Hamilton By Lin-Manuel Miranda Essay

Introduction Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda involves multiple twists to the historical context of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. These twists, regarded as historical inaccuracies which aroused criticism from historians and scholars, add dramatic elements to the musical to appeal to the audience, but their significance is often neglected. In this paper, the manifestation of democracy in Hamilton will be analyzed in its three aspects – of the people, by the people, for the people – as proclaimed by former U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. Thus, this paper will argue that the twists to the history and politics in Hamilton contribute to the depiction of a failed democracy and help convey potential threats to such a vulnerable system.
Literature Review One of the scholarly debates about Hamilton …show more content…
Magness also criticizes the musical’s overlooking of his nationalistic and elitist views, particularly his anti-immigration tendencies, political attacks, and involvement in the Alien and Sedition Act, which deviate greatly from the universal values Hamilton represents in the musical. At the same time, economist Edward Peter Stringham also expresses concerns about the idealization of Hamilton and the notion of him being a founder of Wall Street. Stringham points out that Hamilton’s concept of a system of national debt might not be applicable for the newly founded nation, but in the musical the significance of manufacturing or trade is neglected so that he “appears to be on the side of economic progress” (Stringham 528). Moreover, the Wall Street is a result of countless decisions made by investors and “societal or market outcomes are not the products or inventions of one great man” as opposed to the great man theory portrayed in the musical (Stringham 524). Meanwhile, historian Kenneth Owen also notices that Hamilton’s controversial views in his political career are omitted. He