August 6, 2025, marks the 10th anniversary of “Hamilton: An American Musical’s” Broadway debut at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2015. The musical, written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, was praised for its innovative blend of hip-hop to tell a fresh historical narrative. But a decade after its debut, one not-so-minor detail about the real Alexander Hamilton is still up for debate: Was Hamilton Black?
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Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father of the United States, was born around mid-January in 1755 or 1757 on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies. Many folks speculate that because many of Hamilton’s children, who were born out of wedlock in the Caribbean, were of mixed race, that implies Hamilton may have had mixed ancestry himself. (In the West Indies, illegitimacy often correlated with racial mixing.) These rumors most likely stemmed from the “one-drop rule,” a racial classification from the 20th century in the United States. It asserted any person with any amount of African ancestry, even just “one drop” of “Black blood,” was considered Black. This was regardless of their appearance or how they identified. A person with a known Black ancestor was classified as Black. Period.
Historians and Ron Chernow, a biographer, called claims of Hamilton’s “Blackness” pure speculation because there’s no definitive evidence exists that proves it. Even with the “one drop rule,” that didn’t start until the 20th century, way after Hamilton’s 18th century life and death, making the rule irrelevant to any debate about his racial identity. According to historians, his father James Hamilton, who was the fourth son of the Laird of Grange, was of Scottish descent. His mother, Rachel Faucette, was of French‑Huguenot and English descent.
With that in mind, why was Hamilton portrayed by Lin-Manuel Miranda (who is of Puerto Rican descent and also has distant African American ancestry), in the highly-acclaimed Broadway musical? That choice was reportedly just that… a choice. It wasn’t a matter of “color-blind” casting, but rather a conscious “color-conscious” decision with several layers of meaning. Miranda admitted he wanted “Hamilton’s” cast to reflect the diversity of modern America, showing that the story of America’s founding belongs to everyone and not just the white men who were historically in power. Hamilton was also an immigrant from the West Indies, and casting a diverse group of actors, many of whom are from immigrant backgrounds themselves, resonates with Hamilton’s story as an outsider who had to fight his way to the top. Hamilton went on to become a key figure in the American Revolution and the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury.
Not to mention how historically “white” Broadway has been. Miranda’s goal was to create more opportunities for actors of color, and the show was written with non-white actors in mind for almost every major role.
So regardless of who portrays Hamilton on-stage, there is no verified evidence that proves Alexander Hamilton was Black or had African ancestry and rumors suggesting otherwise are just that, rumors. At least for now.
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