In the musical Hamilton there is a song near the end that focuses on and is titled The Election of 1800. The song talks about how Burr and Jefferson ran against each other which is true, but it leaves out the fact that they ran together at the beginning of the election and only when they both got the same number of votes did they become rivals. Jefferson eventually won the election like it says in the song, but unlike what the song says it was not completely up to Hamilton though he did play a large role in Jefferson's victory. What it doesn't tell us is that Burr came very close to winning the election due to backing from the Federalist party though Hamilton eventually was able to sway most of the Federalists to Jefferson's side. I think the reason Miranda does this is because it is more about the fact that Hamilton was one of the deciding factors in the election of 1800. The song ends with Jefferson and Madison talking about how it is crazy that the candidate with the second most votes gets to be vice president and that they should change that. The reason for this was that there was a flaw in the constitution that made both the Vice President run on the same ballot so who ever got the most votes became president and the guy after him became the vice-president. Eventually the 12th amendment solved this problem by having people vote for either president or vice-president. I feel that the reason Miranda had Madison and Jefferson joke about it at the is because it would eventually happen. Part of the song is about people asking Hamilton who he will vote for and we know who he eventually chooses, but the question I would like to ask is that even though he tells us that he doesn't vote for Burr because he doesn't have beliefs why do you think he chose Jefferson over Burr since he hated both of them?
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxii
http://history1800s.about.com/od/19th-Century-Presidents/tp/Early-American-Vice-Presidents.htm
I think it sheds an interesting new light on the story when you look at what happened in the musical compared to the actual events that transpired. The changes that Miranda makes to history can range from minute to pretty significant, and I think that looking at it from a factual historical perspective can give new insights to the story.
ReplyDeleteIt seems Miranda changes little bits of the historical background for dramatic effect and to help build the divide between Jefferson and Burr. I wonder how far one can change historical facts for the sake of entertainment. When does it come off as disgrace to history, if it ever does?
DeleteI liked your thoughts on the actual historical parts of the play. It is very interesting to see the ways that Miranda changed the play. However "I do think that Miranda changed this due to entertainment value and not just for the histrionic value.
ReplyDeleteI can see where you are coming from with why he changed parts of history to adhere to the entertainment value, but can't history itself be entertaining? Why should he need to change something to make it even more entertaining?
DeleteMiranda wants to entertain the audience with the fact that Hamilton had a huge role in the outcome of the election. We discussed in class how Hamilton is not that well known in history like George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. That is why Miranda builds up the character of Hamilton throughout the musical by discussing what he has accomplished and how he has effected history. This is what leads Miranda to go with the entertainment value of things with the election so that Hamilton is viewed as a prominent figure of history to the audience.
Deletethat's a great a question! I personally think that Hamilton chose Jefferson over Burr because Jefferson had more power than Burr and he could open up more doors or opportunities for Hamilton than Burr could because both Burr and Hamilton were low ranking soldiers and were not that significant growing up so Burr isn't that much more powerful or better than Hamilton. Hamilton could also see Burr as similar to himself and he knows himself better than anyone and knows that he could only go so far with Burr's help so he goes to Jefferson instead.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your answer with why he chose Jefferson over Burr. So the main reason you think he chose Jefferson is because of the power he would gain from such an alliance? But wouldn't he of gotten the same power if he had chose Burr since whoever won got the same position?
DeleteI think that the reason for Hamilton choosing Jefferson over Burr was mainly due to the fact that he wanted to have more power in a way. I think that Hamilton realized that he was kind of on the same level as Burr and could handle situations with him if it were to stay like that. While Jefferson was already superior to him.
ReplyDeleteThe reason Hamilton chooses Jefferson over Burr can be found in the text of the song. He chooses Jefferson because he has beliefs and morals unlike Burr who believes in talking less and smiling more. Hamilton knows Jefferson will stay true to his ideas and propositions unlike Burr who will let people sway his decision making process. Hamilton chooses the man who is best fit for the position.
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