Putting Themselves in the Narrative: The Hamilton Musical and the Deconstruction of American Identity

Abstract

This paper aims to present Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton as an empowering artistic work for marginalized groups of American society, in its challenge to the assumption of American identity as White. In order to do so, it first introduces some of the controversies in academia regarding the musical, addressing first the ideological incongruences between Alexander Hamilton the historical figure and Alexander, the musical’s protagonist. Then it reviews the Great Man theory, so as to justify Alexander’s characterization and the use of the Founding Myth. Next, the concepts of ‘Americanness’ and American identity, central to this paper, are traced to their colonial roots in authors such as Crèvecoeur and Franklin. They are linked to Hamilton through the importance of representation in configuring an inclusive and diverse American identity, and a parallel between Alexander’s illegitimacy and Othered Americans is established.