Welcome to this week’s blog!

This week, I will be analyzing one of the most important characters of the musical–and of American history: the one and only George Washington.

Washington has a very important role in the musical as him and Hamilton had a really important partnership. I labeled him as the “best friend” because it the musical, he is portrayed as such. They worked together, went to war together, and when Washington became the first president of the United States, he made Hamilton the first Secretary of Treasury. The way I see him after watching the musical is as Hamilton’s mentor. He guided him through life in many different ways, and together they fought for American independence. Let’s take a look at his role in the musical!

In the opening act, where Alexander Hamilton is first introduced to the audience, Washington declares that he was one of the people that trusted Hamilton, setting the tone for their relationship throughout the show. Then, as the show progresses, we get to see their story from the moment they met to the moment they stopped working together.

According to the musical, Hamilton and Washington met during the times of the Revolutionary War. Washington, a very esteemed war general, was looking for a right-hand man to help him lead his men into the war. Washington is so impressed by Hamilton’s work that he even turns away other possible candidates (aka Aaron Burr) just so that he can give Hamilton the job. From this moment, Hamilton and Washington start developing a close friendship.

Washington is first seen as Hamilton’s mentor when he gets infuriated by Hamilton’s actions regarding a duel he planned simply to get back at a General who was trashing Washington’s name. In the song “Meet Me Inside,” Washington and Hamilton fight over Hamilton’s actions, and Washington decides to teach Hamilton a lesson by sending him home. A hurt Hamilton complains heavily, but understands and complies. In this song, their friendship is solidified because it showed the audience how much they cared for one another. On one hand, Hamilton initiated the whole problem because he couldn’t stand anyone trashing Washington’s name. On the other, Washington seems really worried that Hamilton’s frenetic behavior will get him killed in the war. Although they don’t show it as much, it is clear that both men esteem and respect each other very much, making their relationship one of the most important in Hamilton’s life.

Later in the musical, Hamilton and Washington continue to work together and after winning the Revolutionary War, they become very active in the creation of the new government. As a result, Washington appoints Hamilton to be the first Secretary of Treasury shortly after being elected as the first president of the new nation. This reinforces how much Washington appreciated Hamilton. Years later, after Washington steps down from the presidency, he and Hamilton have one last heart-to-heart conversation in “One Last Time.” During this song, Washington gives Hamilton his last piece of advice, and makes sure Alexander knows that he is very crucial to America’s history, so he should take his role seriously. At the end of the musical, we find out that thanks to Eliza, Hamilton’s beloved wife, also made efforts to honor Washington’s influence on Alexander by raising funds in D.C. for the Washington monument.

After watching the musical, I had a whole new perspective to this country’s first president. I got to know so much more about what he did, and like any other character in this show, it made me want to learn more about him as a historical figure.

George Washington was a well-known war general and commander-in-chief for armies that served in the Revolutionary War, and as we all know he later became the country’s first president. Similar to any other man from the time period, Washington was a well-educated, religious man who was actively involved in the military, and later pursued a career in politics. Coming from a middle class family, Washington married up the social ladder to a woman named Martha Dandridge Custis, and together they became one of the wealthiest landowners of the state of Virginia.

Washington is known for being a typical white man who owned slaves, and of course that is looked down upon in today’s society. It is believed that he actually disliked the institution of slavery, but that didn’t stop him from owning slaves because, in the end, it was in fact legal. Additionally, he was very devoted to his lands and did anything he deemed necessary to keep them in good shape.

George Washington’s life is pretty well-known to us today, given that he was the first president of this country. So, instead of summarizing his life story, I would like to conclude this blog with a very interesting fact about the man who portrayed George Washington in the musical. If you’d like to read more about Washington’s life, visit his biography (I highly recommend it – it is quite interesting!).

Christopher Jackson, the man who portrayed Washington on the Original Broadway Cast, was very honored he had the chance to bring the country’s first president back to life. However, he had something he needed to do for that to be possible.

As we know, a big part of the musical’s purpose is to establish the idea that the country was built by immigrants. That is why every single person that is cast has a very diverse background. In the case of Christopher Jackson, he was cast to be the country’s first president, and as much honor that could bring him, he couldn’t shake off the fact that Washington used to be a slave owner–and Jackson is a black man himself. He decided to take it up to Lin-Manuel Miranda, the musical’s creator, and together they found the perfect way to convey an impactful message. In the closing act of the musical, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story,” while Eliza is telling the audience about raising funds for the Washington monument, she also remarks she spoke out against slavery. During this line, Washington steps out into the spotlight. After this was done, Jackson said that he was able to establish a connection between him as an actor playing George Washington. If you want to know more about this story, visit this article.

So, that concludes my blog for the week. Stay tuned!