Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Modern Perspective On Hamilton And Jefferson, Michael A. Walsh

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Broadway Musical Hamilton has created a newfound interest in the life of its title character, Alexander Hamilton. One notable trend has been that Hamilton has grown as an icon on the American left. Simultaneously, Thomas Jefferson, Hamilton’s main antagonist in history and the musical, has seen his position within the Democratic Party, and as such the American left-wing, diminish. Using a broad literature review of each man’s work, this paper seeks to analyze where Hamilton and Jefferson would actually fit within the modern political landscape, based on their own political views. My research finds that this effort is in …