The National Constitution Center’s prestigious Liberty Medal typically honors notables from presidents to civil rights leaders, but this year, for the first time in its 37-year history, the award spotlights a work of art: "Hamilton," alongside the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow, who wrote the 2004 book on which the musical is based.

The recognition, which comes with a $100,000 prize, celebrates the global theatrical sensation on its 10th anniversary as it has become what NCC president Jeffrey Rosen calls one of the “most influential works of American history” that inspired “a movement for civic education.” The musical’s $50,000 portion of the award will go to Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s Hamilton Education Program.

“It’s just introduced a whole generation of citizens and learners to history because the music is so good and the story is so catchy,” Rosen told The Inquirer. “The most exciting thing is seeing young kids who have got the fire of learning about history because of the musical — you see it in their eyes. … When people come to Signers’ Hall, which is our most inspiring space, [with] life-size statues of the Framers, everyone walks up to [Alexander] Hamilton first.”

At the Liberty Medal ceremony Friday night, Chernow acknowledged that when he began writing his book in 1998, Alexander Hamilton was “fading into obscurity.” The book became a bestseller and was optioned as a feature film multiple times, but Hollywood executives repeatedly told him that “no mass audience existed for a drama about a founding father.”

Then he met Lin-Manuel Miranda, who told the biographer that Hamilton’s life was a “classic hip-hop narrative” and that he could already see lyrics coming off the pages.

“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Pal, I have no idea what you’re talking about,’” Chernow told the audience, chuckling. Still, he agreed to serve as historical consultant, and as they developed the musical, Chernow saw promise in Miranda’s innovative and unusual pairing.

“Hip-hop music has a kind of driving, propulsive quality, which actually matches Hamilton’s personality,” he said.

Chernow recalled attending an early rehearsal in 2012, where he initially balked at the casting — he was surprised that all the actors were Black and Latino and thought it was a “dreadful mistake.” But then he heard them sing.

“They infused the lyrics with such rich spirit that I thought, but of course, revolutions are made by young people full of idealism, by outsiders who would like their fair place in society,” Chernow said. “A multiracial, multicultural cast suddenly seemed like an ingenious idea, the highest fulfillment of a Constitution that never mentioned the word slavery, but clearly, if reluctantly, condoned it. Those who were edited out of the story would now be edited back into it.”

The production went on to become a Broadway blockbuster, winning 11 Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2016. Alexander Hamilton is now known as a “striving immigrant who wrote his way out of poverty, a rapping champion of the American dream,” said Rosen, who credits Chernow and Miranda with reviving interest in the historical figure.

Chernow, who has also written authoritative tomes on George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant, demonstrates that “the role of the historian can be dramatic, exciting, and even heroic,” Rosen said. He cited Chernow as inspiration for his own forthcoming book, "The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America."

The evening also featured a performance by Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts alum Ta’Rea Campbell, the Philly-born actor behind Angelica Schuyler in multiple Hamilton national tours, who sang a rousing rendition of “Satisfied,” Chernow’s favorite song. Heather Leslie Sanchez of Carteret, N.J., a senior at Piscataway Magnet School and a winner of the Hamilton Education Program competition, performed her own Hamilton-inspired song, “Letters from Washington to Congress.”

Previous Liberty Medal recipients include the Dalai Lama, President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, activist Malala Yousafzai, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. While artists like documentarian Ken Burns, director Steven Spielberg, and U2 front man Bono have been awarded, "Hamilton" marks the first artwork to receive the recognition.

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