Merry Christmas! Here is part 3 of this series, only one more to go before I never have to listen to or watch Hamilton again. I'm kidding. I love this show, I just want to provide some background detail.
Cabinet Battle #1
🎵(Hamilton, to Jefferson) You think I'm frightened of you, man?
We almost died in a trench
While you were off getting high with the French!🎵
Whilst Thomas Jefferson never fought in the Revolutionary War, he was not in France whilst it was happening, he was in Virginia, planning legislation for the future United States.
Take a Break
🎵(Eliza) Alexander!
(Hamilton) Okay, okay!
(Eliza) Your son is nine years old today!🎵
Philip's birthday was January 22nd, 1782, implying that the date of this song is January 22nd, 1791. However, briefly after this exchange, Eliza attempts to convince Alexander to "come away with us for the summer" (it is implied to be the same evening).
🎵(Angelica) In the letter I received from you two weeks ago I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase-
It changed the meaning, did you intend this?
One stroke and you've consumed my waking days
You've written "My dearest, Angelica"
{With a comma after dearest}🎵
In actual fact, Angelica was the one who misplaced the comma, and Alexander teased her for it. The line in the show comes from a letter she wrote to Hamilton in 1787 where she calls him “my dear, Sir” (rather than “my dear Sir”)
🎵(Hamilton) I have to get my plan through Congress,
I can't stop till I get this plan through Congress🎵 The song that takes place just after this line, Say No To This, details the start of Hamilton’s infamous affair with Maria Reynolds, which took place in the summer of 1791. Hamilton had got approval for the financial plan he is speaking of in 1790, which is outlined in The Room Where it Happens where Thomas Jefferson and James Madison agree to back the plan in exchange for the capital being placed in the Southern United States. However, it makes Hamilton look more sympathetic to imply he was under stress and pressure from Congress at the time of the affair, which-though the musical does not mention-actually lasted until around June 1792.
The Room Where it Happens
(Hamilton) I'm sorry Burr, I gotta go
(Burr) But-
(Hamilton) Decisions are happening over dinner.
It is unlikely that Burr was hanging around with Hamilton just before he entered negotiations with Jefferson and Madison, though it makes sense that he was present within the show to further his arc.
Schuyler Defeated
🎵(Philip) War hero Philip Schuyler loses Senate seat to young upstart Aaron Burr....🎵
(Sigh)....yeah, it’s another couple chronology errors. Sorry. Burr became the Senator for New York in March 1791, again, before Hamilton’s affair. The election took place on January 19, a few days before Philip’s ninth birthday.
🎵(Hamilton) Since when are you a Democratic-Republican? (Burr) Since being one put me on the up and up again😎🎵
The Democratic-Republican Party was not created until 1792; Burr ran for office and won as an independent candidate. He did join the party once it was created, though.
Cabinet Battle #2
🎵(Washington) Hamilton!
(Jefferson, mockingly) Daddy’s calling🤭🤭🔥🔥🎵
Ha ha, but it’s a repeated theme throughout Hamilton to imply Washington was a father figure for Alexander. They may have worked together for many years and seemingly were close, but it’s more likely that Washington was closer to a father figure for Hamilton’s friend the Marquis de Lafayette, and there is the evidence of Hamilton writing (referring to him being aide-de-camp under Washington during the war) “three years past I have felt no friendship for him and have professed none” that suggests they weren’t as close as Hamilton makes them out to be. One Last Time
🎵(Hamilton) Sir, with Britain and France on the verge of war is this the best time...?🎵
This is in response to George Washington informing Hamilton he will be stepping down as US President, but Britain and France had been fighting (in the War of the First Coalition) for several years when Washington resigned the Presidency. The Adams Administration
🎵(Burr) Adams fires Hamilton, privately calls him ‘creole bastard’ in his taunts
Hamilton publishes his response:
(Hamilton) SIT DOWN JOHN YOU FAT MOTHERF-🎵
Hamilton actually quit as Secretary of Treasury, he wasn’t fired. Oh, and it’s probably worth saying, Hamilton never said that to Adams. Though it would’ve been fun if he had.
*Hamilton actually did write a pamphlet on what he really thought about the Adams Administration, “Concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams” (abrev.) and I actually tried reading it. I would advise nobody to do this. It’s one of the driest....well, part of a text was all I could read, I’ve ever read. Sources (yeah I know a lot of wiki pages but they seem fairly accurate to me):
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/hamilton-and-his-patron-george-washington/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_First_Coalition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France%E2%80%93United_States_relations
https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-first-president/washington-jefferson-madison/ https://itshamiltime.com/2016/10/07/hamil-burrn-hamiltons-letter-on-john-adams/
https://www.biography.com/political-figure/aaron-burr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic-Republican_Party
https://boston1775.blogspot.com/2017/01/a-comma-in-middle-of-phrase.html
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