Exploring Hamilton Musicals Portrayal of American History

Abstract

Hamilton: the Musical as History Is Hamilton: the Musical a Good/Useful Way to Teach History in Schools? Yes. Introduction Lin-Manuel Miranda Hamilton described Hamilton as a musical genre that reflects the American then as told by Americans now. To this effect, one can describe Hamilton as a story of how America looked years back, as represented by how America looks at current. Miranda compiled the pieces to communicate Alexander Hamilton's contributions to shaping current America to his target audience. Miranda analyzed Alexander Hamilton's biography in 2004 as narrated by Ron Chernow and noted his achievements as a founding father of the United States. Alexander Hamilton played a significant role and helped defeat the British in the revolutionary war, helped to get approval for the U.S. constitution, and revolutionized the American financial system. To this effect, Hamilton the musical serves as a solid cultural phenomenon as employed non-white cast playing the role of American Founding fathers as a sign of acknowledging and valuing Alexander Hamilton's contributions in shaping American history. It is a musical genre that brings revolutionary and early government history to life while provoking discussions and questions among students, thus essential in teaching history in schools. Slavery serves as a potential backbone of the American economy. It is imperative to note that the history of slavery remains defined by the existence of immigrants within the United States, whether voluntary or forced immigrants, during the early 18th century. In his song "York town (The World Turned Upside Down)," Miranda offers his target audience a rich history of what it took an immigrant to survive in America back then. Unfortunately, though an old history of 1781, its reality remains felt amongst immigrants who live in America today. Their lives remain defined by challenging experiences as they fight for their survival freedom in this nation. In this song, Immigrants remains seen struggling for freedom and wonder what to do with freedom once acquired. According to Miranda, Alexender Hamilton and his fellow black men joined the American militaries/armies not because they were willing to be part of it but rather wished to fight for a common goal (ending slavery). The song provoked some direct questions in students' minds on what it took the slaves/people of color to find their way out of slavery regardless of the strong resistance from some white Americans. Just like the British government believed in manipulating American immigrants, the Northerners were against slavery. In contrast, the Southerners thought owning slaves as their contributions in terms of free labor to their demanding cotton farms, among other agricultural-related produce, was unquestionable. To this effect, Alexander and his team scattered north and south in efforts to fight against slavery that had subjected them to harsh treatments from their undiplomatic rulers. It is a song that narrates a story of flawed characters, each going through different paths but all seeking to leave their mark and legacy behind for generations to come. Hamilton's appointment by George Washington in 1781 to lead the attack at the battle of Yorktown was not in...