(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Love Musicals, Hate Hamilton [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-09-17 Overture Lots of people love musicals, they enjoy the romance, the escapism, even the jazz hands. My love developed from a sense of ontological loss – I think musicals were how the universe and human nature were meant to be constituted; that we were designed to break into song every 6 minutes or so with the natural world around us blending into appropriate backdrops with perfect cosmic lighting. Somewhere along the evolutionary path a spoken narrative and static natural laws overtook our otherwise Fossesque destinies. What a world it might have been, hard to think the Treaty of Versailles would have been so punitive if the delegates broke into song and/or dance five times an hour. And so, I have seen every musical I’ve ever had access to. On screen or preferably onstage, anytime I travel I check the local theatres; from Showboat to Kimberly Akimbo – if you’ve got magic to do, I’m buying a ticket. With one glaring exception, and it keeps popping up as a suggestion from my streaming services that are sure I will want to see it. And I do, I have loved everything Lin-Manuel Miranda has been involved with; from his time with House at the asylum to “The Heights” and “Tick, Tick… Boom.” But why did he have to focus so much of his genius on a character from American history that I truly, deeply despise? In the “time machine” test of who I’d go back and murder as a baby; I’ll take Hamilton over a three pack of Nixon, McCarthy, and Roy Cohn. Entr’acte I learned over years of teaching American History, that the more real I could make things the better my students could connect – especially when it comes to Founding Fathers. Just because someone is pictured on your money, doesn’t mean they weren’t a dude just like you. Over my first decade or so of teaching I continuously studied, read varying interpretations, differing schools of thought and rewrote my lectures again and again. I started to get a feel for the people underlying the legends and that allowed me to find better ways to connect my students to the lives of those who founded their Republic. A duty-bound Washington, a stubborn Adams, a Thoroughly Modern Millie, and an enigmatic Jefferson. But what is a teacher to do when they come to believe that one of the Founding Fathers was a dick? To balance the class time spent covering the powerful white men of history, I would create representational “folks” of the time. Amalgams to tell the stories of those who would not be carved in stone nor imprinted on currency. It was in coming to know these folk that my Hamilton-hating began. Hamilton had an origin story that could root a great musical. Impoverished beginnings, brilliant, heroic in battle – assuming you’ve seen the Musical, I’m sure all that is covered. My issues began after the self-made man was made Secretary of the Treasury. Which starts with T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool! Loosely explained, the central political debate at the founding of the Republic was the balance of power between the individual states and the new federal government. As a Federalist, Hamilton was a chief proponent of Federal power becoming dominant. Which is not the reason for my antipathy but being the first to hold an office comes with the power and responsibility of setting precedent. Tradition! In studying Hamilton’s tenure, three goals are readily distinguishable; first, he needed to establish National credit, next he wanted to solidify the dominant position of the Federal government over the states and finally, he needed some way to bind the interests of the wealthiest citizens to the success of a Federal monetary system. These were a few of his favorite things. With these goals in mind, Hamilton faced three critical problems following the revolution. The debts the Continental Congress had run up to fund the war, the debts that the individual states had amassed for the same reasons, and the unfunded paper that congress had floated over the last years of the war. The majority of these issued as I.O.U’s to soldiers and promised to be redeemable at ten years from the successful end of the war. Goal: Establish Credit Promote Federalism Enlist the $$ Classes Problems: War Debt State Debt Paper Notes Actions: Accept Responsibility Assume State Debt Whisper Campaign Once in office, Hamilton took two actions that accomplished two of his goals and dealt with two of his problems. As Secretary of the Treasury, he officially acknowledged the foreign debt and pledged that it would be paid. Simple as that; official acceptance of previous debt opened the door to new loans and established the United States as a credit worthy nation. Secondly, he announced that the Federal government would assume the debts that the several states had developed during the war. Not that states like Virginia or New York, both with much healthier treasuries than Hamilton’s, had asked – but the announcement alone accomplished his second goal. Neither of these actions lay at the heart of my loathsome opinion of Hamilton, and the debate over the financial power balance between Federal and state governments would continue for decades albeit in the language of tariffs and a national bank. I even tend to side with Hamilton in that there are certain things that are accomplished better together, like a currency and international trade policies. But Hamilton’s third goal and the actions he took to accomplish it… “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three, Leadership: Zero.” Intermission The American Revolution was as much a ‘rich man’s war and poor man’s fight’ as any conflict, but there were tens of thousands of patriots who committed themselves to a fight they believed could promote their own freedoms as well as that of their fellows. In that belief, they were willing to take certain things on faith. As congress ran out of money to pay them, that faith would have to see them through. Specifically, faith in the promissory notes that had increasingly been issued to retain troops through the closing years of the war – they were a promise from the Republic; keep faith through the final battle, and you will share in the rewards after victory. Most of these notes would mature during the first years of the new government, and questions regarding their value were openly debated. For many veterans, these notes had been collateral to fund new businesses or buy land to farm after the war. Rumors that they might be redeemed at less than face value, or possibly not at all, was terrifying. These rumors and the fear they created were perfect for Hamilton’s last act. And all that jazz. If ever a wonderful Wiz there was, he stopped the worries over the notes, injected some cash into the economy, all while accomplishing his final goal by making the wealthiest Americans majority shareholders in the Federal Treasury. Tomorrow Belongs to Me! Is it possible I blame Hamilton for things that he cannot possibly be responsible for? Nope – he’s a Founding Father, and if your face is on my money, my expectations are high. Did Hamilton intend to establish a permanent debtor class in America? I don’t know, but he did. Did he intend that most Americans would live their entire lives in debt to an ever-shrinking minority of Americans? Who knows? But if you listen, you can still hear the whisper campaign; reverse mortgages, predatory student loans, online gambling… Or the text message offering to pay cash for your house. The message from the non-musical version of Hamilton is clear; if someone with more money than you, offers to buy something of yours – it’s worth more than you think. Even if it’s in Oklahoma! OK? 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