This winter break I decided to tackle Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton. To be honest, this read was inspired by my immense enjoyment of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical. I had known about the musical for years, but had not listened to it until spring of 2020. After listening to it constantly when we were on lock down for COVID, I jumped at the opportunity to watch the musical on Disney+ last summer. I love musicals, and Hamilton joins my list of top favorites that include Rent, Les Miserables, and Phantom of the Opera. I have enjoyed many more, but those are the top.
Digging into the background of the musical, I knew that much artistic license was taken by Miranda to make the remarkable story of this often obscure founding father fit into a two hour show. I am not going to recap all of those differences or critique the musical, many of those choices make total sense given the challenge of balancing detail with length. The choices also serve to play up the relationship between Burr and Hamilton.
What struck me most when reading this biography was how well the musical captures the tone of Hamilton’s life. I have seen people post that their preferred act differs based on their mood. When in a good mood, the peppy and exciting Act I is on point. When pensive or sad, the melancholy and dark Act II makes sense. While Hamilton’s early life is full of much sadness, his glory days during the Revolution and as the first Treasury Secretary were captivating to read. Then, his life turned darker. A string of bad decisions, starting with the Reynolds pamphlet and ending with his foolish duel with Burr, made reading about the later portion of his life more difficult.
Hamilton was undoubtedly a genius of his time. His early death (compared to the other founders) robbed the country of much brilliance. He was also, as Miranda clearly picks up on, a poster for the American dream. While he struggled with the shadows of his upbringing (bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman…), his brain and tenacity took him to the heights of power in early America. He found a firm position among wealthier and landed peers like Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. But, his fall from grace and power were driven by the dark side of his talents, ambitions, and insecurities.
This is a great read for developing a more nuanced view of the Founders, particularly this currently popular, but not well understood, Father.
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