Issues

Volume 1

**Broadway vs. History: Evaluating Hamilton as a Tool for Civic Understanding**

ABSTRACT

This essay offers a critical review of Hamilton: An American Musical, examining its effectiveness as a tool for civic education in the United States. While the musical has become a cultural phenomenon, it simplifies the complexities in America’s founding. This essay explores the musical’s historical accuracies, such as the ideological divides between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Through close analysis of songs like “Cabinet Battle #1” and “Washington on Your Side,” the essay shows how Hamilton reflects real historical tensions surrounding federalism and the formation of political parties. However, this essay also critiques the musical for its reinforcement of the “great man” theory of history, coined by Thomas Carlyle, and for overlooking systemic injustices, such as the history of slavery in the founding of the American Regime. While Hamilton can spark political interest in American politics and history, without being coupled with critical historical analysis, its romanticized portrayal of founding fathers risks perpetuating a narrative that is not representative of our nation’s founding.