Since 2015, Alexander Hamilton's story has been brought to life nearly every night with hip-hop infused lyrics on the Broadway stage. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote and starred in Hamilton, which won 11 Tony awards and is now one of the top-grossing Broadway shows of all time. The show currently boasts two national tours in addition to Broadway, Chicago and West End productions.
The founding father's story has captivated people everywhere, and while it might seem as though the show captures Hamilton's whole life in two and a half hours, one constitutional historian has more to add.
University of Oklahoma professor Andrew Porwancher has been researching Hamilton's life since 2011, when he began looking into Hamilton's background to add some biographical information to his constitutional history lectures. In his research, Porwancher came across information pointing to Hamilton's potential Jewish heritage. He had heard rumors connecting Hamilton to Judaism and became interested in records showing that Hamilton attended a Jewish school as a child in the Caribbean island of Nevis.
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