History YMMV / Hamilton

** It's worth noting is that the American War of Independence, as it's known in England, is not looked upon in anywhere near as hostile a light as most Americans would expect. First, it's rarely actually discussed ''at all'' in English history classes, as [[ButForMeItWasTuesday over sixty countries have declared independence from England at one point or another, and America's was far from the most notable such event.]] Second, even when they ''do'' go into detail specifically about America's war for independence, it's usually looked at in a very neutral light as simply a taxation policy GoneHorriblyWrong, and if they're going to get mad at any one particular figure for the event, it'll usually be King George himself.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/ArianaDeBose appears in the ensemble.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The play is based on a biography by Ron Chernow, a Wall Street journalist who took the accounts of Hamilton's supporters at face value even when it contradicted accepted historical facts (e.g. both seconds at the duel agree Hamilton and Burr did fire at each other so talk of him throwing away his shot is false).

* {{Narm}}

** Daveed Diggs' bizarrely stilted delivery of "My god" during "We Know" in the filmed performance. He actually seems like he's sarcastically quoting some famous line.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Philip challenging a college student to a DuelToTheDeath over a slight to his father, even though Philip had never dueled before.
** Alexander writing and publishing The Reynolds Pamphlet, outlining his "torrid affair" with Maria Reynolds, sinking his career. Of course, it's hard to know whether Jefferson, Madison, or Burr would have leaked the information themselves, but they certainly take great pleasure in distributing it when it does get printed. Lin-Manuel has said that coming up with a way to show why Hamilton would think this was a good idea was one of the hardest parts of the writing process. The CutSong "Congratulations" is dedicated to lampshading the hell out of this:
--->''Let's review.''\\
''You took a rumor a few, maybe '''two''' people knew''\\
''and refuted it by sharing an affair of which '''no one''' has accused you!''\\
''I begged you to take a break--you refused to.''\\
''So scared of what your enemies might do to you,''\\
''but '''you're''' the only enemy you ever seem to lose to!''\\
''You know why Jefferson can do what he wants?''\\
''He doesn't dignify school-yard taunts with a response!''\\
''So, yeah. [[SarcasmMode Congratulations]].''
** What makes it so much more worse is that the initial charge was on speculation -- that Hamilton was using national funds for his own private ends. At no point did Jefferson, Madison, or Burr talk to him about an affair, nor did they have reason to suspect he was doing such a thing. All he had to do was just show them his records and clarify the numbers for them. He ruined his own career by himself.
*** The cut song ''Cabinet Battle #3'' actually addresses this. At the end of a very tense discussion about slavery, Madison snipes, "And as for slandering Jefferson with talk of mistresses,/Do you really wanna have that conversation?" to which Hamilton gives a very subdued "No." This implies that Jefferson and Madison know about the affair and are holding it over Hamilton's head, making his decision to clear things up with the Reynolds Pamphlet [[AtLeastIAdmitIt more]] [[ClearMyName understandable]]. Since the song was cut, Hamilton's decision to publish his affair--which, as Angelica points out, nobody has accused him of, or even suspected him of having--comes out of nowhere, when he could've just shown Jefferson and Madison the records in the first place.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: Just before Cabinet Battle #1, the servant opens up a briefcase containing the microphones that Jefferson and Hamilton use. The two of them are also dueling but with words, not guns.

** With ''Theatre/{{Six}}'' due to both exploring history in musical themes. However, '''do not''' compare the two if you value your life. (Although, fans are far more likely to get mad if you compare ''Six'' to Hamilton, then vis-Versa.) Other then that, you are likely to find people that like both, especially at the time of this writing. (December 2019). It is also gaining friendships with ''Theatre/{{Bandstand}}'' and ''Theatre/MissSaigon'' fanbases thanks to all three musicals being about war. (And because "Miss Saigon" and "Hamilton" both share an actress- Rachel Anne Go was Eliza in the West End's productions)

* HypeBacklash: For all the play's mainstream acclaim, it's gained a notable backlash over the years that only increased following its release on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020. Many of the musical's detractors, especially on the American left, view it as a cringy [[TheThemeParkVersion one-dimensional]] hagiography of American history that side-steps the rampant racism, sexism, and classism of America, or at worst, supports it. Said critics also mocked the [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade sanitized reimagining]] of Alexander Hamilton as a progressive pro-immigrant, anti-slavery champion, with many accusing the character of being a self-insert avatar for Lin-Manuel Miranda when the real Hamilton was none of these things. Others also think marrying American politics with rap is a bad gimmick. It was bad enough a play attacking ''Hamilton'' and Miranda was produced.

