On April 1st, APUSH students will go to Chicago to see the Broadway musical Hamilton. The story of Hamilton is all about Alexander Hamilton, a founding father and the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Kids will see that they can learn more about his life and achievements through music and dance. 

The story of Alexander Hamilton is separated into two acts with an overall run time of BLANK hoursThe 1st Act sets up who Alexander Hamilton was and his early accomplishments. In the 1st 3 songs, you learn that Hamilton grew up in a desolate place and he had to fend for himself in New York. As he grew older, he wanted to be a lawyer because he was able to speak eloquently at such a young age. That’s where we get one of the most famous lyrics, “Only 19, but my mind is older, these New York streets get colder…” As he grows older, he meets four people: Aaron Burr, John Laurens, Marquis de Lafayette, and Hercules Mulligan. These four are Hamilton’s best friends, but Aaron Burr is a bit different from them, and it comes up in the 2nd half of Act 1. As they grow up together, they are able to fight in the Revolutionary War, and all five of these men had a very important role. Hamilton, however, got to be George Washington’s second in command, which is a very high honor. This is his first connection to the government, which will help him in the future. But during this war, Hamilton was able to find a lady, and her name is Elizabeth Schulyer. Eliza and her sisters have an opening number, and they are a very rich family, so everyone wants to marry them. Hamilton was able to marry Elizabeth, but he was also attracted to Angelica Schuyler. 

As Act 1 progresses, Burr sings about his backstory and where he came from. “Wait for it” is added in here to get a sense of why Burr is so important to the story, and it is revealed in the last song of Act 1 and in Act 2. Also in the 2nd half of Act 1, John Laurens dies, and Hamilton grieves his death. The Battle of Yorktown was the last battle of the Revolutionary War, and now America is its own free country. This brings up new debates because America needs a government. So Washington decides to be their leader and appoints the founding fathers to help him. During this time, Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison wrote 85 Federalist Papers supporting the Constitution, of which Hamilton wrote 51. We end Act 1 with a song called “Non-stop” where Hamilton gets to take up his role to become a leader and ends the act with his iconic line, “I’m not throwing away my shot,” signaling that this is only his beginning.

Before we head into Act 2, Lin-Manuel Miranda has made an acting decision that would explain his opening number. The opening number, “Alexander Hamilton,” has a part where different characters would sing about how impactful Hamilton was to them. We see the actors of Lafayette and Hercules Mulligen saying the line “We fought with him”. This is a line that has two meanings. This line means that they fought with him in the war, and they fought in the government with him. However, Lafayette went to France, and Mulligen continued his career as a tailor.  So Lin-Manuel Miranda made the actors of Lafayette and Mulligan be Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. This would make the line “We fought with him” a double-meaning line. And this goes with all of the other lines in that opening number with different characters. 

At the beginning of Act 2, it has been 8-9 years since Act 1, and there are new characters showing up. This is the time when America is establishing a monetary system and more laws. Thomas Jefferson has just come back from being in France and taking his position as the Secretary of State, while Hamilton is the Treasury Secretary of the United States. They fight over whether they should establish a national bank. On the other hand, his family wants him to take a break, spend time with them, and not work because Angelica Schuyler came back to the United States. However, Hamilton still wants to work, and the family goes upstate to spend time with their grandparents. As Hamilton is alone, he starts having an affair and pays the husband to keep it quiet. When the next presidential election comes around, Washington resigns from his post and lets someone else be president. This brings up the options of Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Aaron Burr. Most people would favor Hamilton because he was very close to George Washington. But a pamphlet made by Alexander Hamilton came out, and it exposed Alexander Hamilton with his affair partner, which ruined his life and his chances of being elected. Hamilton’s oldest son dies, and that is one of the main reasons he and his wife got back together. Even though Alexander Hamilton is out of the running, he still has significant political power to influence the vote for the next president, between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson. In the end, Thomas Jefferson became the new president, and when Aaron Burr found out that Hamilton didn’t vote for him, he ordered a duel to commence. The duel ended with Hamilton being shot, and the musical ends with Eliza retelling the story to the audience and explaining how she kept his story alive after his death.

All in all, Hamilton is a renowned musical with over 5.6 billion streams on Spotify. This musical has helped adults and teens understand the origin of the United States and how one person can influence a country. If you are going on the trip, stay awake because history is displayed right in front of you.