In the Declaration of Independence, it is written: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." – (Thomas Jefferson, 1776).

Despite a holistic claim and altruistic appearance, the original declaration did not include equality among African or Native American people. It also did not include equality among women, children, slaves, prisoners, and "disabled" groups of people. When written, the document only granted rights and privileges to those deemed citizens by a small group of white men.

The ideals of our nation crumbled under the weight of the richest and whitest.

The majority of people, those who did not fit the status quo, were debased. Today, they are still debated. This isn't unlike dreaded taxation without representation, which propelled the mostly white American people into the Revolutionary War. Our society clings to the binary of constitutional and unconstitutional. We, the people cannot unite under a governing body of which originated from hypocrisy. There are valuable lessons to learn from times of historical and pivotal change. These lessons are just as valuable today as they were in 1776. This is where our investigation begins.

Hamilton, An American Musical gives a new voice and color to the nation's narrative — which is plagued with bigotry. Lin Manuel Miranda retorts through the voices of political figures of the time, sung by a woman of color:

"'We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.' But when I meet Thomas Jefferson? I'm going to convince him to include women in the sequel." – (Angelica, Lin Manuel Miranda)

Hamilton is a story about a story about all stories. One that American readers of all backgrounds can relate to. The script manages to grasp how history shapes itself through contrasting narrative, both told and untold. It's a story about a writer, like us: people who create and destroy life through words, actions, conquests, and desires. This includes the sociocultural effects of colonization and the structure of power.

Instead of downplaying the themes of slavery (which most textbooks do), Hamilton explores sidelined ideas about our whitewashed history, all the while enabling the non-white community a chance to shape powerful art. Power, vulnerability, and scandal — this tragedy lends itself to the black and disenfranchised narrative seamlessly.

"Hamilton" is a work of narrative speculation: a re-imagining of the past to explore the truth of today. "Hamilton" adds a historical, ethnically diverse lens to a disputed history built on the backs of African people. "Hamilton" is Afrofuturistic in its reception and conception. Take one of Womack's many definitions of it and you'll find the shoe fits: "Afrofuturism is an intersection of imagination, technology, the future, and liberation. "I generally define Afrofuturism as a way of imagining possible futures through a black cultural lens," says Ingrid LaFleur, an art curator and Afrofuturist." ― (Afrofuturism, Womack).

Miranda utilizes each one of these devices to weave his highly sociopolitical narrative. There is an underlying feeling of hope in human progress, and the general gaze is pointed toward the future (in spite of the folly of man). Both Burr and Hamilton serenade their children: "You will come of age with our young nation. We'll bleed and fight for you, we'll make it right for you. If we lay a strong enough foundation. We'll pass it on to you, we'll give the world to you, and you'll blow us all away... Someday." This suggests that the future and past, although they affect everyone and everything, is to be learned from, not lived in — it is the present, with all its interpersonal impressions, where peace can be found.

This new age, hip-hop musical is a renowned success and the first of its kind. Not many Hip-hop musicals break through to Broadway (where a league of old white men dictates backstage, and a horde of thin white women man the front). Hamilton continues to break records and is arguably the most popular musical of the era.

There is no debating this: Now, more than ever, the masses seek colored narratives. They demand representation, just as the American colonists did hundreds of years before.

This emphasizes how important it is for works such as Hamilton, or those starring colored characters to be written and distributed in the mainstream (of consciousness).

The vital part about the casting process is that all actors, regardless of the race of their characters, are to be people of color. For example, George Washington, our nation's dearest hero, is played by the brilliant black artist Christopher Jackson. He had this to say about his role: "That brick that you're standing on, that foundation that you're standing on, there's a brick in there that was placed by someone you never knew, sort of a faceless possibility, but you're there now. You have an opportunity to put your own brick in there. That's what it feels like we're doing with Hamilton."

Not so long ago, it would be considered blasphemous to change a white protagonist to a black one. We see this in an episode of "Star Trek Deep Space Nine": A phenomenal story is unable to find a publisher simply because its author was black. The reasoning behind canceling the publication was because the boss knew that wasn't what the public wanted. He was wrong. The only white appearing actor is the main antagonist: The King of England. The Monarchy. The man. The Superpower, dressed in his finery, looking down from a pedestal. The white promise of violence is sealed quite satirically in the tune "you're on your own."

