The Big Question: Was Alexander Hamilton Jewish?
A Q&A with historian Andrew Porwancher on uncovering a surprising truth about Hamilton’s upbringing and how it shaped the destiny of Jews in America.
Hamilton’s grave at Trinity Church in Manhattan.
Photographer: Justin Fox/BloombergThis is one of a series of interviews by Bloomberg Opinion columnists on how to solve the world’s most pressing policy challenges. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Justin Fox: You’re a professor of history at the University of Oklahoma and author of a new book on Alexander Hamilton — one of our most obsessed-about founding fathers, thanks in part to the musical “Hamilton.” You’ve discovered something surprising about Hamilton, which is that he was...probably kinda-sorta Jewish.
Andrew Porwancher, author, “The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton”: Yes, the balance of evidence suggests that Hamilton in all likelihood had a Jewish identity in his youth in the Caribbean.