* HypeBacklash: For all the play's mainstream acclaim, it's gained a notable backlash over the years that only increased following its release on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020. Many of the musical's detractors, especially on the American left, view it as a cringy [[TheThemeParkVersion one-dimensional]] hagiography of American history that side-steps the rampant racism, sexism, and classism of America, or at worst, supports it. Said critics also mocked the [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade sanitized reimagining]] of Alexander Hamilton as a progressive pro-immigrant, anti-slavery champion, with many accusing the character of being a self-insert avatar for Lin-Manuel Miranda when the real Hamilton was none of these things. Others also think marrying American politics to rap was a bad gimmick. It was bad enough a play attacking ''Hamilton and'' Miranda was produced.

* HypeBacklash: For all the play's mainstream acclaim, it's gained a notable backlash over the years that only increased following its release on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020. Many of the musical's detractors view it as a cringey [[TheThemeParkVersion one-dimensional]] portrayal of American history. Said critics also mocked the [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade sanitized reimagining]] of Alexander Hamilton as a progressive pro-immigrant, anti-slavery champion, with many accusing the character of being a self-insert avatar for Lin-Manuel Miranda when the real Hamilton was none of these things.

* HypeBacklash: For all the play's mainstream acclaim, it's gained a notable backlash over the years that only increased following its release on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020. Many of the musical's detractors view it as a cringey [[TheThemeParkVersion one-dimensional]] portrayal of American history. Said critics also mocked the [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade sanitized reimagining]] of Alexander Hamilton as a progressive pro-immigrant, anti-slavery champion, with many accusing the character of being a self-insert avatar for Lin-Manuel Miranda when the real Hamilton was none of these things.

** Miranda elides over quite a bit about the real-life Hamilton that might be very troubling for modern audiences. For example, far from being anything even approaching a John Brown-style abolitionist, Hamilton not only married into the largest slaveholding family in New York and brokered slave deals for them until he died, [[https://apnews.com/article/research-alexander-hamilton-slavery-bbc774b5175f20e8f1543c9b9e14aed3 he purchased at least 3 slaves for himself]] in 1796[[note]]And unlike Washington, who at least wrote into his will that his slaves should eventually be freed, Hamilton's slaves remained in bondage even after his death and were "auctioned off" for 400 pounds[[/note]]. He also supported regressive tax schemes that openly favored wealthy bond-holders over everyone else (and, like most other Founders, shared a horror of the idea of true democracy), and despite his own immigrant background that the musical often highlights, he despised the idea of open immigration to the United States and made legal entry far harder with his support of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. And, as demonstrated by the Newburgh Conspiracy, Shays Rebellion, and Whiskey Rebellion, Hamilton appears to have been A-OK with using the army as a political tool and to suppress dissent among the common people.

*** This immense HistoricalHeroUpgrade may be a result of Miranda relying heavily on the Ron Chernow biography of Hamilton, which tends to either gloss over these things completely or excuse them as products of Hamilton's time (which Chernow's peers have often refuted by pointing out that even Hamilton's fellow slaveholders were more in line with many modern audiences' perspectives than he was). As a result of recent discussions on the issue of both the book and play sanitizing much of Hamilton's image, Chernow has recanted somewhat on his biography's portrayal of him and admitted how much new research discredits the idea of Hamilton as an abolitionist populist hero, although Miranda has declined to make any specific comments regarding Hamilton's slaveholding.

** John Adams, fittingly for the first [[VicePresidentWho Vice President]], is insulted by Hamilton for his lack of a "real job," mocked by King George who says "they're going to eat him alive," called a [censored] in "The Adams Administration," and dismissed by even his own party as a lost cause in "The Election of 1800." This says nothing about the cut song "An Open Letter," which is a minute long rap/rant by the Hamilton character about the many reasons Adams is pathetic, noting that "he hasn't done anything new since '[[Theatre/{{SeventeenSeventySix}} 76]]".

* CriticalResearchFailure: The play is based on a biography by Ron Chernow, a Wall Street journalist who took the accounts of Hamilton's supporters at face value even when it contradicted accepted historical facts (e.g. both seconds at the duel agree Hamilton and Burr did fire at each other so talk of him throwing away his shot is false).

* HypeBacklash: For all the play's mainstream acclaim, it gained a notable backlash that only increased following its release on Creator/DisneyPlus in 2020. Many of the musical's detractors viewed it as a cringey [[TheThemeParkVersion one-dimensional]] portrayal of American history. Said critics also mocked the [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade sanitized reimagining]] of Alexander Hamilton as a progressive pro-immigrant, anti-slavery champion, with many accusing the character of being a self-insert avatar for Lin-Manuel Miranda when the real Hamilton was none of these things.

