 Transgram Family Theater presents Loretta Young, Robert Stack, and Jean Lockhart. From Hollywood, the Mutual Network in Cooperation with Family Theater presents The Longest Hour, starring Robert Stack and Jean Lockhart. To introduce the drama, here is your hostess, Loretta Young. Thank you. Thank you, Tony Loprano. Family Theater's only purpose is to bring to everyone's attention the practice that must become an important part of our lives if we are to win peace for ourselves, peace for our families, and peace for the world. Family Theater urges you to pray. Pray together as a family. And now, to our transcribed drama, The Longest Hour, starring Jean Lockhart as Adam and Robert Stack as Jefferson. It is the night of July 1st, 1776. In a small, stubby, anti-room of the Pennsylvania State House at Philadelphia, five weary men working by candlelight are gathered about a writing desk littered with crumpled sheets of paper. They're tired. Their nerves are on edge. They're patients at the breaking point. Gentlemen, let's be realistic about this. We are failing in our tasks. Come now, Adams, we are having difficulties to be sure, but they are not insuperable. I admire your skill as a diplomat, but this is a time for brutal truth, not diplomacy. And what is the brutal truth, Mr. Adams? That this committee, which was formed to draft a declaration of independence, is not capable of doing so. I declared from the beginning, Jefferson, that such a document, if it's to be written at all, must be the product of a single intelligence, and now I'm being proved right. I find small satisfaction in you being right, Mr. Adams. Right or wrong, we must have a declaration ready when the convention continues in the morning. And more than that, Sherman. It must be one upon which we five will stand or fall. You've been harping on that ever since the committee convened Livingston. Don't you think it would be done? Frankly, I don't. We five were not chosen by accident. Our backgrounds differ as well as our views. You needn't keep reminding me that you are an aristocrat. Now, now, Roger. And you, Sherman, needn't take the position that a man must have grime under his nails to be a patriot. Gentlemen, gentlemen, this is a poor moment for bickering. Call it bickering if you will, Mr. Franklin. The fact stands. No two of this committee are in agreement. Much less all five. John, whatever purpose lay behind the choice of committee members, it remains that if the declaration is longer delayed, the convention will never adopt it. This is the hour, the last hour. Well, then, what has been done? You, Mr. Jefferson, for a man so popular with the crowd, you've latched into an unseemly silence. I've been trying on paper to frame a beginning to this, Mr. Adams. The actual language of the declaration. Well, well... It's just a start. But how does this sound? When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for a people to advance from that subordination in which they have hitherto remained... Now, it's to win the Jefferson. The opening's all right, but after that you're going to... No, no, the last part sounds negative, Tom, as if we're apologizing. And I don't care for the word subordination. Read it again, Tom, slowly. When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for a people to advance from that... That's the word I balk at. Advance. It's not strong enough. I think that's where it goes off. We're doing more than advancing. We're cutting ourselves off from the crown. All right. Instead of advance, let's try... Sever? That's better. Oh, Tom? Yes, Mr. Franklin? Sever is undoubtedly the word to describe the precise action that we're taking, but I think for our part the language should indicate a more natural progression to freedom, something that's our due. How about dissolve? Dissolve? Much better. Try going on from there. In the course of human events it becomes necessary for a people to dissolve the... the bands which have connected them with another... Try making a people one people. For one people to dissolve the bands which have connected them with another... No, no, no. It still sounds like... Just a minute, Roger. Just a minute. All right. How's this? Which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the equal and independent station... Yes, now. That frame. Right there. Mr. Adams, station to which the laws of nature and nature's God entitle them. Better. Better, it tells what we're after. I don't like equal and independent. The language is misleading. Mr. Adams, if we haggle over every word, this will never be finished. You haggled on a point of grammar a moment ago, Sherman. The phrase, equal and independent, I say is misleading. Is it the word equal which disturbs you, Mr. Adams? Not retain equal, Mr. Jefferson, but change independent to separate. We are proclaiming our independence, are we not? Precisely. And the proclamation is implicit in the document. I want to make clear that the individual sovereignty of each colony is assured. Good heavens, Mr. Adams. Are we to fight the British colony by colony or are we forming a union? A union. A union of sovereign states. Yes. Mr. Adams, I feel the word independent should appear prominently in the declaration. I have no wish that it shall not Livingston, but I can promise you that unless the separate character of each colony is guaranteed in writing, Massachusetts will not be signatory to this agreement. Tom, since it is our intention to guarantee such sovereignty to the colonies, might this not be an appropriate place to say so? Mr. Franklin, don't... The question, after all, is something we can settle amongst ourselves. Our ringing declaration of our freedom is what we wish to have sound loudest in the ears of King George. Very well, Mr. Franklin. To assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature's God entitle them. And so it went phrase after phrase, word after word. The candles burnt low and fluttered out. And one or another the five men in the anti-room replaced them and continued to paste the floor wrestling with the language of a document that none of them