"It is great theater and bad history," said David Waldstreicher, a historian at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, who argued in one of a collection of essays on "Hamilton" that the musical is part of a movement that over-glorifies the Founding Fathers. Some historians say Miranda’s musical inflates Hamilton’s antislavery credentials, painting him as a "revolutionary manumission abolitionist" when, they say, he was less progressive on the issue of slavery in real life. On race and Hamilton’s position toward slavery (We reached out to Miranda and Chernow but did not hear back.) "But if the musical were the only perspective on the events of Hamilton's career that most people got, the version portrayed on stage is actually pretty good and could be a lot worse."īelow, we’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of inaccuracies in "Hamilton," big and small. "‘Hamilton’ the musical should not be taken as the last word on these topics, and certainly not as the only word," said Todd Estes, professor of history at Oakland University. That conversation is bound to continue as the Broadway hit migrates to the TV screen and becomes available on Disney+ beginning July 3. Miranda has often described his work as "the story of America then, told by America now." But even some scholars who say they admire Miranda’s multiracial cast - and the catchy songs they sing - have weighed in on whether the play’s largely heroic portrayal of Hamilton is accurate.Īt the least, the musical has got people talking about Hamilton, his legacy and the revolutionary era.
The biggest controversy we found among historians is a debate over whether Miranda’s "Hamilton" is too kind to its protagonist. But some events are transposed in time, some characters take on roles played by others in real life, and some details have been changed for dramatic license. It draws heavily - and sometimes verbatim - from his writings. The show is startlingly faithful to Hamilton’s life. The show, which Miranda famously began writing after reading Ron Chernow’s biography, chronicles Hamilton’s ascension to the forefront of American history. The tale of the "$10 Founding Father without a father" has inspired years of sell-out crowds at theaters across the country. The smash-hit Broadway musical "Hamilton" is making its move to the TV screen, bringing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop biography of Alexander Hamilton to a new audience.
(We've also fact-checked BlacKkKlansman, The Post, Darkest Hour and Dunkirk.) We want to help you sort out the facts from the dramatic liberties. Editor's note: Have you ever wondered if the movie you just saw - that claimed to be based on a real story or historical events - was really accurate? So have we.
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