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Hamilton: An American Musical: An Accurate Retelling?


With its release in 2015, its rise to popularity since, and its revival this past year, the musical Hamilton is truly a performance that will go down in history. Because of the show's addition to the streaming service Disney +, many people have become familiar with the story of the once-forgotten founding father, Alexander Hamilton.


Hannah Justice, a fan of the musical, and a junior here at Watauga High School, shares her thoughts on the piece: “Before Hamilton, I couldn't say I enjoyed learning about the Revolutionary War or the building of our country. But afterwards, I had a newfound appreciation for the blood, sweat, and tears poured into the establishment of our country. Hamilton humanized our Founding Fathers who are otherwise seen as paintings and statues, not real people. The musical brings life to dusty textbooks when so many other outlets failed.”


The musical, composed and written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is truly deserving of its fame, but some have been known to question the historical accuracy of the piece. Are the relationships in the musical properly portrayed? Are the mannerisms of various characters akin to their historical counterparts? To help answer these questions is Watauga's very own Ms. Jamie Wilson, a history teacher who shares a special fascination with Hamilton.


Ms. Wilson says, "The play is a work of art. Lin-Manuel Miranda took some creative license with the pace and timing of the story. He also had to make choices about how to portray each of the characters. Often these choices were informed by the historical record, but at times the record did not speak to a particular situation or individual, so he was able to craft a work that filled in those gaps."


Ms. Wilson has a respect for the musical Hamilton due to its creativity and historical significance. While understanding that Lin-Manuel indeed used artistic license, she holds his musical in high regard because of its effective and appropriately accurate storytelling.


“Despite the fact that Hamilton has some historical errors and places where creative license is used liberally, it is still an incredible work of art that has helped build interest in the history of the U.S. founding,” says Wilson.


To give some insight into the validity of the musical Hamilton, Ms. Wilson addresses the play’s portrayal of Alexander Hamilton and Angelica Schuyler’s relationship.


“One great example of the creative license Miranda used was with the relationship between Hamilton and his wife’s sister, Angelica Schyler. The play alludes to an attraction between the two. This is based off a primary source--there was one letter from Angelica Church, who was actually married when Hamilton entered her family, that began ‘My dear, Sir’. The introduction of that comma made Miranda question the nature of the relationship between the two, and he chose to portray that tension on the stage. However, in the play, it is Hamilton who introduces the comma in question. While the play does not really indicate whether a romantic relationship existed or not, it hints that it may have.”


Another important factor in Lin-Manuel’s piece is the climactic duel between Hamilton and his political rival, Aaron Burr.


Regarding this scene, Ms. Wilson states, “This duel is factual, although the intentions of the two men on that day are not part of the historical record. Miranda had to do a lot of creative work in this scene. One key piece of information that is left out of the play is that Hamilton actively campaigned against Burr’s pursuit of the New York Governor’s office in 1804. This was the final straw for Burr, who challenged Hamilton to the duel that ended up taking Hamilton’s life.”


Other details of U.S. history not mentioned in Lin-Manuel’s composition include Aaron Burr’s support of equal rights for women, and Hamilton and Madison’s friendship, the latter lasting three to four years while the men were composing their Federalist Papers. On the other hand, not mentioned in historical records is the fateful meeting between John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Alexander Hamilton, as artistically portrayed in the song “Aaron Burr, Sir.”


To sum up the importance of the musical, and its well-crafted narration of U.S. history, Ms. Wilson concludes, “While viewers shouldn’t take the musical as a historical text, it does a great job of telling a fascinating story that is entertaining and draws viewers into the history.”


Written by: Hannah Lutz

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