(bright upbeat music)
- Have you ever received a letter in the mail?
Well, we're about to read quite a few,
and boy, do they contain some important info.
You can also find lessons and activities
by going to LittlePatriotsLearning.com.
♪ Land of the free, home of the brave ♪
♪ That's what makes the United States ♪
♪ Now let's take a journey with the Spirit of Freedom ♪
♪ Liberty will lead the way ♪
♪ Let's take a star (star!) spangled adventure ♪
♪ Star (star!) spangled adventure ♪
♪ All the things you'd wanna know ♪
♪ About America's in the show ♪
♪ So come on, all you patriots, let's go ♪
(cheerful music)
- Hurry. The President will be here any minute.
Light the fireplace, maybe that will dry out the plaster.
- (gasps) He's here.
(hammers thudding)
(horse snorts)
- Mr. President, welcome to the executive mansion,
your new home.
- Thank you. It looks spectacular.
- Uh, when will the first lady be joining us?
- She's coming shortly from Boston.
It's been many years since we've been in the same home.
- Mr. President, allow me to show you around.
- Splendid. - Ah, Mr. President?
- Hmm?
- Ah. Oh, nevermind.
- [John] Dearest Abigail, I pray heaven
to bestow the best of blessings on this house
and all that shall hereafter inhabit it.
May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.
- We are here in 1800
and John Adams, the second President,
is the first President to live in the newly-created home
and office we now call the White House.
John and Abigail Adams are moving in.
They wanted to live quietly on their farm outside Boston,
but the call to help bring freedom
meant that they were separated for most of their marriage,
so they wrote a lot of letters.
We have found over 1,000 letters between John and Abigail.
The demands of raising the children
and managing the farm kept Abigail in Boston
and the demands of the revolution against Britain
sent John far from home,
even when he was Vice President and President.
- [John] I'm meeting with Thomas Jefferson later today
to work on what we are calling
a Declaration of Independence.
My dear, I cannot wait to be home.
- [Abigail] Darling, as you men forge a new country
remember the ladies and grant them equal rights.
- [John] France has now agreed
to support our cause of liberty and will send warships.
I long for you and the children.
- [Abigail] We find that food is scarce
and lately British soldiers have been spotted near our farm.
- [John] I was sworn in today as Vice President
and General Washington
will be sworn in next week as President.
Our country has begun.
- [Abigail] I am proud of you, John.
I cannot wait to see you.
- John and Abigail have been married 36 years,
and they haven't been together hardly at all.
Now they will both live in their new home, the White House.
- I just heard we should be getting voting results
from half the states today,
so soon we'll know if I'm reelected as President.
- John, part of me wants you to win,
and part of me hopes
that Thomas Jefferson does and we can go home.
- Time has gone so fast.
Two terms as Vice President,
now, nearly one term as President.
The children aren't children anymore.
I miss our farm, our home.
- There is a cost to liberty
and it is one that we both have paid.
(subdued music)
(Aide yawns)
- The rest of the bags already left with the First Lady,
I mean, Mrs. Adams, to your home in Boston.
- Thank you for all of your help.
- Sir, I regret that you did not win the reelection.
You were only in this house for four months.
- We are a nation of laws, not men.
Thomas Jefferson now gets his time in this house,
but he too will one day leave and another take his place.
That is how our constitution and how our laws work.
♪ So many letters, so many words ♪
♪ That tell the story of this man and wife ♪
♪ It wasn't easy ♪
♪ Those times were hard ♪
♪ Because the two had made a sacrifice ♪
♪ When you sacrifice for others ♪
♪ You are putting others first ♪
♪ You are pausing what you may want for yourself ♪
♪ When you sacrifice for others ♪
♪ The cost is sometimes great ♪
♪ But worth it when you're helping someone else ♪
♪ When you make a sacrifice ♪
♪ You are helping someone else ♪
- John helped write the Declaration of Independence,
was Vice President and President.
Abigail raised four children.
She was outspoken against slavery
and advocated for women's rights.
Her oldest son, John Quincy Adams,
became America's sixth President.
All of this happened because of sacrifice.
(bright upbeat music)