Laura Linney credited as playing...
Abigail Adams
- [John and Abigail Adams arrive at the unfinished White House for the first time and see that the workers ther consists of slaves]
- Abigail Adams: Half-fed slaves building our nation's capitol. What possible good can come from such a place?
- Abigail Adams: [reading The Federalist Papers] "The reign of Mr. Adams has hitherto been one continued tempest of malignant passions. As president, he has never opened his lips without threatening or scolding. He is a repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite, one of the most egregious fools upon the continent, a hideous, hermaphroditical character which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman."
- John Adams: It is beneath the President of the United States to take any notice of insinuations.
- Abigail Adams: In any other country, such filth would have been silenced long ago.
- John Adams: Mr. Hamilton takes equal pains to ensure that he Federalist Paper are filled with scurrilous attacks on Thomas Jefferson and his party.
- Abigail Adams: Think of all the vile falsehoods written about you-continue to be written about you. You may have patiently borne all the slanders, but I have not. "Before it is too late to retrieve our deranged affairs-"
- John Adams: For goodness sake.
- Abigail Adams: "-the people must demand the immediate resignation of old, querulous, bald, blind, crippled, toothless Adams."
- [long pause]
- John Adams: I'm not crippled.
- Abigail Adams: I find no amusement in this. Waste of paper and ink.
- John Adams: Waste of time reading it, Abigail. Put it down.
- Abigail Adams: They would not say such a thing about Washington. They would not call George Washington hermaphroditical!
- John Adams: They could call him toothless, though.
- [John and Abigail laugh]
- Abigail Adams: He's dead, John. Our son is dead. Poor poor unhappy man.
- John Adams: Let silence reign over his tomb... forever.