This is a review of Ron Chernows book, Alexander Hamilton and Hamilton the play by Lin-Manual Miranda. Miranda has taken Chernow’s book about Alexander Hamilton and made a historic American founding father and an immigrant become popular through musical theater. This will investigate important political questions on immigration, slavery, adultery, and suicide. Below is a short discussion reviewing the book and the play.
Chernow’s focus on Hamiltons life in the 1790’s is fueled by the amount of documents there are of Hamilton. Though Hamiltons was an immigrant himself, anyone who talked malicious against him especially French immigrants would soon be threatened with imprisonment or exile from the United States. Hamilton would control and silence these critics by drafting, passing and enforcing the Sedition Act of 1798, which would imprison a person who was presumed to or was a threat to the United States during the Quasi-War with France under the U.S. President John Adams.
Miranda takes a different view point on this immigration issue by focusing on Hamilton’s early life of being an immigrant himself, arriving at the British Colonies (now the United States), and making a name for himself through hard work and education. As a young child in the Caribbean, Hamilton was unable to attend school at the Church of England because his parents were divorced and per the terms of his parents divorce his mother was unable to remarry. So, he received individual tutoring and schooling as well as teaching himself with their family library. After a hurricane destroyed St. Croix’s, Hamilton wrote an essay and it got published in the local news paper. A number of people read this essay and they soon started a fund to send Hamilton to the colonies so he could receive a proper education at Kings College. Like Hamilton, Miranda’s father left the Caribbean country of Puerto Rico for a chance to study at New York University, graduated and worked for the New York Mayor at the time, Ed Koch.
Miranda takes a flexible viewpoint on Hamiltons relationship with slavery by saying he was an abolitionist and a strong opponent against slavery. However, we know throughout historic documents Hamilton, not only being apart of George Washingtons inner circle, was complicit in buying and selling his mothers family slaves as a young man. Furthermore, during the foundation of the United States slavery was very well established and ingrained into the United States economy. For example, slaves built the white house, other capital buildings and tens of thousands were strewn across the colonies during Hamiltons lifetime. It is hard to say Hamilton was not complicit despite what his written personal views may have been at the time.
It seems everybody loves to gossip and not scape goat on the specific issue of peoples live especially when it entails adultery. Chernow and Miranda do not shy away from this issue but both take it head on in a historical context because Hamilton actually released a public pamphlet describing the affair. Chernow does make a connection with Hamilton releasing his pamphlet on the matter to cover up an issue far greater than an affair, but it is only left to speculation and not definitive historical evidence. Whether it actually happened or not, historical documents tell us Hamilton had an affair with Maria Reynolds. Chernow and Miranda explore the possibilities of the affair. Whether Mr. Reynolds told Mrs. Reyolds to have the affair to blackmail Hamilton or if Mrs. Reyolds actually seduced him with their first meeting.
Hamilton was no stranger to dueling and the affects of the after math on family members since his own son, Philip Hamiton was shot and killed in a dual by George Eacker in the same town where Hamilton was shot and killed by sitting Vice President Arron Burr at Weehawken, New Jersey. Most of us know Hamilton threw away his shot leading some historians to accept Hamilton wanted to die and this was one of his ways out of his failing political career. Before the duel Hamilton spent time compiling his estate to make sure his wife and children would be cared for in the event of his death. According to history, most duels at this time did not end in deaths because the duelers would throw away their shots. Depression ran through Hamilton’s family with a cousin, Peter Lytton, committing suicide. Hamilton saw the first hand affects suicide has on a family when a member takes their own life. This makes it plausible, but not accurate, Hamilton wanted to die not by his own hands but by the hands of the Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr. On Hamiltons death bed he forgave Burr and held no malice against him.
Both the author Ron Chernow and Lin-Manuel Miranda do an excellent job working for each others promotion. Chernow first published, Alexander Hamilton, in 2004 giving Miranda ample time to write an extraordinary play which would bring to light one of our Founding Fathers. Miranda’s play, Hamilton, lead people to buy Chernow’s book wanting to know more about this unique founding father. This play and book have reignited the conversation about historical truthfulness and lead people to further their knowledge of Alexander Hamilton.
Chernow, R. (2004). Alexander Hamilton. London, UK: Penguin Group.
Miranda, L. (2015). Hamilton: an American Musical [MP3]. New York: Atlantic Records.