allies & the question becomes; "who then would we turn to for help"?

The founders believed that because theirs was a noble cause & the British crown's was a

[melissarose8585]

@Chuichupachichi This isn't fully true. Not only do we not know what was said in Congress (no transcripts at all), these men argued over God and his importance in the affair all the time. And Adams, who brings up the French historically and in the series, did not believe God would allow them to win. He was afraid they would lose unless they got European support.

[Chuichupachichi]

@melissarose8585

I don't understand how you can say that after viewing this video? It was those whom were opposing Adams, Franklin & Jefferson in this video that were not feeling confident about declaring independence. You heard Adams say "so be it", when asked "what if the French don't assist"? That's one reason why your comment makes no sense... its contradicting what's depicted in this video. The other is that John Adams was one of the most dedicated & zealous Christians amongst the founders

[Chuichupachichi]

There exist many, many documents from the entire founding period. Remember, in the 1770"s they didn't have TV, radio & the many other things we have today that cause many people to not read or write. In addition, the founders were educated intellectual professionals... all these things combined to cause their lives & culture to be one in which they wrote very much. In fact, in general, all of the colonists were quite well educated because they were nearly all Protestants. Since their beginning,

[melissarose8585]

@Chuichupachichi I have removed my comments. I won't fight with a troll.

[Chuichupachichi]

Protestants consciously & as part of their ideology, placed a great emphasis & made it a high priority to "know"...to possess "knowledge". It was only natural, being that Protestantism was born from throwing off the tyrannical oppression of the forced ignorance of not knowing true Christianity, that the Vatican was imposing upon all of Europe. During the 18th & 19th centuries people read & wrote very, very much. Thus, many historic documents exist. Information within the colonies was

[Chuichupachichi]

disseminated in the form of written "fliers". They were very common & could be found readily available out in public. They most often were Christian themed. We know from record that the Continental Congress from during the Revolutionary War, were nicknamed the "Bible Congress". Although they were fighting a war, they were continually trying to import English Bibles from Nederlands & other nations. Actually, it was due to the war...they put them in the hands of warriors & people to not despair

[Chuichupachichi]

tyrannical one, that God would see to it, that right would prevail. This would have certainly surfaced in the discussion depicted within this scene. This is obviously evidential from the fact that their colonies, were from the start, established from "covenant theology". They established their official, governmental foundations by entering into a contract, or "covenant" with God. One in which they professed that if they themselves accomplished their contractural obligation of faithfulness

[Chuichupachichi]

to God, then they expected that God would honor the covenant by providing them with their general welfare, contentness & prosperity. Also, the Revolution's battle cry was "rebellion to tyrants, is obedience to God" & after the war they attributed the Providence of God with being responsible for the victory. Their practice of being sworn into office with an oath, is purely a religious construct. Realizing that mens motives can't be policed, all being Christians, they depended on a mans conscience

[inkstersco]

Sounds like PMQs.

[furtim1]

This was a wonderful series

[americrevolutwar1777]

Is this what you call an 18th century talking to the hand?? Lol!!! I also like what Ben Franklin says. But the funnniest part is when all these delegates yell and hiss at each other! Ha ha ha, too funny!

[chufuss]

Was Rutledge a homosexual? I'm not trying to be funny

[sugarhigh10]

@chufuss No, He was married twice. and had three kids

[sugarhigh10]

@chufuss No, He was married twice, unless you are talking about the actor, then I don't know

[boredlikehell2008]

@chufuss Nope he was just a pimp.

[googlexxxxxxx]

Pure, old-fashioned politics

God I love it!

[PKtheFirst]

French!?

[bulked]

here here

[aef4266]

I liked that nice little epigram by Franklin at the beginning. Lol, looks like Jefferson is the only one keeping it real. 1:16

[skylerv94]

look at little miss sissymary waving his hand

[Devsfan202]

Lol

[Devsfan202]

But the actor portraying him def appears to be!-lol

[eysblog1fan]

haha! :D the wig of his is crazy! ;)

[Devsfan202]

ok-sorry to upset you-I hope I didn't make him roll over in his final resting place. You must be from S. Carolina-eyeblog. I guess he'll be waiting to kick my butt after I go through the pearly gates myself! Promise I didn't mean any harm-Mr. Rutledge!

[eysblog1fan]

nope i'm not (i' just a fan of random founding fathers) lol! :D sorry about that ;)

[ionthegravity]

LOL People in Congress still get pissed off when they bring up France

[inui1536]

All the Congress scences are the best! I love Rutledge and the little wave he does at the end!!

[gangstamillion]

@inui1536 Here in Britain we have scenes like this every Wednesday when the PM takes questions from the House of Commons :)

[inui1536]

@gangstamillion

haha i'm sure! XD (I guess all governments are like this.)

[carlrs15]

Haha, love the gesticulations at 1:39 and 2:24

[eysblog1fan]

can you put up Rutledge's and Adams's little talk please :)

[doubledw2]

NOT NOW!!! NOT EVER!!!

[carlrs15]

@doubledw2

I wonder how that powdered wig and those 18th century mannerisms would play in Charleston nowadays : P

[Ares99999]

@doubledw2 And yet he DID.

[Stardweller1]

@doubledw2 Funny thing is that South Carolina did vote for independence - twice.

[eysblog1fan]

Thanks for putting this up! I love Rutledge! :)