We Know

Melody is reminiscent of People’s Court theme.

https://youtu.be/I0F-IHwgC-Q

Coming just a few songs after “One Last TIme,” which opens with the line “Mr. President,” “We Know” opens with the similar line “Mr. Vice President” to tie the songs together. Both songs serve a similar purpose in the story—their scenes break shocking news to Hamilton, leading into events which ultimately change his life for the worse. But while Washington’s retirement was bittersweet, and Hamilton learns to accept it, the revelation in “We Know” is purely bitter.

Historically, these men weren’t the original bearers of the evidence. James Monroe and Frederick Muhlenberg were the first few who knew. The confrontation occurred similarly to the rest of the song just with different players.

In line with the musical, though, Hamilton’s reaction to seeing these three men is very telling as to their relationship. He is scrupulously, one might even say insultingly, correct about their titles. With Burr in particular, he almost uses “Senator” as an insult. This isn’t surprising, as Burr has “stolen” Schuyler (his father in law)’s seat in the senate. It very pointedly illustrates the wedge between them.

Furthermore, Jefferson and Burr are operating in tandem, even though they’d been in opposing parties until very recently, and just a few years later they’ll be head to head in the Election of 1800. Seeing these three approach him together immediately sets off alarm bells in Hamilton’s head. He sounds extremely—and rightly—suspicious as he says, “What is this?”

Jefferson implies that Hamilton is not paying Reynolds from his pocket, but from other people’s pockets, perhaps the accounts of the Treasury.

In 2015 dollars, this comes out to over $18 grand, which is sliiiightly more than it costs to see Hamilton on Broadway.

And actually, Hamilton paid out even more than $1000 to Reynolds:

After such trysts occurred, James Reynolds would dispatch a request for funds—rather than demand sums comparable to his initial request of $1,000 dollars (which Hamilton paid), he would request $30 or $40, never explicitly mentioning Hamilton’s relationship with Maria but referring often to Hamilton’s promise to be a friend to him.

Hamilton first paid off Reynolds in two installments between December 22, 1791 and January 3, 1792. Sayeth the Secretary:

It is a little remarkable that an avaricious speculating Secretary of the Treasury should have been so straitened for money as to be obliged to satisfy an engagement of this sort by two different payments!

Hamilton is rushing the conversation. He comes off as dismissive of his rivals and their deductive powers, but there’s also a rhetorical element at work: he’s messing up his opponents rhythms with his bluster. As usual, Hamilton tries take control of the situation in order to talk his way out of it.

“By virtue of” means simply “because of.” Madison is using patronizingly formal language, while Jefferson can’t help interrupting with sly digs at Hamilton’s character. Jefferson scores a point though, the fact that “virtue” also refers to chastity makes for a pretty clever and fitting double meaning.

Also notice also the way “virtue” and “situate” are flipped around and change meaning from one line to the next. This motif reoccurs several times in this song.

In this case, the “sacred mission” that Madison is talking about, refers back to “Cabinet Battle #1” in which Hamilton goes toe to toe with Jefferson in an attempt to persuade President George Washington to establish a national bank to help America financially prosper. If Hamilton was “to seek financial gain,” he would be going against the very ideas he claimed would save the nation from debt and an economic fallout.

Jefferson relishes that he has a chance to “pull the trigger” on Hamilton, cutting off Madison and conveying his eagerness to contribute to Hamilton’s downfall.

Reynolds—clearly a bit of a con man—had engaged in speculation around the unpaid wages of Continental officers, and was jailed for it. He falsely told Muhlenberg’s clerk that Hamilton was involved in speculation as well.

Hamilton’s critics were particularly apt to seize on charges of speculation, since one of the primary criticisms of his controversial scheme of government debt was that it would fuel speculation. If Hamilton had actually engaged in it, it would imply he had not only improperly used funds, but that he might have made financial choices for the nation that were for his own benefit.

More anti-immigrant rhetoric. Burr suggests here that Hamilton is not part of the American government, not American—“an immigrant” who’s embezzling “our” (i.e. real Americans') government funds.

This echoes current debates in politics about immigrants to the United States, and whether or not they are coming to use American benefits.

This line also marks the beginning of the Caribbean melody to ridicule Hamilton’s heritage.

The influx of newspapers following the revolution caused a great deal of controversy, and politicians were frequently the subject of harsh criticism. Jefferson also mentions the press here.

By 1800, there were about 200 newspapers in existence, compared to about 30 in 1775. Jefferson voiced his approval of a free press, writing in 1787 that:

were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

This is particularly ironic considering that Hamilton founded the The New York Post newspaper, as acknowledged in “The Adams Administration”.

