Covering a century’s worth of American History, the iconic and award-winning Broadway Musical, Hamilton, brings the origins of the young nation to life. Despite this show turning a decade old in 2025, fans’ love and admiration for it have not dwindled in the slightest. Though history may not be everyone’s favorite subject, audiences were captivated from the first note, all the way to the conclusion of Act I.
Playwright and actor, Lin-Manuel Miranda, found inspiration for this show after reading the Alexander Hamilton biography, written by Ron Chernow. Chernow takes a deep dive into Hamilton, who even with the vital role he played in the organization of the U.S. government, became a somewhat forgotten historical figure. Miranda brought justice to Hamilton’s legacy that was left in the dark and allowed for the proper recognition of all his accomplishments as well as his downfalls with the use of a stage, lights, music, and choreography.
Starting from Hamilton’s birth and upbringing in 1755 (or 1757, considering the debates about when his birth was), the musical opens with the track Alexander Hamilton. This song describes how difficult Hamilton’s life was from the start, with a father who abandoned him, a mother who passed away from illness, and then a cousin who committed suicide. Alexander was a destitute orphan. Growing into his teenage years, Hamilton became a clerk who aided the process of goods being traded across the British colonies. Hamilton was gifted in the area of math and business, which helped his name get around to a local minister who encouraged Hamilton to leave his home of St. Croix to get a college education in the colonies. Hamilton was “Plannin’ for the future, see him now as he stands on/The bow of a ship headed for the new land/In New York you can be a new man.”
Not long after his arrival in the colonies, Hamilton meets Aaron Burr, John Laurens, Marquis de Lafayette, and Hercules Mulligan. All of these are crucial characters to the story, and though they are each presented at once before Hamilton, this is not entirely historically accurate, as these men all met Hamilton at different times in his life. In the number My Shot, the audience learns about all of Hamilton’s major ambitions, including his attendance at King’s College, now known as the Ivy League, Columbia University. It’s easy to pick up on Hamilton’s strong drive and determination when he strongly states “I’m past patiently waitin’, I’m passionately mashin’ every expectation/Every action’s an act of creation/I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow/For the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow.”
Another crucial group of characters that introduce themselves with the use of an active anthem is The Schuyler Sisters. The three sisters include Peggy, Angelica, and Eliza Schuyler. Though in reality, there were a total of 15 Schuyler siblings, Lin-Manuel Miranda chose to cut the other siblings from the story since they didn’t play as vital of a role in history or Hamilton’s life. A big intention of Hamilton is to spread awareness and get more representation of minorities, being a reason that people of color were selected for the cast, and that three powerful female figures were selected for the show. This song alludes to women’s suffrage, and despite all the rights women may have not been given in this century, the Schuyler sisters were smart, independent women. Angelica’s character represents centuries worth of women’s desires and struggles when she declares that after reading Common Sense‘s message that “all men are created equal,” she hopes to “compel [Thomas Jefferson] to include women in the sequel! Work!”
A bit further into Act 1, one of the most loved songs of the soundtrack by fans, Wait For It, offers the perspective of Aaron Burr, a watchful yet charming young man at the time that remains important to Hamilton’s story due to how much these two crossed paths. It can be observed throughout the show how Hamilton is an exaggerated portrayal of recklessness while Burr, on the other side of the coin, is an extremely cautious human being. Though Aaron Burr was an orphan like Hamilton, he was brought up through power and prestige, raised by his uncle, while Hamilton had to rely on his brains and instincts to guide him towards ultimately establishing the foundation of the United States. Though it may appear at first glance that everything Burr has is the result of a handout and that he does not have as great of a work ethic as Hamilton, Burr states, “I’m not falling behind or running late/ I’m not standing still/ I am lying in wait.” He can only wonder what it is like in Hamilton’s shoes, getting to experience an “endless uphill climb” through life. Burr makes it known that he also has plans and will not be so outworked. This powerful tune inspired many, including the one and only Usher, whose phenomenal cover of Wait For It can be found in the Hamilton Mixtape, where various musical artists and bands came together to recreate some of the original songs from Hamilton.
Between all the fighting amongst the mother country of Britain and its descendants, being the colonies, Lafayette is introduced once again. He traces a route to cut off British forces and convinces President Washington to put Hamilton in the position of power he has been working towards for so long. Holding the record for the fastest Broadway rap, Guns and Ships informs as well as charms the musical audience regarding how America prospered victoriously in the War of 1812. Lafayette’s spoken words of, “Sir, he knows what to do in a trench/Ingenuitive and fluent in French,” are nothing short of lyrical and referential genius. In a single couplet, Lin-Manuel Miranda summarizes through his word choice the act of Lafayette persuading Washington to give Hamilton this position of power due to the diverse capabilities Hamilton poses, as well as cleverly referencing the fact that Hamilton learned to speak fluent French from a clergyman back in his days at St. Croix.
Throughout the play, on top of the glamorizing recaps of American history, the audience also gets a true insight into Hamilton’s home life. Though Hamilton may be a bright, ambitious young man who fought for the country, he was also a husband and a father. While setting his plan for a national bank in motion, he was raising children at home alongside Eliza. In the track Dear Theodosia, the audience sees the strong emotional effect that having a family leaves on Hamilton since he never had the chance to experience a long-lasting family connection during his childhood. At the same time that Hamilton speaks endearing works to his son Philip, Burr conveys a similar message to his daughter, Theodosia. As mentioned before, these two were both orphans, so the lines “My father wasn’t around/I swear that I’ll be around for you,” apply strongly when spoken by each of them, as they promise to set a safe and steady foundation of the new nation for their kids.
Finally, the 23rd track on the soundtrack, Non-Stop, serves as the heart of this act, tying everything together. After success of the American cause in The Battle of Yorktown and the end of The Revolution, Hamilton returns to New York, begins writing the Federalist Papers with John Jay and James Madison to encourage ratification of the Constitution, gets chosen for the Constitutional Convention, becomes the first ever Secretary of the Treasury, and leads the first murder trial behind the new nation. Whether it was for Washington’s correspondence, an individual put on trial, or one of the 51 Federalist Papers he wrote, Hamilton was incessant due to his skill with a quill. One can’t help but question “Why does he write like he’s running out of time?”
In short, Hamilton and all the details that come together for its creation are nothing short of brilliance. Though every ounce of history brought to life through this musical may not all be to utmost accuracy, Miranda was able to get his message across of equal representation, regardless of one’s gender or race, and tell the story of the immigrant founding father.
(This deep dive will carry on in an upcoming analysis of Act 2.)
