Comparison Of Alexander Hamilton Song And The Immigrant Story

There are many parallels between Alexander Hamilton’s story and the traditional immigrant story. At first it might not seem like it; with Alexander Hamilton coming from a wealthy family and most immigrants coming from poorer backgrounds, but the immigrant story is not just based on money. In fact money only makes up a small percentage for why people immigrate. For most their reasoning is to have a better life for themselves and perhaps their families. This idea is not descriptive of one class of people. It applies to all classes. It shouldn’t matter what your background is for the immigrant story to apply. Other similarities can also be drawn from the two stories. The Alexander Hamilton song and the Immigrant’s (We Get the job Done) video include some of the similarities.

The song gives it’s audience a brief overview of Hamilton’s life before he came to America.

He was born out of wedlock, and lived on an island in the Caribbean with his mother and father. Then when he was ten his father left them both. Two years later his mother got very sick and died. When he was fourteen he got put in charge of a trading charter which ended up being destroyed by a hurricane. He then decided to write a refrain which got the attention of some government officials who then paid for him to leave the island, come to America, and get an education. As you can see, Hamilton came from rough beginnings and wanted to improve his situation. He used his skills and tried to grab someone’s attention and it worked. Already the ties to an immigrant story are clear with him using his skills to improve his situation. Although he was born from wealth his situation was not ideal and he wanted to change that for the better. Another tie to an immigrant story is that he brought his skills and knowledge. All immigrants bring their knowledge, skills, and customs with them wherever they go so Hamilton is not unlike the traditional

immigrant.
The video showcases differences between what immigration is like now and how it’s different from the time of Alexander Hamilton. It’s pointed out that although the nation was founded by immigrants, people today are against immigration which is an amazing hypocrisy of our society. Immigrants form the background of our society. Often times the have the less desirable jobs and work the longest and hardest hours. The difference between now and then is that in Hamilton’s time, immigrants were forming society and now society has already been formed so the first immigrants’ families are wealthier than immigrants coming in now. Like the immigrants of today, Hamilton shaped society and worked towards building a name for himself.
Interestingly enough, there are not a whole lot of differences between Hamilton’s story and that of a traditional immigrant story. Mostly, what has changed is the context. America in the 1700s’ to the early 1800’s was just starting out and people wanted more people to come over to build a new country. Now the United States has already been established, some people might think that it is already developed enough and that there is no room in the country. Some people even believe that being an American makes them better and having wealth shows their superiority to other citizens. This goes against the Declaration of Independence which states that all Men are created equal. In conclusion, Alexander Hamilton’s story is just the different version of the traditional immigration story.