As the King gleefully chants: "You'll remember you belong to me…Oceans rise, Empires fall…And when push, Comes to shove, I will send a fully armed battalion, To remind you of my love!" (King George, Miranda). Miranda personifies the oppressive presence of an entire country to remind us that is not only the individual that is enslaved or trapped. He reminds us that the system, both in Britain and in America lends itself to those willing to degrade others for power.

By giving King George an innocuous tone. Hamilton mirrors the false sincerity given to those who are about to be colonized. I'd even go as far as to say capitalism (the system in which Hamilton helped build, sadly) only operates because of inequality and corporate greed. We're cogs in the wheel of history that cannot be fully controlled.

What is so groundbreaking about the decision to cast only people of color, is that it successfully inverts a biased history, to include those who bore the burden of our nation in the most abusive way.

The chorus even insists that the success of the revolutionary war turned "The world turned upside down" (Battle of Yorktown, Miranda).

Our present is also on its head because, in the 1960's, "Hamilton" would never have been allowed on Broadway. Miranda is telling us: that things change and rules break because of our action and suppression. Through this shift, colored artists are inspired to reclaim their pasts for use in the future. Our "founding fathers" aren't the people we chose to create this nation, and by now they only remain relevant through documentation that has acquired immense national significance. Some of these men were slave owners, husbands, fathers, and wife beaters.

Their words ring hollow in a way. Their idea of democracy wasn't democratic at all. It was an oligarchy convinced it was blue. Yet our schools bend over backward attempts to paint these men in singular, heroic lights — all the while neglecting and even hiding narratives of those deemed "unfit" to shape history. Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasurer of the State, was silenced by a bullet for his insistence on his idea of history, and untimely so was Vice President Burr, who shot him.

In the fallout, Burr lost most of his political influence. The papers had them both labeled villain. However, through in this version of history, we see a more human side to these paper people. Hamilton is an Afrofuturistic text firmly rooted in this idea of narrative reclamation, Miranda imagines a past where those whose stories were lost or stolen, can be found, acknowledged, and redeemed. Alexander Hamilton was obsessed with legend and legacy.

We, as a species, tend to be. No one wants to leave behind nothing. No one wants to be the status of a slave. Hamilton was born a bastard, an orphan, an immigrant, and a son of a poor whore. These are all very social identities that can prevent someone from speaking out. Although Alexander was a white man, he still suffered extreme discrimination for his social identities. His appearance as the Hispanic Lin-Manuel Miranda deepens this message. He believed that through his own will as a writer, lawyer, and politician he could overcome all social barriers — and create real social reform. And he did, for the most part.

The last line of the play reads: "You have no control…Who lives, who dies, who tells your story…" (Chorus, Miranda). This suggests we live in a malleable social consciousness, where stories are determined by those who listen. As Hamilton is dying, he looks back at what he's made of his life. "Legacy. What is a legacy? It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me. America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me. You let me make a difference. A place where even orphan immigrants. Can leave their fingerprints and rise up. I'm running out of time. I'm running, and my times up. Wise up. Eyes up." This is a story about War. War ends in two ways: Life or death. War is another way in which a hierarchy can smother minority populations.

In the 1770's, black soldiers fought alongside whites, only the black soldiers were sent out to fight for a freedom they weren't promised. It wasn't until A CENTURY later when the emancipation proclamation was penned. Miranda reminds us that we all end up in the same place despite our morals and achievements: dead: with the burden of continued life all around us to usher us down and out. Whether or not that is comforting, is up to the reader to decide.

The idea of a public consciousness advocates a network of energies devoted to subjective truths, in an attempt to shape and analyze the objective. Alexander Hamilton was very aware of this double consciousness. He knew his status would limit him not because of his ability, but because of the inability of those around him. His desperation to be accepted by his peers as a hero led him to a career-shattering mistake. He feared his affair would be used to undermine his political career, so he thrust his version narrative into the public sphere in an attempt to control the situation. A few simple words in a pamphlet deflated Hamilton's sails and labeled him forever as an adulterer and a fool.

Eliza, Hamilton's wife, even chooses to destroy some of Hamilton's letters so they would be erased from history, and it worked. She successfully altered the narrative. We will never know Eliza's true reactions on the matter because of it. Perhaps Miranda is saying that once you get caught up in the machine, you'll try anything to get out. Hubris is our most deadly sin, proven time and time again by the constant revolution between the haves and have-nots. Grand aspiration takes us all down, despite race, origin, class, or disposition. Angelica even remarks that Hamilton was like Icarus, who flew too close to the sun.

