This is true-she really did save his writings and fiercely defended his legacy-but she was also a force for change in her own right. In Hamilton's closing number, "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story," Eliza is framed as the driving force behind Hamilton's legacy. Theo Wargo // Getty Images Eliza devoted herself to safeguarding Hamilton's legacy.Īfter Hamilton's sudden death in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804, Eliza went on to outlive her husband by close to 50 years. Her reaction to Hamilton's affair is, equally, lost to history, which Miranda imagines as deliberate in the lyrics to "Burn." ("The world has no right to my heart / the world has no place in our bed / they don't get to know what I said.") In his 2004 biography of Hamilton, which Miranda used as the basis for the show, Ron Chernow wrote that Eliza destroyed her own letters to Hamilton, but her reasons remain unknown. "I'm erasing myself from the narrative / let future historians wonder how Eliza reacted / when you broke her heart," she sings, referencing a very real historical ambiguity. Hamilton does this because he's been accused of financial wrongdoing, and wants to make it clear that the suspicious payments he made were to pay off the husband of his lover, Maria Reynolds, rather than "improper speculation." But Eliza, understandably, is devastated, and responds by burning all the letters that Hamilton has ever sent her. The song "Burn" is a tearjerking showstopper within the show, as Eliza reacts with despair and rage to the news that Hamilton has been unfaithful to her-and, adding insult to injury, that he's written a pamphlet detailing the affair to the public. Along with giving birth to and raising eight children, she helped Hamilton write speeches and listened to early drafts of Washington's "Farewell Address" and excerpts from the Federalist Papers. Kean Collection // Getty Images Eliza helped Hamilton write speeches and establish his career.Įliza was a source of valuable advice and wisdom to Hamilton as his political career began to take off after the war. Presnell writes, "The entire Schuyler family revered Alexander as a young political genius." Alexander and Eliza married on December 14, 1780.Ī 1781 painting of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton by Ralph Earl. In short she is so strange a creature, that she possesses all the beauties, virtues and graces of her sex without any of those amiable defects which from their general prevalence are esteemed by connoisseurs necessary shades in the character of a fine woman.” "She has good nature, affability and vivacity unembellished with that charming frivolousness which is justly deemed one of the principal accomplishments of a belle. “She is most unmercifully handsome and so perverse that she has none of those pretty affectations which are the prerogatives of beauty," he wrote in a letter to Eliza's sister Angelica, per Smithsonian Magazine. Judging by Hamilton's correspondence at the time, the feeling was mutual. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to playĪt 22, Eliza met Alexander Hamilton, who was at the time serving under General George Washington, and fell in love "at first sight," per historical accounts. The Schuylers owned enslaved people and Philip was reportedly "the largest owner of enslaved people in Albany during his time." Contrary to the musical, the Schuylers had a total of eight children who survived to adulthood, including three sons. She grew up in a powerful New York family.īorn in 1757, Eliza was the second daughter of Revolutionary War general Philip Schuyler and Catherine van Rensselaer, a member of one of New York’s richest families. Portrayed by Phillipa Soo, Eliza played a key role in safeguarding her husband's legacy after his death. But by the final act of the play, one of the most compelling characters to emerge is Elizabeth (Eliza) Schuyler Hamilton. A number of other familiar historical figures also feature, from Hamilton's friend-turned-nemesis Aaron Burr to his mentor George Washington to his political rival Thomas Jefferson. In case you're unfamiliar, the show tells the story of America's revolutionary era through the lens of Alexander Hamilton, and his journey from penniless immigrant to founding father. Where Is The Cast Of Broadway's 'Hamilton' Now?.
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