The
name Hamilton is nearly a household word. One of my daughters lives one of the
many Hamilton avenue, streets, and boulevards in our country. At least 28 of our 50 states boasts a city
or town named Hamilton. Hamilton College is the third oldest college in New
York. It was chartered in 1812 and is one of the oldest colleges in the United
States.
Of
course, one of Hamilton College’s first trustees was none other than the first
secretary of our United States Treasury and a Founding Father, Alexander
Hamilton. Any student paying any attention in high school history class knows
that Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804. They should also
know that Hamilton wrote quite a few (52) of those dreaded 85 essays in the
Federalist Papers. Most global citizens know Hamilton for his presence on the US
$10 bill.
“The ten-dollar founding
father without a father, got a lot farther, by working a lot harder, by being a
lot smarter, by being a self-starter.”
Alexander
Hamilton was deeply involved in the writing of the United States Constitution,
was founder of the Federalist Party, the US Coast Guard, and the New York Post!
Hamilton
was an immigrant from the West Indies. Born to single mother, and orphaned at a
young age, he came to the United States in 1772 as a teenager and relied on the
generosity of benefactors to send him to King’s College (now Columbia
University) in New York. Hamilton very quickly made a name for himself, and
became an aide to General George Washington in the Revolutionary War. He earned
a law degree, had eight children (two named Philip) and died at the age of 49
years of age.
Other
than the duel, those tedious essays, and the $10 bill, I knew nothing of these
facts about Alexander Hamilton until I fell in love with the songs of Alexander
Hamilton: The Musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Lin-Manuel
Miranda, a 2002 Wesleyan University graduate, was born in 1980. He is a rapper
and an actor, a librettist, and a lyricist. At 36 years old, he is known as an
award-winning composer of musicals. He wrote and starred in the musical In the
Heights which debuted on Broadway in 2008 (when he was 28 years old.)
As
he tells it, Miranda was leaving on vacation in 2008 when he picked up a copy
of Ron Chernow’s 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton. He stopped many times in
awe and thought “How could anyone not have written this as a musical?” Could
historian Chernow have predicted that his 832-page tome on Alexander Hamilton
would have become a hip-hop success? Probably not.
“What’s
your name man? Alexander Hamilton!”
Miranda
returned from vacation and wrote the musical’s first song, “Alexander Hamilton”
and performed it at the White House that year. The next year he wrote the
second song, “My Shot,” and imagined that all the songs would become a hip-hop
mixtape. He then performed 12 musical numbers from that Hamilton Mixtape in
2012 at the Lincoln Center. Hamilton: The Musical appeared first
off-Broadway in January of 2015 and moved to Broadway in July. Shows sold out
before it opened and it is nearly impossible to get a ticket.
I
chanced upon a group sitting in a listening lounge at a national conference I
recently attended. The voices drew me in; I had heard that song somewhere
before. Perhaps in an NPR interview. It might have been a vague recollection of
listening to a morning talk show. Soon, I realized that 50 people were singing
along to the musical soundtrack of Hamilton and the song was “Who Lives, Who
Dies, Who Tells Your Story.” It is a
haunting, beautiful song. 97-year old Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, has lived 50
years longer than her husband, and she sings on her deathbed, hoping the world
will be told the whole story of Alexander Hamilton.
“And when my time is
up, have I done enough? Will they tell your story?”
I immediately began to learn more
about the musical, the composer, and the story of Alexander Hamilton. I
requested Chernow’s biography from the library (all copies are out.) I
immediately checked out the soundtrack from the musical on Hoopla! – yes, Hoopla!,
our library’s streaming service for video, audiobooks, and music. I’ve listened
to all 46 songs many times including all the hip-hop, the rap, along with the conventional
ballads. One of my favorites is “It’s Quiet Uptown.” Alexander and his wife
move from lower Manhattan after their firstborn son, Philip, is killed in a duel.
“His
hair has gone grey. He passes every day. He is working through the unimaginable.”
There’s debate about whether or not
you should listen to the songs before you see the powerful musical. I couldn’t
wait, though, and I think knowing more of the story from Chernow’s biography
and from the soundtrack will only enhance my experience once I can get my hands
on tickets someday.
“Oh, Alexander
Hamilton, America sings for you. Will they know what you overcame, will they
know that you rewrote the game, the world will never be the same?”
After signing the Constitution of
the United States in 1897, Alexander Hamilton went on to begin the Bank of the
United States, craft the Jay Treaty, practice law, and help to get Thomas
Jefferson elected President in 1800 against Aaron Burr who became Vice
President. Burr challenged Hamilton do a duel in 1804 and mortally wounded him.
Burr, Vice President at the time, ruined his own career in doing so.
“America, you great
unfinished symphony, you let me make a difference. A place where even orphan
immigrants can leave their fingerprints. And rise up. Rise up, I’m running out
of time, and my time’s up. Wise Up. Eyes up.”
