Well it finally happened, the other week Hamilton became available to watch on the Disney+ streaming service! If you somehow avoided the Hamilton hype, it’s time for you to come out from under your rock.
Lyrical genius Lin-Manuel Miranda spent six years writing the show before it finally premiered in 2015. Before the theatre shut down, it was still playing to sold out audiences. Hip-hop and history? It definitely sounds like an odd combination! But Hamilton’s success has shown that people are interested in seeing history presented to them in more innovative and relatable ways.
As much as I’d like to write about why Hamilton is a groundbreaking piece of music theatre, I instead want to talk about the history. We can’t ignore the valid criticisms that have been cropping up all over social media recently. It’s certainly not a new conversation, but more people are starting to become aware of it. This isn’t to say we can’t enjoy Hamilton, but we all should have an awareness of what the show excludes from its narrative.
Racial Representation
Let’s take a moment to celebrate the casting choices made for this show. I am in no way attempting to undermine what this show has done for racial representation in theatre. Hamilton’s diverse casting and inclusive approach deserves endless amounts of praise. Miranda once explained that his intention was never to glorify the Founding Fathers, but rather to tell “a story about America then told by America now”.
That being said, we must not be deceived by the diverse casting and understand that the narrative still focuses on an exclusively white past. The stories of prominent Black and Native Americans from the revolutionary period are noticeably absent from the show. It is obvious that, despite the diverse casting, the history being told still focuses on the rich white elite.
Slavery
Whilst slavery is not central to the plot, the show itself does take a very anti-slavery stance. I think we all would have appreciated more references that showed how all the Founding Fathers had links to slavery. Lin has said that he battled with what to include and how to include it. Slavery is not completely absent from the show, but it’s not included as much as it could have been.
“A civics lesson from a slaver? Hey neighbour, your debts are paid because you don’t pay for labour” Hamilton to Jefferson in Cabinet Battle #1
A central issue throughout the show is that we only tend to see Jefferson being referred to as a slave owner. One thing we don’t learn is that Hamilton himself bought and sold slaves for his in-laws. Instead we get an image of Hamilton who was a forward-thinking abolitionist, when in reality abolishing slavery was never at the forefront of his political agenda.
The real Hamilton was complicit in upholding a systemically racist society. It’s a huge disservice to fabricate myths of individuals in history to make them seem more palatable to an audience.
“Immigrants, we get the job done!”
Audiences love this line! And why shouldn’t we? It’s a great line! However, it creates a misconception that Hamilton himself was an immigrant. He was born on the island of Ben Nevis as a British citizen. He moved from one British colony to another. We could maybe compare this in modern terms to someone moving from the Isle of Wight across to mainland Britain. The real Hamilton apparently had an aggressive anti-immigration stance. Ironically, it was his rival Aaron Burr who once made a speech defending immigrants.
Miranda wanted this show to celebrate New York being a city of immigrants. He himself is the son of immigrant parents. The theme of immigration is relevant to audiences and is a huge reason why this show resonates with so many people. So let’s continue applauding every time we hear the line “immigrants, we get the job done”, whilst remembering that the real Hamilton was not one.
Founders Chic
It’s no secret that Ron Chernow’s biography on Hamilton was the go-to source for Lin when he wrote the show – you can even buy the book at the theatre! Chernow also served as a historical consultant for the show. But herein lies the problem. The show glorifies Hamilton because that’s the approach Chernow took in his writing.
His book is what we would label ‘founders chic’. This is where the image of the Founding Fathers is given an exaggerated sense of importance. It over-emphsises Hamilton’s apparent anti-slavery stance and immgrant status. It’s important to understand this is where the show’s inspiration originated from.
Rule number one of creating historical fiction should be ‘don’t only use one source’. With that being said, it’s incredible how primary sources have been intertwined within the lyrics. “One Last Time” includes lines from Washington’s actual farewell address. “Best of Wives and Best of Women” was a direct quote taken from the letter Hamilton left for his wife. “Farmer Refuted”, “The Reynolds Pamphlet” and “Your Obedient Servant” also reference hisotircal primary source material.
The Holes in History
The show also acknowledges the holes in history. Sometimes there are things we just can’t ever know. “The World Was Wide Enough” captures the complexity of the conflicting accounts from the Hamilton/Burr duel. “The Room Where It Happens” and “Burn” are also very obvious examples of where they have attempted to show the voids in the historical narrative.
For a piece of historical fiction, this is a great approach. It’s much better than trying to fill the gaps by inventing something we have no proof ever happened. For this I can’t help but praise Miranda for his seemingly sophisticated understanding of historical methods in his writing approach.
Leslie Odom Jr., from left, Phillipa Soo, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Christopher Jackson appear at the curtain call following the opening night performance of “Hamilton” at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
I’m sure we can all agree that many critcisms of Hamilton are completely valid, and the conversation around the show is extremely important. A book that really opened my eyes when I wrote an assignment on this very topic at university was ‘Historians on Hamilton’. This is essential reading for anyone who watches the show. One thing I haven’t talked about above is the representation of woman in Hamilton. The book has a whole chapter on that issue which is definitely worth a read!
As a piece of art, we shouldn’t expect everything to be 100% correct. Please don’t watch historical fiction and take everything included at face value. But there are still many reasons why we should be uplifting this show.
Hamilton has had a huge cultural impact and protestors have even been using lyrics from the show at rallies for human rights. We can still enjoy the show for what it is with its flaws in mind. As an audience, we should always thinking critically about how real people and events are presented to us in fiction. I hope the show continues to serve as a catalyst for sparking an interest in history, as well as allowing conversations about representation to thrive.
Some Fun Educational Reading
Black heroes during the American Revolution
When Native Americans Briefly Won Back Their Lands
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JENISH | https://knowafactfromj.blogspot.com