"Farmer Refuted"

Selling the Concept of America

As the Revolutionary War was approaching, there was still controversy on if the war should happen. The conflict was mainly between loyalist, those still loyal to British rule in America, and revolutionaries, who wanted America to thrive on its own. People like the Son's of Liberty would fit in the innovators or early adopters in the graph above. Loyalists fit in laggards. While the graph above is for products, it seems to also fit for ideas.

At this point in history, there were still a number of people who are undecided and it is up to both sides of the ideology to round them up. Early Revolutionaries were putting out pamphlets and were getting into debates in the streets to spread their ideals. Because when they get and fill the early majority they will see the largest power spike in favor of the Revolutionary War. Hamilton was a great proponent for selling America. In other songs it is mentioned that Hamilton wrote a lot of literature for America and he was a charismatic man who people might be willing to follow.

This idea of selling an idea can also been seen in elections. Each side already has a very loyal base that will pretty much vote for their party no matter what. The people who matter are the people undecided. People on the edge create a need for advertisements for ideologies and are the reason we see political ads. While this curve is not perfect because the far right categories may never sway, it is still a nice depiction for selling ideas.

"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story"

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

I believe almost everyone has done a blog post with a similar topic following "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story". Everyone has been very caught up in the "who tells your story" part of the conversation. But I think its also worth our time to examine, who lives and who dies. Not the most upbeat of subjects to talk about, but I think I got something here.

Throughout the musical Hamilton talks of doing great things and at one point wanting to be a martyr as to grab his legacy through valiance in combat. He wants there to be a legacy of himself so bad, that he is willing to die. He is committed as are many others who want to leave their mark on the world. For good or evil those who having the commitment and are willing to die will most likely leave some kind of legacy. These are the people who will die.

The people who live are one's who either have no dreams of leaving a legacy or wish to leave their legacy in a less dangerous way. While leaving your legacy the safe way is not as guaranteed, it definitely offers more choices. In this discussion it is interesting to see what people define as leaving your legacy. Some people believe having children and raising them after yourself accomplishes this, while others believe contributing something to academia or the likes will leave your legacy.

Legacy can be hard to define. Obviously! I believe it is up to each individual to decide what they were put on this earth to do. Legacy or no legacy is not for other to decide but for each and every one of to figure out for ourselves.  

"Right Hand Man"

"Right Hand Man"

We all have that special someone we can call on in our time of need. Whether that be one person or many people, we all have friends or colleagues that share similar ambitions to our own and would solve a problem similar to ourselves. People may call this person their right hand man because its someone who is close enough to you in thought that they can make some decisions in your place if you were not available.

In "Right Hand Man", that is exactly what Washington is looking for. Washington cries out that he needs some assistance. Then Aaron Burr comes in. Burr tries to give some of his credentials and compliments Washington's tactic of shooting at the British from a distance. This is not what Washington wanted as assistance though. Burr was just kissing his butt because shooting on the British from a distance was not favorable. 

Unlike Burr, Hamilton comes in with Washington already knowing his accomplishments. Washington asks Hamilton some questions to find his true character of why he wants to fight and then Washington admits that he and Hamilton are similar. And as birds of a feather flock together would have it, Washington wanted Hamilton as his right hand man. Hamilton offered the ideas to attack up close, like guerrilla warfare, and offered outside help through more connections

This is an interesting look at how some people pick who they want at their side. They want strong, independent thinkers who share some qualities with their own. Most good leaders don't want a yes-man; they want someone who is qualified to provide a different perspective but chases the same vision. I believe a lot of the concepts here could help those looking upper level jobs. Hamilton contained almost everything someone in the upper levels of a company could want.

One Last Time

"One Last Time"

This song is about George Washington respecting the Democratic system by stepping down from office. I believe this is relevant now as we are going through a shift in presidential power. Obama and Washington are in a similar position in that they do not seem to favor too highly who could/will replace them. They both, however, humble themselves and respect the system enough to let it run its course. Like all presidents they both wrote/will write a farewell speech where they are allowed to be straight forward with how they feel.

Washington's farewell address started a pattern among presidents to write farewell addresses that reflect on their decisions and look toward the future. At the beginning Washington starts listing off things he wants to warn people about to prevent future problems like, neutrality on foreign conflicts and domestic partisan fighting. In the last paragraph which is reflected in the song he mentions his possible downfalls in his duties.

The importance of the farewell address can often be overlooked by many, but it offers insight from one of the most informed and difficult jobs on the planet. It gives the people and perhaps the next president an idea of where the nation is headed. If nothing else the farewell address gives closure to a transfer of presidential power and without it and Washington initially stepping down from power we may not have the Democracy we have today. 