** In the same song, Jefferson says of John Adams "I love the guy but he's in traction". In real life, Jefferson and Adams became close friends during the Revolution. They worked together on the Declaration of Independence, and after the war, they were both assigned to diplomatic positions in Europe-- Adams was in London and Jefferson in Paris, so they were going through a lot of the same problems at the same time and were fire-forged friends, with Adams specifically remembering the time he formally introduced Jefferson to King George [=III=] and the two of them were openly snubbed. As seen in the show, Jefferson went on to absolutely crater Adams' political career (in particular, Abigail Adams accused him of ''directly'' and ''personally'' campaigning for the presidency, which was seen as crass before Jefferson and Burr made it cool) and Adams sulked like a spoiled child, skipping town in the dead of night so that he wouldn't have to acknowledge Jefferson to his face. However, they did make an effort to bury the hatchet in the twilight of their lives (Adams saying they ought not to die without explaining themselves to each other) and kept up a lively correspondence that they knew would be studied by future historians - in fact, Adams' last words were "Thomas Jefferson lives", though he was unaware that Jefferson himself had died only a few hours earlier.

** Similarly, some ''Hamilton'' fans have gone so far as to discourage people from seeking out ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'', based purely on the fact that it centres around Adams, who is [[MisaimedFandom of course a bad guy]] for opposing Hamilton. (Which is faulty not just because of Miranda's being a fan of it, as mentioned above, but because loads of Hamilton ''and'' Adams' contemporaries disliked both men--and generally had [[InsufferableGenius pretty good reason to]].)

** Angelica, an early feminist and CoolBigSis extraordinaire, is almost universally beloved by the fandom.
** As is John Laurens, for being an abolitionist and quite amusing. The HoYay also doesn't hurt.
** James Madison is also pretty popular, thanks to his meme-tastic line "...France."

** The biggest example would be the actor who gets to play Lafayette and Jefferson. In addition to both being very intelligent and getting impressive tongue twister raps, the former is one of the show’s most likable and badass characters, while the latter is a hilariously [[LargeHam hammy]] LoveToHate antagonist. Their original actor Daveed Diggs was widely regarded as one of the very best parts of an outstanding production.

*** A renewed and wider discussion of these issues came about in 2020 when the musical's release on Creator/DisneyPlus coincided with anti-racist protests following George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police. In regards to debates over the media's role in normalizing problematic depictions of race, the musical received renewed criticism for its intentionally sympathetic depictions of white slaveholders and lead to debates about whether it invalidates the professed intention of ''Hamilton'' for people of color to take back a history that is still denied to them, especially when the story is still entirely about wealthy white elites.

* HypeBacklash: The acclaimed musical saw a considerable backlash beginning in the 2020s with some accusing it of presenting a cringey [[TheThemeParkVersion one-dimensional]] of American history. The [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade sanitized depiction]] of Alexander Hamilton as a progressive pro-immigrant, anti-slavery champion garnered accusations of being a self-insert avatar for Lin-Manuel Miranda when the real Hamilton was none of these things.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The real-life Hamilton hated democracy, which he described as an American "disease" and wanted the nation to have an authoritarian President-for-life who would not be subject to the nation's laws and even attempted to overturn the 1800 election by allowing the Senate to dismiss electors. By 1947 a post-war congressional report titled “Fascism in Action” listed Hamilton as one intellectual inspiration for the Nazi regime. The musical version is instead an inspirational figure who supports the American project instead of attempting to turn it into a new aristocracy.

*** A renewed and wider discussion of these issues came about in 2020 with the Creator/DisneyPlus release of the musical meeting the broader climate of disaffection with systemic racism and police brutality sparked by the protests and uprisings in the wake of George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police. In regards to discussion of the role media can play in the normalization of such things, the musical received renewed criticism for its intentionally sympathetic depictions of racist slaveholders and whether it invalidates the professed intention of ''Hamilton'' for people of color to take back a history that is still denied to them, especially when the story is still entirely about wealthy white elites.

* HypeBacklash: The acclaimed musical saw a considerable backlash beginning in the 2020s with some accusing it of presenting a cringey [[TheThemeParkVersion one-dimensional]] of American history. The [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade sanitized depiction]] of Alexander Hamilton as an anti-slavery and pro-immigrant egalitarian garnered accusations of being a self-insert avatar when the real Hamilton was none of these things.

* HypeBacklash: The acclaimed musical saw a massive backlash in the early 2020s with some accusing it of presenting a cringey [[TheThemeParkVersion dumbed-down]] of American history that stripped away the nuances of the Founding Fathers. The [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade sanitized depiction]] of Alexander Hamilton as an anti-slavery egalitarian immigrant played by a person of color even garnered accusations of historical revisionism since the real Hamilton was an elitist who traded slaves, opposed immigration and envisioned the United States as an autocratic oligarchy instead of a true democracy.