September 5, 2017

Dear American Studies Students,

The founding fathers: were certain youve heard that phrase echoed dozens (or hundreds) of times throughout
your education. But aside from those men, who is left out of the story of the founding of America? Why have
those peoples voices and stories not been more a part of the narrative of our countrys founding? While the
founding fathers were genius in determining policy, transitioning government away from British authority, and
representing the new country in political chambers and on bloodied battlefields, surely the c ollective voices of
this new America held equal importance.

Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the hip-hop musical H amilton after reading Ron Chernows biography of Alexander
Hamilton while on vacation with his family in 2008. Since production began at the off-Broadway Public Theater
in February 2015, Hamilton has become a cultural mainstay and the hottest ticket in the world. The musical
moved to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in August 2015, and have since won 11 Tony Awards, a
Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Miranda is a Puerto Rican American male, born and raised in New York City, who is married to his high school
sweetheart. He carries the blood of American slavery in his DNA. He doesnt look like any of the founding
fathers, yet here he is in 2017 proudly sharing the story of Alexander Hamilton in his role as one of those men.
On stage, Miranda is surrounded by women and men of all races, creeds, and color. Together, this
multicultural group shares this story of Americas founding with an audience that understands the plays
symbolism of an America in 2016 that looks - and feels - much different than 240 years ago.

One of the big driving questions of Hamilton is ...who lives, who dies, and who tells your story? Think about
that for a moment. Your story. Their story. It is typical (and unfortunately, part of what makes us human) that
winners of conquest typically author historical research, which often leaves the voices of the lost, the silenced,
and the different...dead.

That is your challenge. Learn about the founding of America, and research founding documents and speeches,
from a different perspective than that of just the founding fathers. Bring those different perspectives - of native
peoples, black slaves, women, and British citizens - to light through your own research, your own writing, and
ultimately your own hip-hop rap battles, just as Lin-Manuel Miranda does on Broadway with H amilton.

Throughout the four weeks of this project, we want you to follow Lin-Manuel Miranda on Instagram
(@hamiltonmusical and @peace.love.lin) and Twitter (@Lin_Manuel). Tag his social media accounts with
amilton-inspired rap battles through an Instagram story -
some of your research findings - and even your H
while always using the hashtag #bhshamilton. Lets try to get his attention with a social media like, share, or
reply from this talented individual. Who knows, maybe hell get in contact with us!

Good luck, and we look forward to seeing your progress through to the project end on Friday, September 29
when you perform in front of the BHS.

Sincerely,

Mr. Hinchliff