Recently, it is impossible to look at any news outlet and not be bombarded by images of the impeachment of Donald Trump. He is officially the third President of the United States to be impeached, and his trial currently stands in the Senate while they hear testimonies about whether to convict Trump and ultimately remove him from office. This is a monumental moment in history for many reasons: first and foremost if he is convicted in the Senate, he will be the first president in history to be removed from office. Secondly, these events are unfolding under a microscope, as the up and coming generations can’t ignore the bombardment of information pouring over all social media platforms.
While the whole process can seem daunting and beauracatic to those sitting on the outside, the chairman of the House, Adam Schiff, threw us, millennials, a bone. Schiff, the democratic leader of the House of Representatives, presented the opening arguments to the Senate for the impeachment trial, and the eloquence with which he spoke was rapturous. In addition to that though, he quoted many notable voices throughout history who had a hand in creating this great nation of ours. Most notably though, he presented poignant passages from Alexander Hamilton. As I watched the proceedings, I was held by Schiff’s intensity. I think this move was an intentional olive branch to the younger generations who are coming of voting age.
In my high school experience, Hamilton the Musical revolutionized my own personal views and shallow knowledge of our founding fathers by making them more accessible. I felt a kindred spirit in Hamilton with his nearly hysterical energy concerning academia and blazing a new path for a budding country. For myself, these tired idols we were told to memorize facts about, came to life, and sang. Despite not being theatre kids in the slightest, Hamilton influenced myself and my friend’s lives. We were suddenly drawn to something mainstream media had a hold of, and didn’t make us want to tear our hair out hearing about it.
This Hamilton frenzy which tore through my school was widely recognized. Nearly everyone of Millenial and Generation Z standing can name the founding fathers and rattle off some obscure trivia about them which was gleaned from the musical. I believe Adam Schiff knows this, and chose that specific founding father to try and reach some of the younger demographic. Making this decision to include Hamilton specifically was strategic, as was everything else that came out of his mouth over the consecutive three hours as he gave the opening remarks at the impeachment trial.
While Hamilton was known to write like “he was running out of time”, Schiff chose wisely to include a passage taken from a letter to George Washington. The passage has a familiar ring to it that “My Shot” has in the musical and resonantes within the impeachment trial:
“When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits – despotic in his ordinary demeanor – known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty – when such a man is seen to mounts the hobby horse of popularity – to join in the cry of danger to liberty – to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion – to flatter and fall in with all the non sense of the zealots of the day – It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind’”