Hamilton's Play Review: The Election Of 1800

Hamilton is a rich, compelling play full of historical lessons. The play entertains you, saddens you, and it may even anger you. However, the play also brings new perspectives and understandings of democratic politics, most notably in the scene The Election of 1800.
I am going to start at the end of the scene when Hamilton chooses to endorse Jefferson rather than Burr. Hamilton has choice words for Burr in his endorsement of Jefferson when he says, “But when all is said and all is done/Jefferson has beliefs, Burr has none”. It is interesting how Hamilton’s criterion for the support simply boils down to the passion of each candidate. It made me think to modern day politics and the power of endorsements. How passionate are today’s leaders? In Hamilton’s day, lobbyists and corporations didn’t bear nearly as much weight as they do now. Today, we see politicians pushing special interests and trying to keep up their campaign funding by pleasing various corporations. Do we ever think
This shows Hamilton’s respect and admiration for his peers, something that may be lacking in today’s political system. You almost never get cross-party support nowadays, but cross-party support might be healthier for democratic politics than simply sticking with the party line and never deviating, which is what we are used to today. Furthermore, I think that the premise of the song is a bit odd in itself. The whole song is based around the public asking Hamilton whom he will vote for. It seems as if Hamilton, a single man, will decide the whole election. Is that what a democracy is supposed to look like? One man’s opinion should not change a ‘tie’ into a ‘landslide’. As I said earlier, The Election of 1800 brings new perspectives and understandings of democratic politics. It raises questions about the model of democracy, how it is practiced, and how it should be