As a person who has gained a college degree in History, I first fell in love with this movie when I saw it as the stage play with the Broadway cast in my junior year in high school, in 1976. The movie is surprisingly accurate with direct quotations from key congressional members, such as Adams, Franklin and Jefferson as borne out in David McCullough's "John Adams." Yes, there were a few licenses taken with history such as the dramatic scene with Wilson,Dickinson, and Franklin when Wilson is forced to decide the entire question of independence on his vote. But it is these few licenses that bring out the true seriousness of the founding of our nation. One particular scene that I am glad was restored from Jack L. Warner's shameful caving in to Richard Nixon is the piece "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men." That piece clearly fleshed out the Conservative's viewpoint in Congress. William Daniels is perfect for the part of John Adams. His Boston twang (even though he was born in New York) is excellent. One cast change that I am glad they made is putting Blythe Danner in the role of Martha Jefferson in the movie version, in place of Betty Buckley. No offense to Ms. Buckley, I love her as an actress in her roles, but her voice comes across too nasal and strident in her singing of Tom's qualities. (I own the stage play LP to make this comparison) The rest of the cast is perfect. Donald Madden was excellent as John Dickinson, even if you can forgive his singing voice in "Cool, Considerate Men." I will always think of Howard Da Silva and Ken Howard as Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, respectively. All in all, it is a movie that should be seen by everyone in their High School History or Civics class.
