36. "Would Alexander Hamilton Have Made A Good Researcher?"

Do you think Alexander Hamilton would have made a good researcher, or was his genius confined to the realm of politics? To celebrate (?) the American presidential election this week, I decided to ask this very question based on the musical. What do you think?

I am a huge fan of the musical Hamilton, I think Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius for writing such an entertaining musical based on an American politician.

In this post I use the lyrics from the musical alone, so I will use words that have been used in the musical which may be read as insensitive, old-fashioned or politically incorrect language. Warning: this post definitely contains Hamilton spoilers.

Would Hamilton Have Made A Good Researcher?

If you haven't watched the musical or listened to the soundtrack, Alexander Hamilton led quite a life. He was born in the Caribbean, the son of a whore and a bastard. He was orphaned at a young age. After his mother died, he lived with a cousin who committed suicide. At age 12, he started working for his mother's landlord, by 14 he was in charge of his own trading charter but then a hurricane came and destroyed the business. The people saw how smart Alexander was and raised the money for him to go to the US to get an education. This is where Hamilton, the story of the musical begins. When he has landed in the US with a mission to become someone, without much cash, and a will to be successful.

From this backstory we can already see a number of qualities emerging that serve him throughout his life:

• Resilience: Alexander survived his father leaving, his mother dying, and by 14 was successful in running a trading charter. He knew he had to not only survive, but thrive when all the odds were against him. His resilience is also noted by other characters who sing of Alexander's character. Angelica (Hamilton's sister-in-law) tells Eliza (Alexander's wife) 'he will do what it takes to survive', and after the death of his son the people say 'they are going through the unimaginable'.

• Scrappiness: Although this quality is not explicitly stated Alexander was a child, all alone in this world. He would have had to have been scrappy to get a job in the first place and keep himself alive long enough to succeed.

As his political career takes off, more of Alexander's qualities emerge:

• An inspiring, and quick witted, writer: His writing skills are envied and referred to by many characters. Thomas Jefferson (a fierce political opponent) says 'as long as he can hold a pen he's a threat'. Eliza (his wife) says that during their courtship in the letters he wrote 'you built me palaces out of paragraphs, you built me cathedrals'; 'your words flooded my senses'. But even though his skill with the pen is undeniable, he was a fighter Burr (a friend, but ultimately his murderer says 'Alexander would rather fight not write'. Although it seems like he came to embrace his gift later in life as the people question 'why do you write like you are running out of time?', 'How do you write every second you're alive?'

• Visionary: Thomas Jefferson says that once he became president that Alexander's 'financial system was a work of genius I couldn't have unraveled it if I tried, and I tried'

• Collaborator: research is all about collaboration and he was able to get his financial system passed even when he didn't have the votes. Again, his scrappiness shows through as he was able to negotiate with his political opponents to get their support, but no one knows how he did it as 'no one else was in the room where it happened'.

• Goal setter: Also related to creating a national global system, Alexander set himself a clear goal and achieved it under the pressure of potentially losing his career if he failed 'I got what I wanted and I wanted what I got', so he can also thrive under pressure.

• Influential: Hamilton's quick wittedness, and skill with the pen, also makes him very eloquent and hard to argue with. He can influence how the public think, as noticed when two of his political opponents, James Madison says to Jefferson 'it might be nice, to have Hamilton on your side'.

• Argumentative: Hamilton loves an argument, he will argue the fine details and the large picture with anyone. This argumentative style means he has a prickly disposition, and maybe not a lot of friends but he is principled and arguing with him is how you earn his respect. He endorses Jefferson in the 1800 election, not Burr who was his friend. He says of Jefferson 'we have fought on like 75 different fronts', so Hamilton knows what Jefferson believes in. Burr didn't stand for anything so Hamilton could not endorse Burr, which Burr finds too much of a slight and ultimately kills Hamilton because of it.

• Relentless: Burr recognises that Hamilton is a force and has a completely different style from Burr. Burr will 'wait for it' but 'Hamilton faces an endless uphill climb', 'he has something to prove, he has nothing to lose', 'Hamilton's pace is relentless he wastes no time'.

