--- title: Alexander Hamilton Papers Digitized at Library of Congress description: The world's largest collection of Alexander Hamilton papers, housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., is now available online. canonical: https://time.com/4915127/alexander-hamilton-papers-archive/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-29T04:01:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:12.212Z article:section: History og:title: Alexander Hamilton Papers Digitized at Library of Congress og:description: They're part of the world's largest collection of Alexander Hamilton papers, housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. og:url: https://time.com/4915127/alexander-hamilton-papers-archive/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f62f5ecacbd3818/6988db8b97cdff64206b23a0/hamilton.jpeg?branch=production&width=643&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 643 og:image:height: 362 og:image:alt: Alexander Hamilton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Alexander Hamilton Papers Digitized at Library of Congress twitter:description: They're part of the world's largest collection of Alexander Hamilton papers, housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f62f5ecacbd3818/6988db8b97cdff64206b23a0/hamilton.jpeg?branch=production&width=643&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 03:15 video:published: 2016-04-15 section: entertainment topics: legacy, your 20s, career uncertainty, odd jobs, hip-hop narrative, casting actors of color, diversity in theater, immigrants, Latino neighborhood, Hamilton's accomplishments genre: interview, profile tones: reflective, earnest, inspiring, candid emotions: determination (high), hope (high), anxiety (medium), pride (medium) sentiment: positive audience: theater fans, Hamilton fans, young adults, aspiring writers and artists, general audiences people: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alexander Hamilton, Hercules Mulligan products: Hamilton, In the Heights content_suitability: politics [02:06-02:26] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Rare Alexander Hamilton Letters Made Public for First Time > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=462d41bf-8f3c-4049-89d0-404cb4f51add&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=462d41bf-8f3c-4049-89d0-404cb4f51add&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME 100: Lin-Manuel Miranda [Watch (HLS stream): TIME 100: Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CkkpSse6.m3u8) (3:15)  _Published 2016-04-15. Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda Advice on Surviving Yours 20s_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Lin-Manuel Miranda reflects on legacy, the uncertainty of his 20s and the odd jobs he held while writing In the Heights. He explains why he sees Hamilton's story as a hip-hop narrative about a writer who rises through his writing. He describes casting people of color and hopes the show encourages casts that reflect the country. He also speaks about the word immigrant and says audiences leave the theater asking what they are doing with their lives. ## Key points - Miranda says he has been worried about legacy since childhood and shares that concern with Hamilton, which the show states outright. (00:00) - He names the terror of not knowing whether you will accomplish what you set out to do, or who you will be, as the drawback of your 20s. (00:25) - Miranda taught seventh grade English, danced in bar mitzvahs, wrote political jingles and was a substitute teacher while writing In the Heights, keeping time flexible for writing. (00:30) - He calls it staggeringly clear that Hamilton's story is a hip-hop narrative about a writer who transcends his circumstances through writing. (00:52) - Miranda cast the show in his head with people of color, picturing artists who were a musical match for the characters rather than the literal founding fathers. (01:09) - He hopes the show's legacy is a cast of actors of color with no movie stars that still does well, encouraging casts reflecting the country. (01:44) - He says a cast reflecting the country eliminates distance between a contemporary audience and a story from over 200 years ago. (01:54) - Miranda associates the word immigrant with positive connotations, rooted in his Latino neighborhood at the top of Manhattan, and says that is what he recognized in Hamilton. (02:21) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:25] Legacy and the grain of sand. Miranda describes a lifelong concern with what people leave behind and says Hamilton shares it. - [00:25 to 00:52] Surviving your 20s and odd jobs. He describes the uncertainty of his 20s and the jobs he held to keep time free for writing. - [00:52 to 01:09] Hamilton as a hip-hop narrative. He explains that Hamilton wrote his way out of poverty and into power. - [01:09 to 02:06] Casting people of color. He discusses casting the show with actors of color and hopes it shapes future productions. - [02:06 to 02:49] Immigrants and recognizing Hamilton. He responds to politicians' use of the word immigrant and describes the immigrant narrative he grew up around. - [02:49 