Works Cited: 

http://www.msnbc.com/the-daily-rundown/presidential-farewell-addresses

http://semigiantjimmy.tumblr.com/post/139374702476/george-washington-is-going-home-happy-birthday-to

"Stay Alive" and Guerrilla Warfare

"Stay Alive" and Guerrilla Warfare

This beginning of this song how rough the Americans had it during the Revolutionary War and I respect that Miranda does not sugar coat the truth. The song tells us that the army had to resort to eating horses and because of low funding they could not get supplies. America was at a desperate time and needed an, at the time, odd approach to military.

Washington gives Hamilton the advice to not engage, strike at night, and to hit'em quick and get out fast. These tactics are known as Guerrilla warfare today and are used by small forces to win against the impossible. Interestingly this is where the title comes in. Staying alive is how won the war. Hamilton hit on this point during Washington's advice when he says, "Make it impossible to justify the cost of the fight." Just like the Viet Cong did to American forces in the Vietnam War, we did to the British. We didn't beat them per say, but we did cause enough damages in key areas to cause the war to turn into an economic drain.

Guerrilla warfare takes a certain type of person to lead it. Lee was too passive and afraid to lead this kind of army. From the start, Hamilton should have been the obvious choice. His ambitious attitude and quick thinking in a pinch is what guerrilla tactics thrive on. I believe this song works to further emphasize Hamilton's characteristics by showing it through warfare. Guerrilla is a very good parallel to Hamilton's character.   

"Yorktown" (The World Turned Upside Down) and the Siege of Yorktown

"Yorktown" Historical Analysis

As many of us may have realized Miranda changed some aspects of history for Hamilton. In this post I thought it would be interesting to see what certain lines are mentioning and how accurate they are historically. So lets dive in to Yorktown!

No big surprise the first line that the battle of Yorktown was in 1781 is correct. More specifically it took place in late September and the battle also contained a siege. Something interesting is Lafayette's and Hamilton's pride in being immigrants which I believe speaks more to now since at that time many people were still technically immigrants in the new America. 

Later in the song Hamilton mentions fighting up close but that was not exactly true. The battle contained a lot of seiging and distanced artillery fire. The only fighting that could have take place close up was the capture of British redoubts 9 and 10. Hamilton also mentions there being a code word, "Rochambeau" but I could not find evidence of this. Perhaps this is actually a reference to the 

French military leader, Comte de Rochambeau which added French troops for the attack on Yorktown. It is true that French forces were waiting in Chesapeake Bay but it was more to keep British reinforcements out instead of keeping the British in but it accomplished both. Also the British surrendering with a single man with a white flag happened.

Something else interesting to point is the espionage surrounding this battle. Mulligan Hercules did exactly what the song says he did, but the song fails to mention James Armistead Lafayette, a slave who spy on British camps and was a double agent against the British. This plays into the line in the song that mentions black and white soldiers because some people sent their slaves to fight for them and after the war some were granted freedom for their service.

Its just interesting the things that Miranda left out in this song. Some of the details are left out but so is the nature of songs that can't be forever and contain everything. The song carries across the general meaning of the battle but sadly forgets James Armistead Lafayette. 

Work Cited: https://www.nps.gov/york/learn/historyculture/history-of-the-siege.html

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/the-legend-of-hercules-mulligan.html

 http://www.historyisfun.org/blog/james-armistead-lafayette/

"Non Stop"

"Non-Stop"

As some of you may or may not know I am an avid follower and competitor in Super Smash Bros Melee for the Nintendo Gamecube. And believe it or not I could just not help myself from making some kind of blog relating to this subject.

Non-stop is a song about Burr watching as Hamilton chases his ambitions and puts non-stop work into it. In Smash Bros Melee there is a similar player that shares some key characteristics with Hamilton and his name is William "Leffen" Hjelte. Swedish born, Leffen started playing in 2009 (which is kind of late compared to his top 6 counterparts) and put in crazy amounts of work and a few character switches to get where he is today as a top 6 threat. 

Just like Hamilton, Leffen is living proof that being at the top of your profession takes hard work and dedication day in and day out. In "Non-Stop" Hamilton realizes some of his faults and humbles himself to ask for help which is similar to when Leffen had his visa denied and had to humble himself to call on the community to help by signing a petition. Leffen's rise to the top was similar to Hamilton's in that they were both ignited by a big event that called for more dedication. Leffen upset many top US players at the tournament Apex 2014 and since then decided he needed to invest the money to travel to the United States more to get more experience. Not too different from Leffen, Hamilton was asked to leave everything he was working on to move up to work under Washington in the Treasury department.

It seems that some of the people who take big risks and let themselves be heard are the ones who get what theyre after the fastest. Both of these people are never satisfied and strive to do better in everything they do. Both serve as characters of motivation and hard work.

