John Adams - Speech in Favor of Independence

John Adams, who was part of the Declaration-of-Independence-drafting committee, argued in favor of approving Lee's Resolution to severe the colonies' ties with Britain. 

This clip, from the HBO miniseries "John Adams," recreates the scene.

For a recreation of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, move the video forward to 4:15.

See, also:

Thomas Jefferson's Submitted Draft of the Declaration of Independence - Slavery Indicted

Original Draft of the Declaration with Edits by Franklin

Credits

Clip from the HBO mini-series, "John Adams."  All copyrights/ownership rights belong to HBO.  DVD available from HBO.  Clip online, courtesy YouTube.  Provided here as "fair use" for educational purposes.