The other delegates agree, and a reluctant Thomas Jefferson is appointed to draft the declaration. Having secured a little time, Adams and Franklin set about swaying the other delegates to their way of thinking. Meanwhile, John Dickinson tries to keep the opposition intact, and helping his cause is the fact that General George Washington's courier keeps relaying discouraging dispatches from the army's training grounds. When the Declaration of Independence is finally read before the Congress, Edward Rutledge of South Carolina attacks a passage that condemns slavery. Adams and Jefferson staunchly defend the passage, but when virtually all of the representatives from the South walk out, they realize that the slavery clause will have to be sacrificed.
Independence is, after all, the goal.
Again, the delegates are gathered, and the final vote is tallied. In the end, the deciding vote belongs to James Wilson of Pennsylvania. The proposal passed, the declaration is ready for signatures. And as the Liberty Bell begins to ring, each delegate contemplates the future, knowing full well that if the war is lost, they will all be hanged for treason. The production enjoyed a run of 1,217 performances.