Work Cited: http://www.redbull.com/us/en/esports/stories/1331713136573/friendlies-tsm-leffen-the-villain

Like Father, Like Son

Like Father, Like Son

In the song "Blow Us All Away", a clear picture of Phillip is painted. He said to be intelligent and very handsome just like his dad, Hamilton. He seems to see himself as more responsible/wise than others his age when he mentions, "I'm only nineteen but my mind is older." This builds expectations and an image that Phillip needs to live up to. An image that Phillip chases a bit too ambitiously if you ask me.

Legacies and expectations can way a lot on people, so much so that some go too far to uphold this. This can also been seen in the Disney classic, The Lion King. Simba is looked on to carry on his father's legacy to rule over the Pride Lands. And we can see how much he looks forward to this like Phillip in the song "I Can't Wait to be King". Simba sings "I'm gonna be the main event like no king was before" which is very similar to when Phillip sings "gotta be my own man like my father, but bolder".

The problem both have comes when they go out of their way to establish themselves as following their father's legacies but they're going to do it better. Phillip challenges George Eacker to a duel and Simba explores outside the Pride Land. Both doing so out of over-confidence and (SPOILER-ALERT) they both fail.

Guns and Ships

"Guns and Ships"

I believe this song helps introduce the topic of discussion of how the French helped in the Revolutionary War. It can be easily said that without the French help we would have had no chance in the Revolutionary War. Out of their hatred of England, we profited, but that's not what we are here to discuss.

What I find interesting is that when I looked up information about French and American contact, Hamilton never came up, but Benjamin Franklin did. The musical over-hypes Hamilton's relation with the French in general through his relation with Lafayette. Benjamin Franklin is getting completely forgotten in this regard.

In a way Franklin is getting the Hamilton treatment. His story is not being told of how he was the main contact to France. Without Franklin, who knows where we would be. One of our most early foreign diplomats gets forgotten to give Hamilton a time a in the spotlight. He's not a character in the musical despite his importance and the musical seems to credit Hamilton with some of Franklin's work. But I guess that's what you get when you die and someone else has to tell the story.

Source:
- https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/french-alliance

Idolization of Famous People

Idolization of Famous People

We can see clearly in Hamilton and in history that people looked up to General George Washington as a figure to follow and one who could not falter. The American people of that time put him on a pedestal. He was their shining beacon of hope during tough times. He was the celebrity of that time.

Today, we have many celebrities that we look up to. Athletes, movie stars, comedians, you name it. We enjoy what they do and part of us wants to be like these people. We may not follow them into battle, but we do follow them in almost everything else they do. We go to their concerts, follow them on Twitter, read about them, and talk about them to everyone we know.

I'm not directly coming out and saying we have a problem...buuutttt we look up to these people in a way no one really should. The American's during the Revolutionary War loved Washington and didn't really looks at his flaws. Like in "History Has Its Eyes on You" Washington mentions an early mistake he made where sent a lot of men to their own deaths, and to be honest that was the first I had ever heard of it. Celebrities are people too and I believe we can't just look at the right they did; we must also look at their mistakes, so we may learn.

In "History Has Its Eyes on You" Washington is talking to Hamilton and gives him the warning that he is becoming too important to ignore, and soon his actions will  be remembered for the history books. This is something I like about Miranda on this topic of idolizing people. Miranda doesn't. He exposes so many of these people that the history books tell you to only the good words of. I plead that today's people look at the celebrities of our time and see them as people, so when they are looked back on there is not a boring, biased memory that grants less learning for the future.

"My Shot" and "Lose Yourself" Comparison

"My Shot" and "Lose Yourself"

Though these two songs may seem very different as they were written in different context, they both share a similar theme of knowing what you want and chasing it before it gets away from you.

Funnily, the first thing that made me draw the connection between these two things was that they both mention a "shot". Though in "My Shot" literal shots are mentioned throughout the "shot" they are both talking about not throwing away is the chance you have at achieving your goals; it is what drives you everyday and gets you out of bed in the morning. 

In the context of Hamilton, Hamilton speaks of not throwing away his shot at greatness in a political career and on the battlefield. All these opportunities come to him and he reminds himself not to throw it away and to make full use of it. Hamilton has the odds against him because of his lower social standing, but interestingly enough so does Eminem in his song "Lose Yourself"

In "Lose Yourself", Eminem talks of not blowing his opportunity in rap industry. He grew up in a trailer park and was not very well off, meaning he had everything to prove. Like Hamilton, he strove to improve his standing in the world and can't take his opportunities for granted because they may not show up again.

 

I believe we all need to learn something from this. To be honest this is something I struggle with from time to time. I struggle finding what I am truly passionate for, and I'm not quite sure if I had my "shot" if I would capitalize on it.