dared hope had any claim to permanence. Much less to immortality. John Adams. Stiff and brusque in his two warm velvet and watered silk. Franklin, bald and aging, peering over the rimless spectacles he invented. Livingston, the impeccable aristocrat. Sherman, the zealot in homespun. And Thomas Jefferson. Lean and ungainly bent over the table, scratching out the alphabet of freedom with a quill pen. A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the change. Ah, there again, Jefferson. I believe the word should be separation. Mr. Adams, what is this fatal fascination that things separate have for you? It is not a matter of fascination, but of construction. Every word, haggle, haggle. There's no will to finish this. I don't know, but I prefer separation in this case. At the risk of appearing undiplomatic, I'll stand with Jefferson. Change. We are making a change. It conveys a sense of what we are doing. I say there's no will to finish this. Every word, every comma, haggling. Come in. Gentlemen. What is it, Mr. Morris? I think you should know that some of the convention members are caucusing unofficially. For what purpose? There is talk of adjourning the convention. Permanent. I say to you, it's criminal nonsense to think of adjournment now. Nevertheless, Mr. Adams, it's in the wind. Some say the British power is too great for us that we can never expect any real help from France. I wish for the past 14 months if their power is so great, why haven't they crushed us? I'm only repeating the rumors, Mr. Jefferson. Gentlemen, we must at least use up the time left to us. If, at the end of the hour, we are not united in support of a document that can be taken before the convention with faith and fire, then I too will admit the effort is hopeless. It was a fight now against time and faint-heartedness, against the mutterings of sunshine patriots and men of little faith. As the minutes went by, Jefferson scratched furiously at the document before him. The other members nodding as they read over his shoulder. Now and then, offering a suggestion or making a comment. Almost unnoticed, a grey light crept slowly into the room as the dawn quietly, gradually pushed back the shades at night. We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable. Tom, I suggest we change sacred and undeniable to self-evident. Self-evident. I see a little difference or improvement in the change, Mr. Franklin. It's a tactical point, John. If we say self-evident, we put the convention in the position of not being sure what to attack. I'll accept that. Mr. Adams? Very well. I hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created free and equal. No, not created. Born. Born free and equal. On the contrary, Mr. Adams, we are created and our equality is God-given by that act of creation. If men are merely born, they have no one to pray to. But if they are created, then it is by a divine agency, by God. And to Him they may turn in time of trouble or to give thanks. Very well. Very well, Mr. Jefferson. Continue. That all men are created free and equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Hagel, Hagel, Hagel, we'll never finish this on time. Gentlemen, gentlemen, we're almost finished. Now let's try to hold on to our tempers a little longer. Well, Mr. Adams, such as it is, it's finished. Yes. Not a bad document, Jefferson. Not bad at all. Oh, now if we can get it through the convention. We'll never know until we try, Mr. Livingston, so shall we enter the arena, gentlemen? What's your opinion, Mr. Franklin? Well, at least they sat quietly, following us being read to them. I think we can expect some trouble before the voting. The aristocrats don't like it much. The aristocrats, gentlemen, and I helped write it. Mr. Chairman! Mr. Chairman! It's starting with faint hearts, I knew it. The chair recognizes General Schuyler of New York. Mr. Chairman, as a representative of my sovereign state, I cannot vote on a matter of such debatable import without months to consider. Mr. Jefferson of Virginia! Mr. Chairman, we are a year and two months from Lexington and Concord. All that time Americans have been fighting and dying for independence, and the whole world knows it. And still we have not, as a people, declared our independence to the world. There are no more months left us in which to consider the matter. We must act now or never. Mr. Chairman! Mr. Chairman! Mr. Franklin, from Pennsylvania! Mr. Chairman, it is not the purpose of this committee to force upon an unwilling convention a document which does not, in every particular, reflect the combined sentiment of this body. Compromise is of the essence of true self-government. And we are all willing to compromise, but not upon principle. And it is the principle of independence which is here at stake. Gentlemen, the hour is late. We had better agree we will all hang together or we are mortally bound to be hanged separately. Mr. Lee of Virginia! Mr. Chairman, I move that the Convention of Symbol adopt the following resolution. We're in for a fight, Mr. Franklin. I'm not so sure. I may be way around this. Let's press Frivolta. Mr. Lee's resolution constitutes the heart of the declaration. But Livingston, they aren't ready to accept the draft declaration as a stand. Exactly. I think what Mr. Livingston means is that if we can force a vote on the Lee resolution and the Convention accepts it, the declaration will follow as a matter of course. It won't. They'll change it. They'll cut it to pieces. We have to risk that, Tom. I say, Mr. Adams is right. Vote on the Lee resolution first. It's our only chance. And as for changing the draft, Heaven's man, we aren't infallible. I don't claim we are, Mr. Adams. Gentlemen, gentlemen, let's address ourselves to the business of hand. Mr. Franklin, the chairman's trying to catch your eye. I know. He's been estimating the pros and cons. I think Harrison's with us. Yes, it looks as if he wanted a sign from you, Mr. Franklin. Yes, well, are we all agreed? Shall we force a vote now, John? I think I can promise you the Massachusetts delegation. I've already spoken to Welcott and Huntington in the Connecticut delegation. You can count on them. I am certain of Virginia. What about your own state, Mr. Franklin? I believe Pennsylvania will do the right thing. Well, then I say let's call for a vote. Very well, gentlemen. Roger, you have a powerful fist. Start pounding it on that desk, would you? All right. Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman. The chair recognizes Mr. Franklin of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I second the resolution just put before the convention by Mr. Lee of Virginia and move that at this time a vote be taken on its passage by the Congress. The chair rules in the affirmative on the motion of the member of the Pennsylvania delegation. At this time on the resolution submitted to the convention by Mr. Lee of Virginia, we will call the role of the colonies. Connecticut, four votes. Connecticut cast its four votes. Jonathan. Jonathan, have you seen the paper this morning? I have. The British have won another battle in New York. They'll be here in Philadelphia before you know it. Oh, no, no, I don't mean that. Here, look, this little item on the back page. Read it. This day, the Continental Congress declared the United colonies free and independent states. Is that all there is to it? Don't you know what it means, Jonathan? We're free. We've cut ourselves loose from England. But shouldn't there be more? What else is needed, Jonathan? We're free, free men and women, Jonathan. The Congress has said so. Well, I can't believe it. Maria, I can't believe it. I heard Mr. Jefferson's to read the declaration in the courtyard of the state house this afternoon and that anyone can come who wants. Well, then why are you standing there? Get your wallet, wife. Get your wallet. The representatives of the United States of America. In general, Congress assembled, appealing to the supreme judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United colonies are and have right ought to be free and independent states. That they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved. And that is free and independent states. They have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may have right do and for the support of this declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. I should say young Jefferson reads almost as well as he writes. Yes, indeed. There's a lot to learn, but I believe he'll learn it. Mr. Franklin, listen to that crowd. They're for it. The declaration says what they want it to say. Yes, Tom, I think it does. Do you feel the people are with us now, Mr. Adams? Indeed, I do. Yes. Well, the greatest question that was ever debated in America has been decided and a greater perhaps will never be decided and never was among free men. There's still a long fight ahead of us. I'm well aware that blood and toil and treasure will cost us to maintain the declaration and yet through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I think that it will be a memorable day. Perhaps the most memorable in the history of America. I believe it will be solemnized by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It deserves to be celebrated with every kind of pomp and parade with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires from one end of this continent to the other. And from this day forward, forevermore. Yes, but above all, it should be. It must be forever commemorated as our day of deliverance, commemorated by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. And now, here is your hostess, Miss Loretta Young. Thank you, Tony Lafranco. It's been said, and I suppose there's some truth in it, that we Americans have a way of taking our flag and our freedom for granted. But I never hear that complaint without recalling the experience of a friend of mine. She had it in New York some years ago. She was watching a parade come down Fifth Avenue when two boys, about 12, pushed up beside her in the crowd. One of the boys was blind and he kept tugging at his companion's sleeve and inquiring, where is it, Billy? Is it coming? Where is it? The other boy assured him, not yet, not yet. It's way down the street. My friend, unable to contain her curiosity, leaned over and tapped the blind boy's companion on the shoulder. What's he waiting for? She inquired quietly. I said to the boy, he wants me to tell him when the flag comes by. But why, my friend asked? He can't see it. No, explained the boy, but he likes to know it's there. Well, perhaps that sentiment puts into words the proud feeling that most of us Americans have for our flag. We like to know it's there, to know that it's been there since 1776. It's a star-spangled reminder of the unity which enabled that first family of 13 colonies to grow under God into the great nation that America is today. It was true then and it's true now. The family that prays together stays together. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. From Hollywood, Family Theater has brought you the longest hour, starring Robert Stack and Gene Lockhart. Loretta Young was your hostess. Others in our cast were Norman Field, Fred Shields, John Stevenson, Pat McGeehan, Billy Bochum, Begale Bonnie and Dave Young. The script was written by John T. Kelly from an original story by Robert Hardy Andrews, with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman and was directed and transcribed for Family Theater by Joseph F. Mansfield. This series of Family Theater broadcasts is made possible by the thousands of you who feel the need for this type of program. By the mutual network which has responded to this need and by the hundreds of stars of stage, screen and radio who give so unselfishly of their time and talent to appear on our Family Theater stage. To them and to you, our humble thanks. This is Tony LaFranco expressing the wish of Family Theater that the blessing of God may be upon you and your home and inviting you to be with us next week when Family Theater will present Medicine Man, starring Peter Lynn Hayes and Mary Healy. Join us, won't you? This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.