Hamilton on Broadway and the Founding in American: Culture An Introduction

摘要

The Broadway musical Hamilton (2015) has become the rare theater event that takes a prominent place in American popular culture and political discourse.1 Its runaway commercial and artistic success has created a unique place of renewed prominence for its central character, Alexander Hamilton, America's first Treasury secretary. It has also provided a uniquely influential voice for the musical's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and his interpretation of the American Founding, its players, and its legacy. I organized this symposium and arranged for a group of thoughtful scholars of the American Founding, economics, and financial history to attend the Broadway show and contribute papers to this volume. The goal is to help us better understand what legacy might emerge from this cultural phenomenon and how it might influence our understanding of the American Founding well into the twenty-first century.