The musical "Hamilton" explores what happens when we lose control over narratives, and lose agency over certain truths and ideas. His inability to completely control his narrative, including other people's reactions to it, was his undoing. It isn't too much of a stretch to say that the slave narrative of America also follows a similar path: one of loss. Loss of autonomy, literacy, and opportunity.

What interests me the most, is what led Hamilton to the decision to make his sins public. Hamilton writes in one of his letters "I wrote my way out, I looked up and the town had its eyes on me. Total strangers, Moved to kindness by my story. Raised enough for me to book passage on Ship that was New York bound… I'll write my way out. Overwhelm them with honesty. This is the eye of the hurricane, this is the only way I can protect my legacy..." (Hamilton, Alexander). The words that had once affected so much positive change in his life, became poisonous.

He was cornered and afraid of losing everything he had worked to obtain. He saw those born with prestige and wealth, those he once called friends, try to ruin him. They even specifically cite his immigrant status as a source for their hostility: "[BURR] You are uniquely situated by virtue of your position [JEFFERSON] Though 'virtue' is not a word I'd apply to this situation —[MADISON] To seek financial gain, to stray from your sacred mission — [JEFFERSON] And the evidence suggests you've engaged in speculation — [BURR] An immigrant embezzling our government funds — [JEFFERSON/MADISON] I can almost see the headline, your career is done[BURR]I hope you saved some money for your daughter and sons[BURR/JEFFERSON/MADISON] Ya best g'wan run back where ya come from!" (Founding Fathers, Miranda).

Alexander Hamilton, although white skinned, felt the pressure of being on the outside of the status quo — perhaps this is what made him such an advocate for the abolition of slavery. Maybe it is because he fought beside black soldiers during the war, and saw himself that human strength is not measured by color or status. Hamilton himself puts the final nail in his coffin.

The question is: did he have a choice or was determinism the end of him, did his experience in life set him up to self-destruct?

Afterword's, Hamilton is fired from office and becomes the subject of nationwide controversy and furthers his double identity as both a scholar and a social pariah. Different, therefore not welcome. This mimics the divide felt in racial and bi-partisan tensions then and now. In the eighth grade, we spent the entire year exploring this question: Why did the American colonists win in the Revolutionary War? In all probability, we should have been easily annihilated. The congressional army was far outnumbered, out supplied, and outgunned.

I think that they won because they had something worth fighting for: freedom, something white people take for granted.

Something that the rebels turned leaders of the free world would too, take for granted. Black soldiers hoped than engaging in war would win their personal freedoms, as well as their nation's freedom. All it took was the idea of a better life to encourage the spirit of the disenfranchised to a zeal that overtook the English. Angelica dreams of a world where women can make a difference and laments her life resigned to marry for money and security rather than compassion. Eliza, with her sisters' help, enacts positive change in establishing the first private orphanage in New York City.

The orphanage helped and continues to help thousands of children just like her late husband. Actualization is like a pulled back arrow, greased in grit. Slippery and dangerous. There are two outcomes. Either the bow will snap, or the potential energy forced into tension will spring free, sharper and more violent than before. If that arrow lands, another shot may be taken. Again, and again until somehow, we as a culture can advance past barbaric displays of dominance. Lafayette, a prominent French ally isn't so sure it's possible on a global scale: "And? If we win our independence? 'Zat a guarantee of freedom for our descendants? Or will the blood we shed begin an endless cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?

I know the action in the street is excitin'. But Jesus, between all the bleedin' 'n fightin'. I've been readin' 'n writin'. Every action's an act of creation! I'm laughin' in the face of casualties and sorrow. For the first time, I'm thinkin' past tomorrow." (Lafayette, Miranda). The innate need to survive pushed the American soldiers to effective and decisive strategy and communication, and while this secured them a victory, it also led to the violent death of soldiers and civilians. This is not a new narrative, in fact, it might be one of the oldest stories every recounted. Making history is given a new meaning through Miranda's words, the actor's spirit, and the director's image. Our media shapes how we process and remember things and George Washington's character explores the idea of being in the public eye.

