By: Keval Bollavaram
Based on his opposition to Bishop Samuel Seabury, Alexander Hamilton published several essays to clarify his belief and stance on the cooperation of governmental power between the newly formed Continental Congress and the British Parliament. Bishop Samuel Seabury was a staunch supporter of British authority and opposed the actions of the Continental Congress. While feuding with Hamilton over the acts of the Continental Congress, Seabury took up the pen name “A.W. Farmer” while responding to Hamilton’s writings.
In Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton, the song Farmer Refuted highlights the arguments between Seabury and Hamilton. Similarly, the fanart below encompasses the emotions behind the song.
In the original song, Hamilton is able to express the unfair treatment of the colonies through dialog while Seabury discuss the harm revolution would cause by dissolving the stability that British rule brought to the colonies. In the adapted fanart, Hamilton seems to be arguing directly against Seabury rather than Seabury’s beliefs. Moreover, the fanart makes Hamilton look as though he is making an enemy out of Seabury while Seabury seems more level headed. The fanart makes the dialogue between the two seem public as though it occurred at the center of town. This is indicated by the stage on which they stand, the town hall in the background, and the throng surrounding the stage. In addition, the placement of Hamilton face behind the sun and in color along with his irate facial expression makes Hamilton seem more passionate about his cause than Seabury. Overall, the fanart gives the impression that Seabury was spreading his message to condemn the Continental Congress before Hamilton dramatically grabs his writings and tears them apart.
In my own statistical analysis of the play Hamilton, I believe I can make comparisons among details in the original musical rather than simply focusing on main ideas. For example, rather than counting the number of mentions of George Washington during songs pertaining to the Revolutionary War, I will try to focus on the context of those mentions—such as if Washington’s allies or enemies discuss him more among different musicals about American Independence.