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Act 1: History Has Its Eyes On You
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hamilton, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Collaboration, Disagreement, and Democracy
Stories vs. History
Ambition and Mortality
Immigration and Diversity of Influence
Honor
Summary
Analysis
Hamilton, now a general, is able to fight at Yorktown. Motivated by the thought of both a new country and a new baby, Hamilton hatches a plan to take the British by surprise: all his soldiers will take the bullets out of their guns so as to sneak up on their enemies more effectively.
Hamilton’s obsessiveness is on full display here, as he orders his men to unload their weapons to cut down on possible accidental noise. That obsessiveness could be a great strength (as it was when it came time to write the Federalist Papers), but it could also make Hamilton a difficult person to work with. In this case, it pays off, as his actions at Yorktown help lead to American victory in the war.
Themes
In the second half of the song, Laurens wonders if the successful Revolution will also mark the end of slavery. Washington grimly replies, “not yet.” Hamilton and his friends then celebrate their triumph by singing “the world turned upside down.”
On the one hand, the Revolution is radical, creating a brand-new democratic country. In other ways, it is not radical at all, as it only further entrenches slavery. Indeed, the British would end the practice of slavery decades before the Americans did. And though the musical never outright addresses the fact that Washington owned hundreds of slaves in his lifetime, the fact that the general says “not yet” is meant as a hint at that atrocity. Whether or not Hamilton has sufficiently explored the Founding Fathers’ ties with slavery is a source of extensive debate.
Themes
