The Inspiration: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Historical biography by Ron Chernow analyzing the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton. This biography served as the inspiration for Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton.
“…[N]obody has captured Hamilton better than Chernow…”
–The New York Times Book Review
In 2005 Ron Chernow published an autobiography about one of the most “misunderstood” and “central” figures in American History.
He tells the story of a young Alexander Hamilton, an orphaned immigrant from the Caribbean who has been largely whitewashed and misinterpreted throughout history.
After coming to America Hamilton was enrolled in Kings College, which would go on to become Columbia University. During the revolutionary war he quickly rose to become George Washington’s “aide-de-camp” (Right-hand-man) in the Continental Army.
After marrying Elizabeth Skylar he went on to write fifty-one out of the eighty-five essays that comprise The Federalist Papers. He is depicted as driven, passionate and fast-spoken. He proves to be overwhelmingly intelligent but is faulted in his rambling nature.
He goes on to become the first Treasurer Secretary of the United States of America, founding the Bank of New York.
All of this is given much more attention to detail in the biography, which is linked below. But, what is important to note, is that this biography differs from other academic sources that depict Alexander Hamilton. According to a variety of reviews, this biography adds a humanity to Hamilton that made him relatable to a present day America.
“Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power. His is a Hamilton far more human than we’ve encountered before—from his shame about his birth to his fiery aspirations, from his intimate relationships with childhood friends to his titanic feuds with Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Monroe, and Burr, and from his highly public affair with Maria Reynolds to his loving marriage to his loyal wife Eliza”.
By focusing on Hamilton’s personal life as opposed to his professional accomplishments, readers are introduced to much more dramatic narrative. One with relatable conflicts and emotion-driven decisions.
This fresh perspective of the founding father is what inspired Lin Manuel Miranda to start the writing of Hamilton the Musical.
“I think he has plucked out the dramatic essence of the character — his vaulting ambition, his obsession with his legacy, his driven nature, his roving eye, his brilliant mind, his faulty judgment.”
– Ron Chernow (to T Magazine of Mr. Miranda:)
Chernow, who served as a historical reference throughout the writing of Hamilton the Musical, supports Miranda’s dramatized interpretation of Alexander’s tumultuous life events.
Together, they have “created a vivid and compelling portrait of a remarkable man”, a man who is now understood to be “the most brilliant, charismatic and dangerous founder of them all”.