I am currently going though a phase in which I love listening to the soundtrack from the musical Hamilton, especially while I am doing homework, and I have begun to notice that some of the themes that Milton writes about were and still are key issues in the foundations of American society. Two of the topics that Milton wrote about are free will (the rights of the people), and the rights of a ruler to lead.

In Milton’s Paradise Lost both the rebel band of angels and the humans in Eden struggle against the rules and assert their freedom by making choices contrary to dictate and by speaking out against what they view as injustice. Similarly, in American history, the colonists who believed that there was injustice in their government and who wanted to improve their society spoke out for what they believed and instigated a change.

Also touched upon in Milton’s writing is what source of power leader’s derive their right to lead from and what liberties leaders have. In Milton’s story, God’s power was derived from his claimed omnipotence, his wealth of knowledge that others lacked, and from the fact that God had been in existence the longest. Similarly, Britain claimed power over the 13 colonies because it was larger, older, and more experienced.  But in both cases, precedence and the appearance of power were not enough to maintain their kingdom. For both situations, there was a constituency who felt neglected and abused by the power that ruled them, causing tension, and eventually leading to an uprising.

I believe that it is important to think about these issues so that we are able to support what we truly understand and believe in. What rights do you believe that everyone has and what limits are there to personal freedoms? What rights do rulers have? At what point is it acceptable to rebel against an established authority and when is it wrong to do so? These are all question that, especially with the upcoming presidential elections, are things to consider (although I doubt that very many of you are planning to over-through the current government 🙂 ). Happy voting!

Link to Hamiltion soundtrack on Youtube