Hamilton etc.

There is limited holiday related content among the history and book related content on C-SPAN this weekend.  It is a timely time to drop Hamilton though Disney Plus recently stopped having a free trial.  I have listened to the soundtrack, but do not want to pay to watch it on my computer screen.  There have been a lot of commentary, both supportive and not, and here are some links with a historian point of view. One view is that the use of POC as cast members colors, shall we say, our views of the subject, including how some people can rebel.  Note also this discussion of the often quoted "sleep under bridges" metaphor even by conservatives who seem not to consistently apply its principles.

In general, its helpful to get some background to understand the context of the holiday and the Declaration of Independence, which is specifically what happened today.  Independence itself was declared a couple days before.  I'm re-reading Carl Becker's classical book on the philosophy of the document. There is a lot of complexity in a few paragraphs, including to me a bit near the end of what independent nations "may of right do."  Not everything as I argued in the Bush torture days.  You can check out here to get more information on the charges against the king and a bit here on one not included.