Wtf Was Hamilton Actually Like

wtf was hamilton actually like

yet another long rant about how little i really know about hamilton! this is in regards to his personality because i can't get him down. i can't figure out what he would've been like in everyday life.

for any historical figure, we take explicitly documented traits and build off of them. even if it's clumsy, i'd be confident "predicting" how washington & jefferson usually act, etc. but for some reason, ham's characterization is all over the place. his recorded personality traits, also mixed with his political attitudes, often conflict and authors end up leaning into certain parts. for instance: there's flirty & flamboyant ham. there's prideful, arrogant, standoffish ham. there's bumbling politics ham, obtuse and belligerent 24/7 - aka musical ham, but that was an intentional choice. there's even kind and warm ham, which definitely seems accurate for his family and close friends least.

was he loud and intense 24/7? or was that just him during work, since we also know that he had a habit of mumbling to himself and looking like a daydreamer to spectators?

some people said that his general countenance was serious and austere, but we also know that he could be a charmer in social spaces. he was described as feminine but also as "martial". some have written that there's an "simplicity" in his manners, and a clear openness, but we also speculate that he closed off some part of his emotions after laurens' death. he was constantly worried about his loved ones' health, like him tucking in judge ford, but we also know that he could ghost people mercilessly. was he guarded or was he not?

i guess i can pinpoint how he might have interacted with select people, like eliza, his children, washington. but i don't know which side of him was shown in the majority of his interactions - what the "real" him, or at least common him, would've been.

one of my fav descriptions of him notes how even his speech fluctuated:

“His language is not always equal; sometimes didactic like Bolingbroke’s; at other times light and tripping, like Sterne’s. His eloquence is not so defusive as to trifle with the senses, but he rambles just enough to strike and keep up the attention...His manners are tinctured with stiffness and sometimes with a degree of vanity that is highly disagreeable. “

and i recall another anecdote about how he was serious and made intelligent conversation at dinner, but became more of the flirty charming persona afterwards while socializing.

like all human beings he was multifaceted, but damn. i really can't confidently say "oh if you ran into hamilton in the street he would be really polite/reserved/kind/charming."

i guess all of this goes to say that this guy was insanely complex and i'm not sure if anyone, let alone himself, really figured it out. that's definitely why i'm interested in him as a figure, but ugh. frustrating when i'm writing and can feel myself slipping into a common ham archetype that i don't think is 100% accurate. and we didn't even get into how much of that is "real" or - adams' version.

i know that one day those youtubers who do deep dives into niche topics are going to be researching miku binder jefferson and stumble upon the historical figure based content, especially that which precedes the musical, and drop a bomb on the amrev community by uploading a three hour breakdown of us on youtube.

nobody talk to me spotify shuffled my playlist and played "seven", the ultimate alexander and edward stevens song. i'm in my dr. ham & dr. neddy feels rn 😭

And I've been meaning to tell you I think your house is haunted Your dad is always mad and that must be why And I think you should come live with Me and we can be pirates Then you won't have to cry Or hide in the closet And just like a folk song Our love will be passed on Please picture me In the weeds Before I learned civility I used to scream ferociously Any time I wanted I, I Sweet tea in the summer Cross my heart, won't tell no other And though I can't recall your face I still got love for you

Or have you forgotten those Vows of eternal Friendship, which we have so often mutually exchanged? I am perfectly at a Loss I assure you, my Dr: Hamilton, to account for your Silence.

thank youuuu i was fighting for my life trying to explain that longer and more deferent does not necessarily mean more affectionate!

absolutely useless discourse: comparison of washington's thank you letters to jefferson & hamilton

today in the group chat i shared the letters that washington sent both jefferson and hamilton after their respective resignations, noting that they were really similar in their message. for some reason this sparked debate on which letter felt "warmer", with a surprisingly split vote?

washington particularly paid close attention to the words he used - Sir, Dear Sir, My Dear Sir all show different degrees of affection and he could use that subtlety to convey tone. i thought this debate might be interesting to throw out to people who know washington's letter-writing habits, or general 18th century letter standards. the real answer is that both letters are basically the same and this is a stupid question but hush. we're continuing the age-old tradition of pitting jefferson and hamilton against each other.

the pro-jefferson side of the chat was noting how he sounds much more obliging and deferent to jefferson, like "i cannot suffer you to leave your station without assuring you", or "I beg you to believe that I always am Dear Sir Your Sincere friend". obviously they break later on but at this point, he must've had great respect for him.

the pro-hamilton side said that that's proof he was closer to hamilton, and felt more comfortable being straightforward: "you may assure yourself of the sincere esteem" instead of "i beg you to believe". also, they pointed out how although he says that both of them fulfilled all their duties to his expectations, he says in only hamilton's that he can render it due to opportunities that "cannot deceive me".

any thoughts?

this one is - not even historical fiction, it's a whole ass romance fantasy with alexander and eliza's names. i searched up henry livingston to see if he was really the scoundrel that he was made out to be in the book but?? i think that's all just shit that the author made up??

so just letting you know that it's not so much good as it is absolutely unhinged and wild. i won't say anymore and spoil the madness lol.

after a lot of hemming and hawing i decided to give alex and eliza: a love story a chance. but holy shit. at first i thought it was taking a few historical liberties to give hamliza this enemies to lovers arc (which still doesn't make sense) but then it escalated into utter mayhem. i am confused at what beef this author had with henry livingston.

for some reason i had gotten the notion into my head that "madison was an asshole like everyone else but at least he wasn't that concerned with glory/image" only to learn that in his old age he became obsessed with self-editing his papers. every single one of those weirdos were absolutely crazy with huge egos and i cannot believe i forgot that. james madison, you will not slide past me any longer. i've got my eye on you.