Hamilton: An American Musical is a musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda that premiered Off-Broadway in February of 2015, at The Public Theater in Lower Manhattan. The musical is about Alexander Hamilton, one of our founding fathers, and his upbringing from being one of George Washington’s right-hand men during the American Revolution, to a lawyer for the newly formed State of New York, our nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, and a Federalist leader. Hamilton advocated for a strong, central government, as the ideal structure for the people and the country. However, even though the musical is based on a real person, and does include real events and people, it does not get the history of Alexander Hamilton, nor any events he was involved in, like the American Revolution, correct. Especially the casting of some of the figures, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and even Aaron Burr. 

One major historical inaccuracy that is present in the musical is in the second musical number of Act 1, “Aaron Burr, Sir.” The musical number is Alexander Hamilton arriving in New York City in 1776 at the age of 19, to which he meets Princeton University Graduate Aaron Burr. Alexander also meets John Laurens, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Hercules Mulligan at the same bar. However, Alexander Hamilton didn’t “punch a bursar,” even though the lyric, “You punched a bursar?/Yes,” considering the historical moment otherwise. He also didn’t meet Aaron Burr in New York City in 1776, as well not meeting Laurens, Lafayette, & Mulligan at the same time. Alexander Hamilton did arrive at the New York Harbor, but around 1772/1773, when he was around 15/16 years old. Furthermore, while he did meet Hercules Mulligan in around 1773 through the latter’s younger brother, Hugh Mulligan, Hamilton would not meet John Laurens nor the Marquis de Lafayette until the Revolutionary War in 1777. Likewise, Lafayette wouldn’t arrive to the 13 Colonies until after the war began. In addition, around this time, New York was being invaded during the New York & New Jersey campaign, where the British successfully took New York but not New Jersey.  

Another major historical inaccuracy that is present in the musical is the eleventh musical number of Act 1, “Satisfied.” The musical number is Angelica Schuyler expressing her unrequited love for Alexander Hamilton, on the night of he and her sister, Elizabeth Schuyler’s wedding in 1780. Realizing her sister Eliza has the same exact feelings for Hamilton, she puts her own feelings aside for her, standing off to the side as she contemplates what would have been. However, Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy’s father, Philip Schuyler had three sons, as opposed to having “no sons,” one of whom being Philip Jeremiah Schuyler, who would be a Representative and Senator of New York, despite the lyric, “My father has no sons so I’m the one who has to social climb for one,” considering the historical moment otherwise. Also, Angelica was already eloped to an English Merchant named John Barker Church, having been married to him since 1777 at this point.  

One last major historical inaccuracy that is present in the musical is the nineteenth musical number of Act 2, “The Election of 1800.” The musical number is about the 1800 United States Presidential Election, between Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Aaron Burr. While Jefferson is insisted to getting Hamilton on his side, Burr goes out personally to encourage the people to vote for him as President. Hamilton, feeling conflicted over whether to choose either Jefferson or Burr, ultimately chooses Jefferson as a way to break the tie. However, Jefferson didn’t win the election in a landslide despite the lyric, “And you won in a landslide,” considering the historical moment otherwise. Additionally, the election happened in two “parts.” The first “half” of the election happened in November 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and the second “half” happened in January and February of 1801, between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, in the House of Representatives, as both received 73 Electoral votes.

Despite all of this, history is long and complex, even for those who already know the topic in question. Lin-Manuel Miranda wanted to compile Alexander Hamilton’s lifetime into a single musical, so some events he was involved in, like the American Revolution were obviously shortened to fit into the runtime of the Musical. And the tagline of the musical, “America then, as told by America now,” is true, our country has changed in the 200+ years since Hamilton, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and even Burr. The U.S. is now one of the most diverse countries in the world, from race, ethnicity, and nationality, to culture and religion. This is why Miranda casted Black, Hispanic, and Asian performers as some of the founding fathers and significant figures in Hamilton’s life, from his wife Eliza Schuyler to his friend-turned-enemy Aaron Burr. Also, It would have been easier to short or cut certain events out of the musical, such as for Hamilton meeting Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan, it was easier to have them all meet at once. As for “Satisfied,” since Philip Schuyler had 15 kids, it would be easier to feature only three kids, particularly the ones who played a prominent role in Hamilton’s life (I.E. Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy). And as for “The Election of 1800,” since Aaron Burr was one of the candidates in the election, it would make sense to feature the election in the Musical, as at this point, Burr and Hamilton are essentially rivals. Especially, since Hamilton helped break the tie between Jefferson and Burr. Despite all of these inaccuracies and contradictions, the Musical is still able to tell a forgotten, yet major part of our country’s history in an engaging & entertaining way. While you can go see it physically, you can also see a recording of one of the productions from 2016 on Disney+, which was released onto the streaming service in 2020. 

References: 

https://screenrant.com/hamilton-historical-inaccuracies-wrong-true-story/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/issue-table-hamilton-good-history-180969192/ 

PolitiFact | Fact-checking ‘Hamilton’ the musical