Hamilton Summary

The first song in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton follows Alexander Hamilton from his birth in the Caribbean through the loss of his mother, and then to his eventual arrival in New York. The song is narrated largely by Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s frenemy and the story’s primary antagonist (“Alexander Hamilton”).

Hamilton meets Burr (“Aaron Burr, Sir”), and the two men’s worldviews clash: Hamilton is verbose and openly ambitious, whereas Burr believes everyone should “talk less / smile more.” Fortunately, Hamilton also gets to know Lafayette, Laurens, and Mulligan, three equally rowdy young revolutionaries (“My Shot”); they share Hamilton’s feeling that “I’m just like my country / I’m young, scrappy, and hungry / and I’m not throwing away my shot.” While the men drink to their new friendship (“The Story of Tonight”), across town, Angelica, Peggy, and Eliza Schuyler have snuck away from their country house to spend a reckless day in the city (“The Schuyler Sisters”).

The revolution heats up: in waltz time, Hamilton publicly mocks British loyalists (“Farmer Refuted”), while British King George sings a Beatles-esque break-up song to his American subjects (“You’ll Be Back”). Things aren’t looking good for the American side, but Washington rallies the troops, hiring Hamilton as his closest aide (“Right Hand Man”).

The war grows tenser, but Hamilton and Burr find time to party with the Schuyler sisters (“A Winter’s Ball”). At the party, Hamilton meets sweet Eliza and her older sister, quick-thinking Angelica. Eliza is captivated, and in a whirlwind R&B number, Hamilton and Eliza court and get married (“Helpless”). But then the scene rewinds—and audiences realize that Angelica, also in love with Hamilton, has decided to step back to make her sister happy (“Satisfied”).

While Hamilton rises through the ranks, Burr resents his own failure to launch—but promises himself his time will come (“Wait For It”). Hamilton isn’t content, either: he is desperate to be made a general, but Washington, overwhelmed by the British ships surrounding New York City, sees him as an administrator (“Stay Alive”). When Washington promotes inept Charles Lee over Hamilton, a duel ensues (“The Ten Duel Commandments”). Washington is embarrassed that Hamilton resorts to violence, so he temporarily fires the younger man (“Meet Me Inside”). Hamilton is crushed, but there is one perk: he gets to go home to Eliza, who begs to be “part of” her husband’s narrative and reveals that she is pregnant with their first son Philip (“That Would Be Enough”).

The next three songs bring Hamilton into the heat of battle. In a rapid-fire rap, Frenchman Lafayette returns with guns and ships from the French (“Guns and Ships”); energized by this good news, Washington finally makes Hamilton a general (“History Has Its Eyes On You”); and at last, the Americans emerge victorious, singing that “the world turned upside down” (“Yorktown”).

After the war ends, King George gleefully predicts the new nation’s ruin (“What Comes Next”). Hamilton and Burr both have children, and each man worries about the fate of the new nation and about his ability to parent (“Dear Theodosia”). Hamilton also suffers a crushing blow when he learns that Laurens, his best friend and a passionate anti-slavery advocate, has been killed (“Tomorrow There’ll Be More of Us”).

The first act ends with Hamilton and Burr back in New York. Hamilton attends the Constitutional Convention and writes the vast bulk of the crucial Federalist Papers (51 in total), persuading various states to ratify the new Constitution. Washington makes Hamilton Secretary of the Treasury, and Eliza continues to ask for a bigger spot in her husband’s life (“Non-Stop”).

Act Two begins when Thomas Jefferson returns from France to be Secretary of State. James Madison, his best friend, believes that Hamilton is trying to ruin the country (“What’d I Miss”). Hamilton wants to create a national bank and centralize debt, whereas Jefferson pictures a more agrarian economy, and the two face off in a rap battle mediated by Washington (“Cabinet Battle #1).

While Hamilton toils to create the national bank—and continues to flirt with Angelica—Eliza begs him to join him upstate with their young son Philip (“Take a Break”). But Hamilton stays in the city, where he inadvertently begins an affair with a young woman named Maria Reynolds. Unfortunately for Hamilton, Maria’s husband finds out about the tryst and uses it to blackmail the Treasury Secretary (“Say No to This”).

Over a closed-door dinner, Hamilton and Jefferson strike a deal, and Hamilton gets his bank. Burr is livid to have been left out of things (“The Room Where It Happens”). Burr finds Jefferson and Madison, and the three men complain about Hamilton’s cozy relationship with the president (“Washington on Your Side”). But fortunately for them (and unfortunately for Hamilton), Washington has decided to retire, ensuring that “the nation learns to move on.” Though he is crushed, Hamilton ghost-writes Washington’s Farewell Address (“One Last Time”).

John Adams becomes president, and King George laughs at the puny new leader (“I Know Him”). Hamilton and Adams spar, ruining each other’s reputations and clearing the way for Jefferson’s reign (“The Adams Administration”). To eliminate Hamilton once and for all, Jefferson and Burr try to expose him for embezzlement—and to clear his name, Hamilton explains that he is actually having an affair (“We Know”).

Panicked that Burr will dishonor his name, Hamilton reflects on his traumatic past and tries to write his “way out” of the scandal (“Hurricane”). But his writing backfires, making him the subject of mockery and alienating him from Angelica (“The Reynolds Pamphlet”). Heartbroken, Eliza decides to take herself out of Hamilton’s narrative, burning his letters and erasing herself from history (“Burn”).

Philip, determined to defend his father’s honor, gets himself killed in a duel (“Blow Us All Away”/ “Stay Alive”). Hamilton and Eliza are crushed, and for the first time, Hamilton has no words to describe his grief; instead, Angelica must narrate their mourning and reconciliation for them (“It’s Quiet Uptown”).

By now it’s 1800, and Burr and Jefferson are running against each for the presidency; Hamilton endorses Jefferson, fearing Burr’s lack of principles (“The Election of 1800”). Burr is enraged, challenging Hamilton to a duel (“Your Obedient Servant”). The two face off, and in a climactic moment of silence, Hamilton decides to throw away his “shot.” Burr shoots and kills Hamilton (“The World Was Wide Enough”).

In the finale, the various characters reflect on Hamilton’s legacy—and give the floor to Eliza, who sings about her desire to preserve her husband’s memory forever (“Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”).