Over the course of my winter break, I had the immense privilege to take a road trip to Chicago with one of my dear friends. Not only did we explore the city, but we had the opportunity to see the acclaimed musical" Hamilton," whose accolades have spread throughout the country. Earning praise for every aspect of the musical, from its diverse cast (i.e., casting people of color in roles such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington), to its freestyle music (i.e., describing cabinet meeting proceedings through rap battles), and overall relevant themes about making one's mark in history, hubris, and, ultimately, how we cannot choose how to be remembered.
While the show justifiably highlights the titular character's successes and personal and professional flaws and brings a greater dimensional understanding of Hamilton, within the last few decades arguments have been created against Hamilton's overall character and presence in our national history. Whether this criticism is rooted in academic or theatrical work, it has created a divide between scholars and history enthusiasts about Hamilton's contributions overshadowing other individuals during America's founding.
Despite these well-founded arguments on both sides, this article is written in defense of Alexander Hamilton. It is not written in defense of his personal actions, nor is it defending the specific historical figure - a white male. This is an article defending select personality traits of Hamilton, as well as the ambitious nature that has defined much of the current portrayals of his character.
Throughout the course of the show, figures such as Burr, Eliza, and Angelica Schuyler, among others, continuously marvel at how Hamilton writes "like [he's] running out of time." Out of both admiration and frustration, Burr exclaims that Hamilton exceeded his goal of writing an equal number of Federalist Papers in favor of actually writing 51 out of 85.
As the show progressed and Hamilton continued to dedicate himself to going above and beyond what everyone asked him to do, it was a situation that I was all too familiar with. Personally, I often find myself going through dozens of tabs open on my computer while writing a paper, as I'm still researching even while synthesizing my information. If I hit a roadblock where I need one source, one sentence of support to back up my claim, I will not stop scouring Google Scholar or Academic Search Premier until I have found it. These endeavors often take me in to the early hours of the morning.
Alexander Hamilton presents himself as the role model for students or dreamers to never settle for anything less than the absolute best. A flaw that characters in the show continuously point their fingers at is that Hamilton "will never be satisfied," suggesting that, no matter what incredible things he achieves, both professionally and personally, it will not be enough to keep him in one place or permanently happy enough to settle for what he has.
When applied to individuals who are attempting to achieve infamy, this constant hunger for greatness and success at bigger and better levels is so relatable. If there is even the remotest possibility that you can push towards even greater accomplishments, Hamilton is the epitome of never settling for anything less than pushing yourself towards those ultimate achievements.
Essentially, despite the flaws of slightly excessive pride and extreme overconfidence, Hamilton's tenacity to improve his new country, put his ideas to paper for everyone to catch a glimpse of what was really going on inside his head, and making a name for himself that left his identity as an orphan in the shadows, he has evolved in to a role model for those students, artists, people of science, and so many others who find themselves running off of adrenaline rather than a healthy eight hours of sleep, those whose ideas come to them in the middle of class and they have to scribble it down somewhere or else it will be gone forever, and to those whose goals stretch beyond making it through their last few months of school.
People can look to his character and unending quest for recognition as a reminder to constantly strive for things that are larger than life, and even things that you might never have imagined achieving. As the show constantly reminds Hamilton, as well as the audience, "history has its eyes on you."
