Tag: hamilton

Who do you think was the discipline parent? I have no idea why, but I was thinking about this earlier. I assume that Alex was like the chill dad, and Eliza more of the strict parent. Also, I imagine, Eliza was strict, but loving.

runawayforthesummer:

I feel like they were actually pretty good parents, if somewhat typical for their time (Eliza is going to do day to day stuff; Hamilton will take care of the boys’ education, etc).  They didn’t buddy up to their kids.  Like, being a parent is not about being your child’s friend!  At the same time, they were loving (like I can’t get over that letter to Philip that’s like “we love you and are so proud of you”).  

Like, not to make them seem perfect or like they had perfect children, but I feel like there’s this attitude of “we are in charge so fall in line” that I think their kids probably responded to, in part because they were also really loving.

I also don’t see either of them as yellers.  It was said that if Eliza were upset, her voice got very low.  And Ham was also soft-spoken, even if he talked for 1000 years one time without stopping.  

As far as like correcting behavior (making sure they were polite and knew their manners, etc.), that definitely seems to have fallen on Eliza, which would’ve been expected. She was the one up early doing the bible lessons with the little ones while preparing breakfast, etc.  She was also, of course, the one at the window waving them off when she couldn’t come kiss them during the Yellow Fever scare.  

I also love that story of someone coming over and Ham is taking a break from working and playing with his kids on the ground, but I don’t know how chill I think he necessarily was.  I think he may have been indulgent (it’s possible they both were), but he is also the dude that wrote out the Rules for Philip Hamilton, which are pretty helicopter parent-like. He was also the parent who wanted to make sure none of the kids was ever without a parent.  They both seemed concerned, especially, about NYC after the turn of the century and were pretty watchful over those kids, if they weren’t being sent to Albany where they might be protected from the evil city.

I think these two wanted to be parents and liked being parents.  The way Ham talks about his kids is so fucking cute (see: baby Philip; toddler Eliza).  And I love when Philip Schuyler tried to keep them longer in 1793, the Hams were like “nah.  Send us back our kids!  We love them!”  I think it’s clear Ham was delighted by them and he seemed to think Eliza was a pretty fantastic mother and his children did not disagree.

But I do think if something major happened, Hamilton could definitely turn on the scary dad voice. I have a feeling a lot of the squabbles between the siblings were dealt with by Eliza, in part because we don’t hear Ham having a reaction to them in his letters, right?  There’s no “I will deal with Alex and James when I get home,” etc.  But, like, I’m positive he would be the one to give out a harsh punishment.

In fact, Ham being in charge of the Big Choices (punishment/education/career) seemed to really weigh on Eliza after he died when it was all left to her.  Those are big things to take on when you’re used to either your partner doing it or at least having your partner to discuss it with.

At the Grange, his office was pretty much private.  Unless you were Eliza, you need permission to enter.  So, like, just imagine being one of his teenage sons and being called into dad’s office.  Yikes.

So yeah, I guess to ultimately answer your question, I think, like anything, it just depends on the circumstance.

[After the Battle of Monmouth], Washington, who had been in the saddle since daybreak, threw himself under a tree to sleep, confident of a victory on the morrow. [Hamilton and Laurens went to wash their hair in the stream, and then] They sought out Washington and lay down beside him. The American army slept as though its soul had withdrawn to another realm where repose is undisturbed. […]

Once Washington awoke, raised himself on his elbow, and listened intently. But he could hear nothing but the deep breathing of his weary army. The stars were brilliant. He glanced about his immediate vicinity with a flicker of amusement and pleasure in his eyes. The young men of his household were crowded close about him; he had nearly planted his elbow on Hamilton’s profile. Laurens, Tilghman, Meade, even Lafayette, were there, and they barely had left him room to turn over. He knew that these worshipping young enthusiasts were all ready and eager to die for him, and that in spite of his rigid formality they were quite aware of his weak spot, and did not hesitate to manifest their affection. For a moment the loneliest man on earth felt as warmly companioned as if he were raising a family of rollicking boys; then he gently lifted Hamilton out of the way, and slept again.

The Conqueror, by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton

This beautiful person in 1902 wrote Washington resting in a puppy pile of his aides, she must be made this fandom’s patron saint.

(via saint-olga)

  • Ham and Laurens ‘washing their hair’ in the stream.
  • GW nearly elbowing Ham in the face.
  • the aides taking up all the space, leaving nothing for GW
  • the aides knowing he’s a softie and taking advantage of that
  • ‘rollicking’
  • gently lifted Hamilton?
  • saint-olga’s description of this arrangement as ‘puppy pile’

(via baronvonstuben)

john-laurens:

So you like the original Gay Trio that is Alexander Hamilton, John Laurens, and the Marquis de Lafayette.  But now you’re looking for someone new to study.  Could there be another trio that fulfills your desire to research the Revolutionary War era and queer history?

The answer is yes.  Allow me to introduce you to the Gay Trio: Geneva Edition.  Featuring…

Francis Kinloch.  The Alexander Hamilton of the group.  Very possibly a polyamorous bisexual man.  Exchanged some particularly affectionate letters with Vegobre and Laurens.

Louis de Manoel de Vegobre.  The Lafayette of the group.  Swiss man who starts out only knowing French, but he learns English from Laurens and finds true joy in every bit of English he reads or hears.  He learns
about America and literally cries because of the hardships that may befall America because of the war.  Calls Kinloch “my beloved.”

And John Laurens as John Laurens.  Doing his usual John Laurens things.  The only difference is that he’s in Geneva.

There’s more to come on this, so stay tuned for some new quotes and information!

In May and July there were illustrious additions to Washington’s family,–John Laurens and Lafayette. Both became the intimate friends of Hamilton, the former one of the few passionate attachments of his life. Although Hamilton was by no means indifferent to the affection he inspired in nine—tenths of the people he met, he did not himself love easily. […]
Lafayette, brilliant, volatile, accomplished, bubbling with enthusiasm for the cause of Liberty, and his own age within a few months, he liked sincerely and always. There was no end to the favours he did him, and Lafayette loved no one better in his long and various career. […]
Laurens, the “young Bayard of the Revolution,” fresh from the colleges and courts of Europe, a man so handsome that, we are told, people experienced a certain shock when he entered the room, courtly, accomplished to the highest degree, of flawless character, with a mind as noble and elevated as it was intellectual, and burning with the most elevated patriotism,–he took Hamilton by storm, capturing judgement as well as heart, and loving him as ardently in return.
[…] The unhappiest of men, praying for death on every battlefield, he lived long enough to distinguish himself by a bravery so reckless, by such startling heroic feats, that he was, beyond all question, the popular young hero of the Revolution. He worshipped Washington as one might worship a demi—god, and risked his life for him on two occasions. But Hamilton was the friend of his life; the bond between them was romantic and chivalrous. Each burned to prove the strength of his affection, to sacrifice himself for the other.

The Conqueror, by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton, 1902

I’m reading this fanfiction, sorry, biography, and it is glorious.

(via saint-olga)