HAMILTON's Daveed Diggs And The Troubling Legacy Of Thomas Jefferson

For nearly 240 years Americans have had an uneasy relationship with Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia slave-owner who penned the words that are the cornerstone of our democracy, "All men are created equal."

In 1969, Peter Stone, the bookwriter of the Broadway musical 1776, had our eventual third president meekly respond to charges of hypocrisy by saying that he had already resolved to release his slaves. Since that musical's opening, scholars have made further discoveries about Jefferson's relationship with his female slaves that have added an even more discomforting layer to the moment.

In Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON, Jefferson's blasé attitude about his ownership of slaves is more directly attacked and modern-day audiences are less willing to sympathize.

"It's tricky with Jefferson because there are so many things about him that I disagree with," says Daveed Diggs, the actor who plays the title character's fellow military hero, the Marquis de Lafayette, in act one and then switches to become Hamilton's major political adversary, Jefferson, in the second half.

"I think if you embrace all of his contradictions, you can end up with a lot of things about him that are great, but you still have to remember that he was a slave owner," he tells Time Magazine.

The son of a white, Jewish mother and an African-American father, Diggs' physical appearance is a part of the musical's concept of presenting the white historical figures as an assortment of contemporary, racially diverse characters. This particularly comes into play when Diggs calls an ensemble member "Sally," a reference to Sally Hemings, the slave with which Jefferson's believed to have fathered six children.

Alexander Hamilton biographer, Ron Chernow, whose book was the musical's inspiration, was a part of the rehearsal process, and Diggs credits his input for helping to balance history and art.

"We had Ron in the room most of the time, which was incredible. We'd be like, 'So, if I do this thing with the character does that ruin history or is it, like, a fair adaptation?'"

Director Thomas Kail, as Diggs puts it, advised the cast not to make their character interpretations into a book report.

"We were to use what was useful in terms of telling this version of the story, and the way that we made [Jefferson] function in the show is to make him incredibly charismatic."

"History is about who tells it," he continues, "and I feel like I've been given this opportunity to like, re-imagine and retell the story. I think it's cool that the association of all of us in this particular production with these characters gives audiences a reason to learn more about them."

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The new musical Hamilton has book, music and lyrics by Tony and Grammy Award-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also plays the title role. The musical is directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehlerand music direction and orchestrations byAlex Lacamoire. Hamilton is inspired by Ron Chernow's biography "Alexander Hamilton."

The cast of Hamilton is comprised of Lin-Manuel Miranda (Alexander Hamilton), Daveed Diggs(Marquis De Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler),Christopher Jackson (George Washington), Rory O'Malley (King George), Jasmine Cephas Jones (Peggy Schuyler, Maria Reynolds), Javier Muñoz (Hamilton alternate), Okieriete Onaodowan (Hercules Mulligan, James Madison), Leslie Odom, Jr. (Aaron Burr),Anthony Ramos(John Laurens, PhilipHamilton) andPhillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton).

HAMILTON is the acclaimed new musical about the scrappy young immigrant AlexanderHamilton, the $10 Founding Father who forever changed America with his revolutionary ideas and actions. During his life cut too short, he served as George Washington's chief aide, was the first Treasury Secretary, a loving husband and father, despised by his fellow Founding Fathers and shot to death by Aaron Burrin their legendary duel.