Hamilton | Based on a True Story
The Cynical Historian The Cynical Historian
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 Published On Dec 17, 2020

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Hamilton is a fun musical, and word of warning, I tend to be a bit forgiving of them. But here’s the thing, there’s A LOT of issues and I’ve got a lot to say about it, as you can probably tell by the timestamp. In the end, I think it makes up for the problems with what it does correctly, but only barely. Stick around for the ride, because this is complex. The fact is, the Alexander Hamilton presented in this play is quite divergent from reality, in ways that blatantly white-wash the past in favor of this strange halfway-progressivism from the Obama years. Despite its veneer of diverse casting and hip hop music, it actually represents a revival of deeply conservative, inaccurate, and marginalizing historiography. At the same time, the play does a lot of interesting, new, and relevant things with its attempt to cover a cradle to grave story of a Founding Father.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:36 Reality
10:50 Scholarship
17:53 Inaccuracy lightning rounds
26:22 Big problems
35:55 Accuracy
43:20 Goofing around
43:50 sponsor
45:15 end screen
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See pinned comment and its replies for notes, responses, and errata - but here's the references:
Renee C. Romano and Clarie Bond Potter, eds., Historians on Hamilton: How a Blockbuster Musical is Restaging America’s Past (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2018). https://amzn.to/35Z2pTL

Good resource for Founding Fathers’ papers: https://founders.archives.gov/

https://www.historyvshollywood.com/re...

https://www.bustle.com/articles/16582...

https://www.politifact.com/article/20...
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Wiki: Hamilton is a 2020 American historical revisionist musical film comprising a live stage recording of the 2015 Broadway musical of the same name, which was inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. It was directed and produced by Thomas Kail and produced, written, and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda also stars as Treasury Secretary and Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, along with the musical's original principal Broadway cast.

Hamilton: An American Musical is a sung-and-rapped-through musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It tells the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Miranda said he was inspired to write the musical after reading the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. The show draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes; and casts non-white actors as the Founding Fathers and other historical figures.[1][2][3] Miranda described Hamilton as about "America then, as told by America now".
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