• Honest: writing the Reynolds pamphlet could also be seen as extreme honesty and not letting the consequences influence your action. As Eliza laments 'you told the whole world how you brought this girl into our bed'.

• Ambitious: Alexander was fiercely pro-America's independence from the British and also recognised a war as his opportunity to increase his social status in a new country.'I knew that I was poor, I knew [a war] was the only way to rise up'; 'I'll raise above my station'

• Strategic - Hamilton's rise in social status comes about because of his close relationship with George Washington and helping him defeat the British, and endless want to fight. Lafayette, Hamilton's friend says 'no one else has more resilience or matches my practical tactical brilliance'.

• Resourceful: Hamilton thrives in the war even though Washington and Hamilton are only 'working with a third of what our congress has promised'

• Arrogant or confident?: Burr questions Alexander, 'why do you assume you're the smartest in the room?'

• Insatiable: Hamilton has a hunger that has nothing to do with food.He wants everything and has 'never been satisfied’. This hunger is what drives him to work very hard and prioritise work over personal relationships. As he says 'you get nothing if you wait for it, wait for it, wait for it'

• Independent: Burr advises Alexander when they first meet, 'talk less, smile more'. Hamilton ignores this advice and retorts 'if you stand for nothing Burr what will you fall for?'

• Asks for help: Alexander's brilliance is undeniable, but he also recognises his blind spots and asks for help to get the best outcome for the project. He asks Burr for help saying 'Burr you are a better lawyer than me, I know I talk too much, I'm abrasive. You're incredible in court, your are succinct, persuasive . My client needs a strong defence, you're the solution.'

• Peacekeeper: although Alexander loves the verbal fights, after the war I do not think he believes in violence, and will search for a peaceful resolution. As seen as he advises his son in a duel to shoot to the sky. Alexander does the same thing with his duel with Burr, and both times the Hamilton men end up dead.

Some qualities that Alexander exhibits that ay be considered red flags include:

• His obsession with his name and legacy: Throughout the play Alexander constantly works and writes to create a lasting legacy for his family. He cheats on his wife, and writes a pamphlet about it defending his actions as he was petrified his political enemies would write lies about him and ruin his name. Eliza tells him 'in clearing your name you have ruined our lives'; 'you are paranoid in every paragraph how they'll perceive you'.

• Risky and impulsive: Hamilton often makes risky moves, which can be seen as a positive or a negative quality for a researcher. When he writes the Reynolds pamphlet, describing how he cheated on his wife and paid his lover's husband, Angelica says to Eliza 'you married an Icarus, and he flew too close to the sun'. Hamilton was so obsessed with his name being ruined, that he did not see the personal consequences of this action. On the other hand Burr says 'Hamilton has nothing to lose'.

• Selfish: Eliza says that he only thought about himself when he wrote the Reynolds pamphlet, 'you you you'.

• Will not be underestimated: when Alexander first meetsBurr, he confesses that he punched the bursar at college because he thought I was stupid, 'I am not stupid'.

• Will not be demeaned: when George Washington is trying to give Alexander advice and calls him 'son', Alexander retaliates 'I am not your son', 'Call me son one more time'.

• Hypocritical/Deceitful/Dishonest: Alexander knew cheating on his wife was wrong, and chose to pay James Reynold's (his lover's husband) to keep people quiet rather than come clean with Eliza. As he pays James he says, ‘nobody needs to know’.

My Verdict Of Whether Alexander Hamilton Would Have Been A Good Researcher

As you can see, I think this analysis is pretty one sided. Hamilton would have made an amazing researcher, we would have been lucky to have him.

But I don't think Alexander would have thrived or loved being a researcher. His driving force was to better his station through social capital, money, and leaving a legacy. It is rare for a researcher to achieve these things.

His impact was felt much more heavily by being a politician as opposed to being a researcher.

Do you agree with my analysis? What qualities have I missed? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below or emailing me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com

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Photo by Jonathan Simcoe on Unsplash

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