Well said.
And I know I’m going to get into trouble here, because I am in a very small minority as one who adores the show Hamilton.
But, the reason it became a show is NOT because Hamilton was politically correct.
It is because his story is so utterly compelling, and his life story is so - how else can you say it? - Shakespearean. It’s not politically correct to note that he was orphaned, survived a hurricane, came to the US with nothing, joined the Revolution, became Washington’s right hand man, then Secretary of Treasury, and so forth and so on. That he had a destructive affair with Maria Reynolds, and that his thirty year rivalry with Burr ended in his death. Burr and Eliza Hamilton (not to mention Angelika) are massive, larger-than-life characters who are (again) really like something out of Shakespeare.
And if anything, the show doesn’t show enough of their sacrifice, their work, their passion, their struggles, their incredible triumphs, their colossal mistakes and so on....and all within the context of birthing our nation...which we sort of take for granted, but which they did not. They knew that it was entirely possible the The United States may not survive.
That said....it is extremely important to history to note that Hamilton was perhaps the earliest serious abolitionist among the Founding Fathers. It’s simply not true to say that the country was founded only by white, rich slaveholders. The show notes that, but not in any heavy-handed way. It merely inserts that fact back into the historical record.
Dr. Benjamin Franklin: We've no choice, John. The slavery clause has got to go.
John Adams: [stunned] Franklin, what are you saying?
Dr. Benjamin Franklin: It's a luxury we can't afford.
John Adams: [pause, then] 'Luxury?' A half million souls in chains... and Dr. Franklin calls it a 'luxury!' Maybe you should have walked out with the South!
Dr. Benjamin Franklin: [dangerous] You forget yourself sir. I founded the FIRST anti-slavery society on this continent. John Adams: Oh, don't wave your credentials at me! Maybe it's time you had them renewed!
Dr. Benjamin Franklin: [angrily] The issue here is independence! Maybe you have forgotten that fact, but I have not! How DARE you jeopardize our cause, when we've come so far? These men, no matter how much we may disagree with them, are not ribbon clerks to be ordered about - they are proud, accomplished men, the cream of their colonies. And whether you like them or not, they and the people they represent will be part of this new nation that YOU hope to create. Now, either learn how to live with them, or pack up and go home!
[pause, then]
Dr. Benjamin Franklin: In any case, stop acting like a Boston fishwife.
-PJ