Meanwhile, Washington thought he was a little too busy to read the paper. However:

while in office, he sometimes was incensed at what he saw in print. In notes about a 1793 cabinet meeting, Secretary of State Jefferson recorded how the president went on in such “a high tone” about the paper of “that rascal” Freneau that the cabinet officers were momentarily stunned into silence.

Washington himself was declared “utterly incapable” and “the source of all the misfortunes of our country” by none other than Ben Franklin’s grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache, editor of the Aurora. An attack on Washington personally was rare, although the Washington administration was frequently labeled as “monarchial.”

Embezzlement certainly would’ve ruined Hamilton’s reputation and likely resulted in a jail term.

Jefferson and Madison are gleeful that they would have one less opponent and also that they uncovered a way to bring him down in a very public manner.

In the first act’s “Dear Theodosia,” Hamilton and Burr sang in harmony about their respective newly born children. Here, Burr is reminding Hamilton of the gravity of his misdeeds with a resonance that, because of their shared fatherhood, only he can muster.

Because of this, the line works on the level of both a concerned party reprimanding Hamilton for his reckless behavior, and a rival smugly using some of his personal knowledge of Hamilton against him. It’s a very sick Burr-n from history’s deadliest frenemy.

They’re mocking Hamilton’s background by imitating a Caribbean manner of speaking.

Combined with their frequently referring to Hamilton as “this immigrant” in “Washington On Your Side,” this suggests an element of anti-immigrant/xenophobic bigotry to their dislike of Hamilton.

If this line sounds reminiscent of Lauryn Hill’s “Lost Ones,” that’s because in the Off-Broadway version of this song, it was actually a direct quote:

You might win some but you just lost one

Miranda has said that the line was changed because it was basically impossible for them to get the rights to use it.

In its current iteration, this line more closely approximates a later line from “Lost Ones”: “My ting done made your kingdom wan' run.”

Also, the first two lines of Hill’s song match the feeling of the whole blackmail/accused embezzlement situation Hamilton finds himself in.

It’s funny how money change a situation
Miscommunication leads to complication

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdNFFC0p7N4

Even as Hamilton’s single greatest mistake falls into the hands of his political enemies, Hamilton is still so competitive and cocky that his very first response is arrogant joy at the fact that he has the better of his rivals, that they are deceived and unable to ruin him quite as they imagined. He is still that preoccupied with being “the smartest in the room.”

This first use of the word “know” in this song entitled “We Know,” ironically, comes from Hamilton pointing out an ignorance in his rivals. Throughout this song, this word is played off against the “no” that Hamilton found so hard to say back in “Say No to This,” whose subject matter this present song returns to with a vengeance. Hamilton has an easy time saying “know” here.

Jefferson/Madison/Burr want Hamilton to confess in the legal sense, acknowledging his guilt in the commission of a crime. Hamilton does confess, but more in the religious sense of acknowledging the commission of a sin.

If he had confessed to a crime, he would be punished/jailed/ruined. However, by confessing a sin, he is ultimately forgiven, by Eliza and by the American people.

Lin-Manuel Miranda makes a reference to the podcast “My Brother, My Brother and Me.”

https://twitter.com/lin_manuel/status/537319805163147264

The McElroy brothers often use “unless…” to add a twist to a goof. Here’s an example of the use of the line by the brothers.

Miranda once wrote a parody song for the podcast, “Fugue for Brotherhorns.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda makes a reference to the podcast “My Brother, My Brother and Me.”

https://twitter.com/lin_manuel/status/537319805163147264

The McElroy brothers often use “unless…” to add a twist to a goof. Here’s an example of the use of the line by the brothers.

Miranda once wrote a parody song for the podcast, “Fugue for Brotherhorns.”

This is an example of Hamilton defending his reputation rather than his family. He doesn’t want these three to learn about his affair, fearing they would use it against him. He uses it against himself.

Finally, Burr gets his chance to be in the room where it happens. Burr is so pleased by finally getting what he’s always wanted that that his signature tune and lyrics are sung in major. It will not happen again before the curtains fall.

Perhaps Burr’s major transposition of his tune is also symbolic of his concession that really, no one else was in the room where it happened, and that the Democratic-Republicans don’t know the whole story. Well, at least Hamilton tells them. He’s slightly sympathetic to Hamilton, now that they’re on the same level.

But from Burr-the-narrator’s perspective, this is a reminder to the audience: Although Hamilton giving his political rivals evidence of his infidelity was a very important historical event, it happened in private and was kept secret for years. Only the four people in that room truly know what happened there.

Some people even see a third message in this line: A fourth-wall-breaking reminder from Burr-the-narrator to Hamilton that “no one else was in the room where [his affair] happened” and he can still keep it secret—averting the events that will follow—if he doesn’t reveal it now.