"I felt the shame rise in me…And even now I lie awake, knowing history has its eyes on me. Let me tell you what I wish I'd known. When I was young and dreamed of glory: You have no control: Who lives, who dies, and who tells your story." (Washington, Miranda). Historically, narratives are shaped and presented by those with the most "power". I believe Miranda is not suggesting that we are victims of our circumstance, on the contrary. I believe he is warning mankind that change will garner backlash, and false narratives will become our history unless young artists, like us, seize the day.

Even though America ultimately succeeds in succeeding from Europe Hamilton suggests that if the freedom only extends to a certain class, the clash is inevitable. The fight will never be over if we refuse to acknowledge it. The Revolutionary War would soon become the Civil War, which would soon lead us to our many current wars, on all the fronts. Miranda effectively uses the ideas of the past, present, and future to illustrate the lives of those obsessed with either the past or the future. He also demonstrates the importance of being mindful and present, as time stops for no one. Intelligent articulated lyricism engages wide audiences with the niche culture of hip-hop and black/minority production and performance.

Those who shy away from hip-hop because of its explicit language and preconceived ideas, suddenly have a glimpse into the power and grace hip-hop inspires. A story we all know is taken, rewritten, and reimagined into an inclusive story about opposing forces and the ambiguity of right and wrong. I believe Miranda wants us to know that even good characters are capable of bad things. Thomas Jefferson is painted as a character of great promise and virtue, and then we are offered another opinion: " [JEFFERSON] Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We fought for these ideals; we shouldn't settle for less. These are wise words, enterprising men quote 'em. Don't act surprised, you guys, cuz I wrote 'em. If New York's in debt, Why should Virginia bear it? Uh! Our debts are paid, I'm afraid. Don't tax the South cuz we got it made in the shade. In Virginia, we plant seeds in the ground. We create. You just want to move our money around. This financial plan is an outrageous demand, Stand with me in the land of the free…"[HAMILTON] A civics lesson from a slaver. Hey neighbor, your debts are paid cuz you don't pay for labor "We plant seeds in the South. We create." Yeah, keep ranting, we know who's really doing the planting." (Alexander Hamilton, Miranda).

This almost begs us to ask: How many good men are rapists? How many heroes are masters? What does power do so someone, and how is it distributed?

Hamilton, our underdog played by Lin Manuel Miranda, uses his ability to write to actualize ideas that genuinely made a worldwide difference. I believe Miranda is actively proposing the idea that while gross imbalances of social and political powers remain, the fight is not over, especially for those who have the most to gain. "But we'll never be truly free. Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me…Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot..." (Hamilton, Miranda).

Quite frankly, this is a story about us being them, and them being us. Despite their beginnings, each character in this story uses the will of their words to create new realities where nothing was. We write ourselves into existence, and if we don't pick up the pen, someone else will. Or worse, they won't. Shortly after the election of Donald Trump in 2016, Mike Pence, vice president, made his way to the theater to watch a story about those in his exact position hundreds of years ago. The cast surprised Pence by addressing him directly.

The Actor who played Vice President Aaron Burr, Brandon Victor Dixon spoke candidly: "You know, we have a guest in the audience this evening," he said to audience laughter. "And Vice President-elect Pence, I see you walking out, but I hope you will hear us just a few more moments. There's nothing to boo here, ladies and gentlemen. There's nothing to boo here…We're all here sharing a story of love. We have a message for you, sir. We hope that you will hear us out. Art is meant to bring people together. It's meant to raise consciousness. We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us. All of us." (Washington Post).

WORKS CITED Jefferson, Thomas. United States Department of State, "The Declaration of Independence, 1776, 1911.Cookson, Catherine. Hamilton. Headline, 2007.Miranda, Lin-Manuel, et al. Hamilton: original Broadway cast recording.Hopkinson, Nalo. Midnight robber. Grand Central Publishing, 2012Womack, Ytasha. Afrofuturism: the world of black sci-Fi and fantasy culture. Chicago Review Press, 2013.Carey, George, and James McClellan. The Federalist. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 2001.Hamilton, Alexander. Federalist No. 10. The Federalist. Ed. George W. Carey and James McClellan. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 2001. 1787. Print.Itshamiltime. "Hamilton's Views on Race and Slavery: Enlisting Black Soldiers in the Continental Army." It's Hamiltime!, 5 Dec. 2012.Behr, Ira, and Hans Beilmer. "Far Beyond the Stars, deep space nine." Star Trek, season 6, episode 13, 1998.Wang, Amy B. "Hamilton actor on the cast's speech for Pence: 'There's nothing to apologize for'." Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2016.*