Summary

Chapter 26, Introduction: McCarter introduces a “sequence of four songs that illustrate the destructive power of language, and the perplexing fact that Alexander Hamilton never use words more devastatingly than when he used them himself” (225). McCarter then sums up the history: how political manipulation by three politicians led to the truth about the affair between Hamilton and Maria Reynolds being revealed, as well as the money paid to Reynolds’ husband; how in response, Hamilton published a pamphlet trying to explain himself; and how, as a result, his political and personal reputation were ruined.

Chapter 27, Introduction: McCarter describes the excited, volatile intensity of the audience during the first preview performance at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, and how the members of the company were shaken, frightened, and exhilarated by that intensity. He comments that at a post-preview company meeting, one of its youngest members (Anthony Ramos), who...