The Art of History
In our everyday lives, there are influences that shape our present and future. These influences can be in class, or from people we know. However, one of the most influential sources for so many people, is art.The way that artists can make stories come to life, and make you relate to stories in a way that should not be possible. This is why, when history can be expressed in the form of music, pictures, or a show, the stories stop being just stories, they become reality. When artists do this, the figures of the past become friends, or enemies to us personally. We see parts of ourselves in the important figures of the past, and when the art is one well, we see the humanity in these figures.
This summer I was introduced to a musical that changed what I thought about history. The musical is called Hamilton. It is about Alexander Hamilton, who was the first treasury secretary of the United States of America. The musical talks about Hamilton’s life from when he live in the Caribbean, to when he immigrated to New York, then his life during the American Revolution, what he did after the United States became it’s own country, and ending with his death.
What this musical did wonderfully, is make the stories of these real life people relatable. This connection makes learning and discovering history so much more effective. When we connect with the people of the past we can put ourselves in their shoes and think “why would they do that” or “how did that affect them”. This thinking allows us to find the truth behind the events of the past