In Hamilton, John Laurens (Anthony Ramos) is one of Alexander (Lin-Manuel Miranda)'s closest friends, but was there more to their relationship?
The musical Hamilton features the close relationship between Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda) and John Laurens (Anthony Ramos), but there are some historical suggestions that the pair also had a love affair. Although Hamilton focuses on Alexander's rise and fall within the U.S. political sphere, it also takes its time to develop his personal relationships, and he ends up having several love interests in the show.
Aside from his wife, Eliza (Phillipa Soo), there's also the matter of Alexander's affair with Maria Reynolds (Jasmine Cephas Jones). Meanwhile, there is constant debate over whether or not Alexander Hamilton had feelings for Angelica Schuyler (Renee Elise Goldsberry). The musical hints at this in her song "Satisfied", which plays on the letters sent between the two and historical analysis that suggests while they didn't have an affair, there was a clear attraction and some flirting going on. But while they're all rather transparent in the musical, the other person Alexander might've had an affair with is his close friend, John Laurens.
It's undeniable that Hamilton and Laurens were close, but the extent of that is something that remains uncertain. Letters written from the former to the latter do hint at something greater between the pair, with one from 1779, for example, finding Hamilton writing: "Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my Dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love you... You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent. But as you have done it and as we are generally indulgent to those we love, I shall not scruple to pardon the fraud you have committed." [via Founders Online] This is just one of many letters sent between the pair, exuding a level of warmth and affection that does clearly contain feelings of love, though not necessarily of a sexual nature.
It's not impossible that the two were lovers, though if they were then it's hardly surprising there's no historical evidence to confirm it, since it would've been illegal at the time. Biographers of Hamilton, including Ron Chernow, whose book Alexander Hamilton was adapted into the musical, have generally stressed that it's impossible to be 100% certain whether or not the two did have an affair, although it may have been somewhat unlikely, given the great risks involved to both parties, their careers and their reputations, and the potential for such a secret to get out. Although both men would marry, that itself is no confirmation that they weren't lovers, and indeed a later letter to Laurens from Hamilton regarding his marriage to Eliza reads: "I have still a part for the public and another for you." Again, though, this could quite easily just be referring to the close bond between them, and the affection displayed in these letters wasn't uncommon for the time, not least given their friendship had been formed by war.
The musical itself only drops the slightest hints towards any such notions. In one of Hamilton's best songs, "My Shot", Miranda's Alexander sings "Laurens, I like you a lot." Meanwhile, the pair are generally shown on stage to be close, but there's little else to play on the idea of them having a sexual relationship (although plenty of Hamilton fans have shipped the couple, known as "Lams"). It'll remain an unanswered question of whether their friendship was anything more, but either way the pair obviously loved each other, and that shines through in the musical and Miranda and Ramos' performances.
Next: Hamilton Ending: Alexander’s Death & The Final Song Explained
