NEW ULM — Modern American politics rarely inspires anyone to sing, but in 1972, one musical film found the inspiration with the nations founding document.

The film is called “1776” and it was adapted from the 1969 Broadway musical of the same name. The musical revolves around the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This unusual film will serve as the start of the New Ulm Film Society’s America at War series.

The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12 at the New Ulm Public Library.

From the early days of filmmaking, war has been a popular topic in cinema. Some of the earliest film reels depicted real combat in WWI. One of the first Best Picture winners at the Oscars was “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Filmmakers and audiences have always had a need to see war depicted on the big screen, but not all wars are created equal. It’s not hard to find a movie about U.S. involvement in WWII. It is a bit of a challenge to find films that tackle American’s beginning with the Revolutionary War. Hollywood has long struggled to accurately depict the U.S. struggle for independence. American filmmakers fall in the trap of romanticizing the war, turning the founding fathers into saints. Instead of creating a real historical drama, the film becomes a myth about the nations founding. The play and movie “1776” was able to subvert this trend by making the story into a musical.

Audiences watching a musical accept the story as a heightened or exaggerated version of reality. There is no danger of an audience mistaking “1776” as a literal historical record of the Second Continental Congress. At the same time, the musical aspect allows the filmmakers to emphasize certain truths about our nations founding that may not be self evident.

The truth about “1776” is the founding fathers were not all in agreement and the struggle to form a new nation involved a great deal of fighting inside the courtrooms and on the battlefield.

The main drama of the musical centers around John Adams’ (played by William Daniels) efforts to persuade the Continental Congress to vote for American independence, but few are inclined to listen to him.

One of the opening musical numbers is titled “Sit Down, John.” The song is sung by the continental congress, directed at Adams. Most of the congress would prefer Adams sit down and shut up rather than seek independence from England.

The musical is not afraid to tackle other difficult truths. The second act of the musical focuses on slavery. Adams wanted a clause in the declaration condemning the slave trade, but some of the southern delegates threaten to walk out. Adams realizes he might need to compromise on his anti-slave beliefs to get full support for American independence. The musical does not shy away from this ugly reality. It is one of the few films about the founding fathers that acknowledges many were slave owners that saw no problem with seeking independence while depriving others of their freedom.

“1776” was considered an oddity at the time of its release. The stage version of the musical was a success, but the film version had many detractors. It was considered an oddity. Revolutionary War films were rare, but adding a musical element made it too strange for general audience or critics to appreciate. Over time, the musical’s reputation has improved. Stage revivals of “1776” has brought new attention to the film and might have inspired the similarly themed musical “Hamilton,” which has become one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time.

The New Ulm Film Society’s screening of “1776” is free to the public. Before and after the film, there will be a discussion about the film’s place in film history.