No matter which interpretation you take, this line is an aside, not something that Burr actually vocalizes. But Hamilton hears it and interprets it as Burr being evasive and vague when confronted with a direct question. That further progresses their conflict over “talk less, smile more”, even if only on the meta level.

This is an unusual moment in the flow of the narrative. The main characters all have signature phrases and melodies that are repeated in various songs, but usually it’s a dramatic device for the audience’s benefit, rather than an actual line of dialogue.

Here, Hamilton not only hears Burr’s callback to a significant (and private) moment in his character arc, he’s clearly annoyed by it. This could be emphasizing the fact he finally understands Burr’s motives, which mystified him throughout Act I.

The third in a triple rhyme (the last one false) from Hamilton’s trio of accusers: “Confess”, “Unless”, and “Um, yes”.

Miranda gives Burr the job of repeating James Reynold’s threat to Hamilton, foreshadowing his later threatening letters.

This is said in the same place in Reynolds' letter, and in the same tone, as Hamilton’s “Fuuuuuuuu–” in “Say No To This.” (Presumably because it’s still funny. Of course, sometimes you just have to let it out.)

Jefferson has another baffled “whaaaat” in “The Election of 1800,” after Madison suggests he solicit an endorsement from Hamilton.

Miranda again demonstrates Hamilton’s rhetorical gifts, this time in his own personal defense, through an extended series of internal rhymes:

courted me
Escorted me
extorted me
sordid fee
quarterly
mortally
orderly!

In a recent interview with Yahoo News' Katie Couric, Lin says this is his favorite verse in the show, because this is the moment when “Hamilton runs cold".

“When Hamilton’s mad, it’s like I’m Super-Eminem, I’m going to destroy you with my mind.”

“Escort” in its most basic sense means to guide or accompany someone someplace; in this case, Maria guided Hamilton to her bed. However, “escorting” services can also be a front for prostitution.

“In a corner” is an idiom for being put in a position where you are trapped on all sides and forced into an undesirable situation. As Hamilton said earlier, he feels “helpless” and “there is nowhere I can go” to get away from the Reynolds' scheme.

Aptly, though perhaps coincidentally, to do something “in a corner” means to do it in a secretive and hidden way (e.g., this passage from the King James biblical translation).

In Hamilton’s own words from the Reynolds Pamphlet:

On the 19th, I received [Mr. Reynolds’s] promised letter (No. IV., b), the essence of which is that he was willing to take a thousand dollars as a plaister for his wounded honor.
I determined to give it to him, and did so in two payments, as per receipts (Nos. V. and IV.), dated the 22d of December and 3d of January.

Love the sarcastic image of a thousand-dollar bandaid. And the detailed receipt-keeping! We’d expect no less, Alexander. He goes on in painstaking detail going over who said what and how.

In the stage production, Hamilton actually produces his receipts to brandish at the accusers to further prove his point.

Fun wordplay using the word “check” in three different parts of speech. In “every check,” it’s used as a noun. In “checkered history,” it’s an adjective. In “Check it again,” it’s a verb.

Surprisingly, there’s no use of the exclamatory “CHECK!” even though there are several references to the game of chess in-show, notably in “The Room Where it Happens.”

Some things worth taking notice of here. First, the mercilessly tight wordplay in the utilization of homonyms ‘cent,’ ‘sent,’ and ‘scent.’ Chernow couldn’t resist in some wordplay here either, writing alliteratively that “nobody ever proved that Alexander Hamilton had diverted a penny of public money for personal profit.”

Second, in “Washington on Your Side,” Madison says, “follow the scent of his enterprise.” So, this is a place where you can clearly see that Jefferson, Madison, and Burr followed Hamilton’s money to see if he was doing anything he shouldn’t. Also—as is mentioned in “Washington on Your Side”—‘scent’ is used as a way of deeming Hamilton to a lower status; as George Orwell, writer of “The Politics of Smell,” puts it as: “The lower classes smell.”

The third thing of note is the little pause right before Hamilton spits out “fine”. Ain’t nobody said that word more aggressively than Hamilton in that moment.

On the original cast recording, Miranda (as Hamilton) emphasizes this “Yes” in a way that recalls his exchanges of “Yes, yes!” with Maria Reynolds. Even in this dark moment, when Hamilton knows he’s ruined, his id may still be saying it was worth it.

The adultery with Maria is one of the few times in the show where Hamilton explicitly admits he’s in the wrong.

Of course, Hamilton’s history of tomcat behavior was well-known (and criticized) in political circles even before the Reynolds Pamphlet, as Alex himself writes:

But it is observed that the dread of the disclosure of an amorous connection was not a sufficient cause for my humility, and that I had nothing to lose as to my reputation for chastity; concerning which the world had fixed a previous opinion. I shall not enter into the question what was the previous opinion entertained of me in this particular—nor how well founded, for it was indeed such as it is represented to have been.

