Hamilton’s Parallels to 21st-Century Politics

One great thing about Hamilton is its demonstration of The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same principle.  Politicians may no longer challenge one another to duels, but highly-charged issues that come between characters in Hamilton are still relevant in U.S. politics today.

Topping the list is the driving force of the Hamilton/Jefferson and larger Federalist/Democratic-Republican conflict:  the debate over government size.  Hamilton and the Federalists believe in big government.  If Hamilton can’t help to create “a strong central democracy,” he opines that he’ll be “Socrates / Throwing verbal rocks / At these mediocrities.”  And he doesn’t play around – he wants to set up a National Bank and have the federal government assume the states’ war debts, opening a new line of credit for the Union and getting some government revenue through taxation of the people.  This is his way to helping the country, providing strong leadership and a solid framework for everyone to follow.

Which, of course, freaks the Democratic-Republicans out hard.  They just fought a war to gain independence from a demanding, overbearing tyrant, and when they see someone coming in wanting to dictate what all the states do, they’re reminded of that tyranny.  Like Jefferson says, “When Britain taxed our tea, we got frisky. / Imagine what gon’ happen if you try to tax our whiskey.”  They back away from that at all costs, instead advocating that each state takes care of itself.  They’re all about decisions made at the individual state level, with the federal government keeping its nose out of it.  The less power the federal government has, the safer they feel.

In other news, I get a strong whiff of dramatic irony from Hamilton and Jefferson’s debate over whether or not the U.S. should back France during its revolution.  You can see where both men are coming from – Hamilton points out that the Reign of Terror is a crazy-dangerous maelstrom that the U.S. shouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole, while Jefferson thinks that the U.S. has a duty to “fight for freedom” and that it particularly owes a debt to France, which played an instrumental role in the American Revolution.  But Hamilton’s words at the end of this argument are what really get to me:  “If we try to fight in every revolution in the world, we never stop. / Where do we draw the line?”  That, it seems, has been the story of American wars for most of the country’s existence. The U.S. has had its hands in so many revolutions and foreign struggles, from Vietnam to Iraq, and its presence is often divisive at best. 

A final important aspect of Hamilton’s politics, woven into the fabric of the story from the opening number, is the matter of immigrants.  The show is of course very supportive and celebratory on this subject – there’s that fabulous “Immigrants: / We get the job done” line from Hamilton and Lafayette – but it also acknowledges the ugliness, denigration, and mistrust that can be born out of xenophobia and directed at immigrants.  This has been an unfortunate trait in America throughout its history, with the most recent arrivals in the largest numbers often on the receiving end of hate or fear.  It follows Hamilton throughout his career:  the sense that he doesn’t have a right to his success, that he’s some sort of interloper, or that he’s somehow less because of where he was born.  When Hamilton says “immigrant,” it’s a badge of honor, but when the Democratic-Republicans say it, it’s something between a sneer and a slur.  John Adams calls Hamilton “creole bastard,” for goodness sake; he isn’t short on reasons to despise Hamilton, but Hamilton’s national origin shouldn’t have anything to do with a single one of them.