The difficult compromise between American ideals and reality

Erwin 2022-09-26 13:07:51

The Disney film and television version of the musical "Hamilton" was drawn from three live-action Broadway films, and the story itself was taken from the brick-thick biography "Alexander Hamilton" (2004, p. 818). This book has been in my Kindle for two years, and I haven’t had time to read it. The main reason is that the people who worked around Trump changed frequently, and almost every senior official who left would write a best-selling memoir in revenge. , can't read it at all. The subtitle of the latest book, "Memoirs of the White House" by former national security adviser John Bolton, comes from the lyrics of the musical—the room where it happened, where the story takes place.

The story takes place in a back room in New York in 1790, when Treasury Secretary Hamilton, Secretary of State Jefferson and Congressman Madison strike a deal that will have far-reaching consequences for America's future. Hamilton agreed to make the capital at the doorstep of the Virginians Jefferson and Madison, today's Washington, D.C. In exchange, the federal government would adopt Hamilton's fiscal system, with the banks in New York. At one point, the two sides were at odds with each other, but a deal was finally reached, and the United States was able to move forward in a compromise.

Jefferson and Madison came from the family of Virginia estate owners, and both became presidents, but Hamilton was very different. According to the lyrics of the musical, he is "bastard, immigrant, son of a whore". Being on an equal footing with the top two is a great personal achievement in itself, and putting a $10 bill on your profile picture is the ultimate way to achieve the American dream. When the musical "Immigrants, We Get the Job Done" sang "Immigrants, We Get the Job Done", the audience cheered enthusiastically, and the immigrants in front of the TV couldn't forcefully refuse to be inspired.

But no matter how humble Hamilton came from, he was still white, so he had a chance. Many of the founding fathers, from his mentor Washington to his colleague Jefferson, were slave owners, and the blacks on their estates could not change their fate. The advocacy of equality for all men shone with the brilliance of idealism, but the reality was that black slaves were still under institutional oppression. The lyrics are a quote from a Christian saying, "hate the sin, love the sinner" (hate the sin, love the sinner). The main creator of the musical, Lin Manuel-Miranda, is Latino. Driven by optimism and patriotism, he arranged for African-Americans, Latinos and even Chinese to play the main roles during the founding of the country. In fact, they are all white. This design is equivalent to the imaginary version of the movie "Founding of the People's Republic of China". The people standing on the tower are played by the Mongolian, Tibetan, Hui, Miao, Tujia, and Oroqen peoples, not just the singing and dancing masses in national costumes.

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Extended Reading

Hamilton quotes

  • Philip Hamilton: George! George.

    George Eacker: [shushing him] I'm trying to watch the show.

    Philip Hamilton: You should've watched your mouth/Before you talked about my father, though.

    George Eacker: I didn't say anything that wasn't true. Your father's a scoundrel, and so, it seems, are you.

    Philip Hamilton: It's like that?

    George Eacker: Yeah, I don't fool around. I'm not your little schoolboy friends.

    Philip Hamilton: Well, see you on the dueling ground/That is, unless you wanna step outside and go now.

    George Eacker: I know where to find you, piss off. I'm watching the show now.

  • Philip Hamilton: Pops, if you had only heard the shit he said about you/I doubt you would have let it slide/And I was not about to.

    Alexander Hamilton: Slow down.

    Philip Hamilton: I came to ask you for advice/This is my very first duel/They don't exactly cover this subject in boarding school.

    Alexander Hamilton: Did your friends attempt to negotiate a peace?

    Philip Hamilton: He refused to apologize/We had to let the peace talks cease.

    Alexander Hamilton: Where is this happening?

    Philip Hamilton: Across the river in Jersey.

    Alexander HamiltonPhilip Hamilton: Everything is legal in New Jersey.

    Alexander Hamilton: All right. So, this is what you're gonna do. Stand there like a man/Until Eacker is in front of you/When the time comes/Fire your weapon in the air/This will put an end to the whole affair.

    Philip Hamilton: But what if he decides to shoot? Then I'm a goner.

    Alexander Hamilton: No, he'll follow suit if he's truly a man of honor/To take someone's life, that is something you can't shake/Philip, your mother can't take another heartbreak.

    Philip Hamilton: Father...

    Alexander Hamilton: Promise me. You don't want this young man's blood on your conscience.

    Philip Hamilton: Okay, I promise.

    Alexander Hamilton: Come back home when you're done/Take my guns, be smart/Make me proud, son.