to 03:15] Audiences asking about their legacy. He says Hamilton's accomplishments lead theatergoers to question what they are doing with their lives. ## Key quotes - [00:10] Lin-Manuel Miranda: "And what do we leave behind? I think that question has gnawed at me as long as I've been conscious." - [00:25] Lin-Manuel Miranda: "The drawback of your 20s is the terror of not knowing if you're actually going to accomplish what you set out to accomplish." - [01:01] Lin-Manuel Miranda: "Really what Hamilton did was he wrote his way out of poverty, he wrote his way into power." - [02:21] Lin-Manuel Miranda: "To me, immigrant, that word has only positive connotations." - [02:49] Lin-Manuel Miranda: "Everyone who leaves the theater goes, wow, well, what am I doing with my life? What is my legacy?" ## Questions this video answers - What does Lin-Manuel Miranda see as the drawback of your 20s? [00:25] - What jobs did Miranda hold while writing In the Heights? [00:30] - Why does Miranda call Hamilton's story a hip-hop narrative? [00:52] - How did Miranda approach casting the characters of Hamilton? [01:09] - What does the word immigrant mean to Miranda? [02:21] - How does Miranda say audiences react after seeing Hamilton? [02:49] ## Content suitability - politics [02:06-02:26]: Miranda criticizes politicians who link the word immigrant to pejorative terms such as rapists and killers.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Aug 29, 2017 4:01 AM UTC  Portrait of founding father Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, ca. 1806. Portrait of founding father Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, ca. 1806. National Gallery Of Art /The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Aug 29, 2017 4:01 AM UTC To answer the question posed by the musical [_Hamilton_](https://time.com/nextadvisor/loans/personal-loans/can-you-get-a-personal-loan-with-bad-credit/) — how did a “bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman” become one of the Founding Fathers of the United States? — you don’t need to score a ticket to the hit show. Thanks to a new project at the Library of Congress, it just became easier to figure it out online. The world’s largest collection of Alexander Hamilton papers, housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., has been digitized, the library announced Tuesday. There are about 12,000 items in the collection, mostly dating from the Revolutionary War era in 1777 to the 1804 death of the Founding Father whose fame was renewed in the last few years by the Broadway show that bears his name. The online archive also includes 55 letters that the library recently bought at auction from a private collection, so there are some items that have not been publicly seen before. One example of Hamilton’s drive and ambition can be found in a letter that a 12- or 13-year-old Hamilton wrote to his friend Edward Stevens on Nov. 11, 1769: “Ned, my Ambition is prevalent that I contemn the grov’ling and condition of a Clerk or the like, to which my Fortune &c. condemns me and would willingly risk my life tho’ not my Character to exalt my Station…I mean to prepare the way for futurity. Im no Philosopher you see and may be jusly said to Build Castles in the Air…I shall Conclude saying I wish there was a War.” The letter now reads as prescient, given that he would make a name for himself during the Revolutionary War. And it was through his involvement in the American Revolution that he met the New York powerbroker who helped him take his career to new heights: Philip Schuyler, whose daughter Elizabeth he fell for and wed. Other items that historians may find significant, says Julie Miller, a historian of early America and curator in the Manuscripts Division, include letters that shine new light on Hamilton’s affectionate relationship with his father-in-law and others in which Schuyler expresses his concerns about yellow fever, which his daughter Elizabeth and Hamilton came down with when they were in Philadelphia while Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury. That latter material may prove useful to scholars studying the history of epidemics. The collection can now be found online at the [Library of Congress’ Alexander Hamilton Papers website.](https://www.loc.gov/collections/alexander-hamilton-papers/about-this-collection/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4915127/alexander-hamilton-papers-archive/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4915127/alexander-hamilton-papers-archive/"},"headline":"Rare Alexander Hamilton Letters Made Public for First Time","datePublished":"2017-08-29T04:01:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:12.212Z","description":"The world's largest collection of Alexander Hamilton papers, housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., is now available online","url":"https://time.com/4915127/alexander-hamilton-papers-archive/","keywords":["museums","Hamilton","Archives"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f62f5ecacbd3818/6988db8b97cdff64206b23a0/hamilton.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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