B.A. Social Studies
Will Hamilton: An American Musical change the emphasis of Alexander Hamilton’s role in the development of the United States? Heck yeah it will, has, and should. I haven’t seen the production personally (and probably will never get to), but the soundtrack is on repeat in my classroom (excluding the explicit songs of course), and is playing via Spotify as I write this (the inspiration for this post is the fact that I feel I need to explain every song and scene to my wife along the way). Every colleague that I have teaching history is talking about it on social media and playing it in their classrooms. Why?
Second, it’s crazy cool yo.
In the multiple “Cabinet Battles,” it brings the debate to life that Hamilton and Jefferson actually had in terms of their political views of the newly founded republic and as members of Washington’s cabinet as they battled for his ear and the ears of the public. Third, it’s crazy cool, yo. When I tell my students that the music I’m putting on (during research and work time) is about Alexander Hamilton and is a Broadway musical, their initial reactions are typically, “psh, this is gonna be terrible.” I’ve found that my students end up bobbing their heads to the beat and singing along with the chorus in the end. I think it’s awesome that they can’t help it. Though they may not be listening to the lyrics specifically, maybe the educational value is getting into their minds through osmosis? In general, they didn’t know that history could be presented in such a “cool” way. Maybe as history teachers we should be working to make history as lively as Lin-Manuel Miranda has when we tell these same stories in our classrooms? So, how do I use Hamilton in my classroom, yo? From my personal “historian’s perspective” that supports Washington’s role and viewpoint regarding strong federal power in the development and security of the early republic, I think that we should focus more on Hamilton in our classrooms as Washington’s true confidant, especially as his distrust of Jefferson developed over time. Using this soundtrack and the debate between Washington/Hamilton and Jefferson may be one way of really bringing out the real personalities of our Founding Fathers, bringing them down from the throne of “demagoguery” and making them real and relatable in our students’ eyes. The debates between Hamilton and Jefferson are the same ones that developed into the political thought and debates about federalism that we have today and are seeing become more popularized at this point in the election cycle. I encourage you to listen to, and think about incorporating it into your classrooms. The musical does an excellent job of providing both perspectives, allowing us as teachers to present both sides of the issue equally and allowing our students to discern the opinions they believe in on their own. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBrian Anton currently serves the Purdy R-II (Missouri) School District as the 7-12 Principal after working in the PK-12 Assistant Principal and Athletic Director roles for two years. In the 12 years prior to moving into administration, he served as an award-winning high school social studies teacher. Archives
September 2018
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