by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Photo credit: Brendan Kownacki
“This is kind of a reboot for studying American history,” said Archivist of the United States David Ferriero at the annual National Archives Foundation gala, referring to the Broadway smash hit Hamilton and its team that would be honored with the 2016 Records of Achievement Award. Being honored were Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ron Chernow, Tony and Emmy-award winning director Thomas Kail, and Tony, Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, lyricist and performer Lin-Manuel Miranda, the man who made history cool again to the masses.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, David Ferriero, Ron Chernow, Thomas Kail
The Records of Achievement Award is the top honor given by the National Archives Foundation, given to individuals who have created “broader national awareness of the history and identity of the United States through the use of original National Archives records.”
“To have a Broadway musical to have such an impact on how people learn about their history in such a clever way is such a rewarding experience for us. We hold the records of the country, Ron Chernow used those records to write the biography, Tommy and Lin-Manuel then took that and created something that no one could possibly imagine,” emphasized Ferriero about the underlying connection between the show, the honorees and historical education. 2016 has been a landmark year for the Archives with both fundraising and visitors, and though the connection to Hamilton isn’t rock-solid, it’s hard to remember another time in recent memory when a founding father was a pop culture icon.
Taylor Branch, Cokie Roberts, Ken Burns
“It seems like the appropriate place to honor Hamilton,” said Chernow about the venue and the opportunity to dine beside the charter documents of the United States, including some written by Hamilton himself.
Miranda expressed some regret that he never visited the Archives before setting the musical loose on stage, but all with the wonderment clearly across his face from being in the presence of living history and contributing to the continuation of the narrative. “At every stage of Hamilton’s life, students are always going to be a priority,” he said, talking about initiatives to bring thousands of young people to the theater for both entertainment and educational experiences.
Miranda commented broadly about historical and current affairs problems by comparing political strife to family arguments and said, “they’re our fights” and that the same debates will rise and fall as disagreements, “you don’t solve your family issues, you just keep talking them out…but you’ve gotta keep talking.”
Take a look at the honorees and special guests behind the scenes of the special evening:
