A year and a half ago, I took my daughter to see Hamilton in Chicago. She had been talking about the musical and listening to the soundtrack for months, so for Christmas, I decided it would be a treat to take her. I went to the musical blind, not having heard the soundtrack nor reading anything about it. I did know a little bit about the life of Alexander Hamilton since I had been a history and French teacher, but that knowledge was only surface knowledge.
Needless to say, I was blown away from the first note of music played and the first verse that was sung by the troupe. I was completely surprised by the well of emotion that sprung up in me just thinking about all that the founding fathers went through to start this amazing country of ours. So much thought and care went into creating our country starting with the Declaration of Independence to our Constitution that included our Bill of Rights and expanded into the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution.
As a mother, I found myself sobbing when Alexander and Eliza's son, Philip died in a duel and continued crying, sobbing, holding my breath or with a lump in my throat all the way through to the song, It's Quiet Uptown. I have found that in the current state of affairs in our country, I am going through life in a similar way either crying, sobbing, holding my breath or with a lump in my throat watching events unfold on the television, in the news, on Twitter and Facebook and sometimes just out and about around friends and neighbors. More will be posted on this topic later.
Finally, one of the biggest revelations that left an impression on me from Hamilton was that Eliza, born Elizabeth Schuyler, lived 50 years after Alexander Hamilton's death. Her accomplishments were many including preserving her husband's legacy, establishing an orphanage in New York City and working with Dolley Madison to raise money for the Washington Monument. She lived a lifetime of amazing success that is not celebrated enough. My only criticism of the musical Hamilton is that Eliza is a footnote to her husband and I would imagine she had much to do with his success in political and personal life.
This blog is dedicated to Eliza Hamilton for her perseverance through trials of the Revolution, personal attacks on her husband and children, adultery, death of loved ones and many other trials that I am sure we have no knowledge of and that died with her.
