Hamilton, American History, and How to Reconcile Complexity

In case you've been living under a rock, Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda's wildly popular rapsical about Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers) launched on Disney+ on July 3rd, just in time for Independence Day. I'll admit I went in a bit skeptical, as I was getting tired of people relentlessly quoting the soundtrack and professing their love for "the greatest musical of the 21st century." But I finally got around to watching it, and I have to admit it was excellent.

There are very few things that are worthy of the hype they receive. Pop culture icons from fidget spinners to Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice have received a tremendous amount of public attention only to fall out of vogue or disappoint fans.