It is also very ironic for a number of reasons. First, there’s the dark humor in the fact that Hamilton doesn’t think his adultery might “sully his good name.” Treason has two meanings:

1. The betrayal of allegiance toward one’s own country, especially by committing hostile acts against it or aiding its enemies in committing such acts.
2. The betrayal of someone’s trust or confidence.

While he doesn’t betray his country, he does betray Eliza’s trust. And such action would also clearly sully his name. When Jefferson says, “Well, he’s never gon' be president now,“ we see that the affair did impact his reputation.

The second reason this is ironic is because Aaron Burr, unlike Hamilton, would actually go on to be arrested and tried for treason later in life. After his political downfall following his fatal duel with Hamilton, he ended up slinking off New Orleans, where he met U.S. General James Wilkinson, an agent for the Spanish.

The exact nature of what the two plotted is unknown, but speculation ranges from the establishment of an independent republic in the American Southwest to the seizure of territory in Spanish America for the same purpose.

Burr got as far as leading troops (or rather, “well-armed colonists”) toward New Orleans, but U.S. government agents stepped in and started asking what the devil was going on here. General Wilkinson chickened out and snitched on Burr, leading to his arrest and trial for treason in 1807. He was acquitted but only

on the grounds that, although he had conspired against the United States, he was not guilty of treason because he had not engaged in an “overt act,” a requirement of treason as specified by the U.S. Constitution.

After that, the entire United States were too hot to hold him, and he had to move to Europe to escape all the bad-mouthing he was getting.

Actually, Hamilton, the successful lawyer, should know that adultery is technically illegal at the time. It is likely that Hamilton also knew that men were rarely charged with adultery and his fornication wouldn’t “provoke legal action”.

Here we see yet another instance of a character mentioning being “satisfied.” In this case it is Hamilton asking if the evidence he’s presented in clearing himself of the charge of improper speculation has been enough to dissuade Madison, Jefferson, and Burr from pursuing legal action against him.

See here for the many other iterations of the word throughout the show.

Jefferson’s response conveys his astonishment at Hamilton’s oversharing. Hamilton may be a genius, but when it comes to things like common sense, he’s somewhat lacking. Jefferson, who liked to play the gentleman, doesn’t know what to do with all this awkward.

His exclamation could also be interpreted as astonishment at the intricate rap Hamilton just performed, including the impressive assonance in courted/escorted/extorted/sordid, and quarterly/mortally/orderly.

A subtle song-spanning gesture from Miranda, with Hamilton’s one-word question here recalling James Reynolds' “So?” from “Say No to This,” as does the response (Hamilton’s “Nobody needs to know” vs. Jefferson and Madison’s “The people won’t know what we know”). Both exchanges are freighted with tension, each resulting in agreements to keep Hamilton’s affair secret.

The second time in this song that no rhyme (or ‘Sir’) follows Burr’s name.

This time, it feels more organic, as “Burr!” is used to catch his attention before leaving rather than as a greeting, as it does throughout many of the scenes before this.

Note, though, that Burr responds to Hamilton with his FIRST name (“Alexander”), perhaps emphasizing the new power dynamic between them. Generally, being called by your first name indicates you are in a lower position of power than being addressed by last name, almost like an adult to a child. It can also indicate a highly familiar relationship, and one might say that now that Burr knows Hamilton’s' big secret, he has reached a new level of understanding Hamilton’s personality and motives.

In that regards, Burr is never referred to as Aaron by anyone – because no one really knows or is intimate with him.

This line seems to call back to the fact that it was Burr who originally leaked Hamilton’s anti-Adams pamphlet, mentioned the previous song.

In fact, the one of Hamilton’s foes who broke this agreement to secrecy was James Monroe, who leaked this information to Thomas Jefferson, who in turn used it to start a whisper campaign against Hamilton.

Eventually, “scandalmonger” James T. Callender started publishing pamphlets with details of the original charge and details of the affair. Hamilton wrote to the three men who knew the truth, Monroe, Muhlenberg, and Venable, asking them to write to him that they were fully satisfied that he had nothing to do with James Reynolds' illegal speculation. Hamilton intended to publish their letters to clear his name. When Monroe refused to fully exonerate Hamilton in his letters, the two nearly came to dueling. Aaron Burr helped defuse the situation between Monroe and Hamilton.

Brings back the reference to “Juicy” by The Notorious B.I.G.: “And if you don’t know, now you know.” It was quoted directly, earlier in the show by Jefferson.

Burr’s reiteration, “we both know what we know,” may be intended to remind us that Hamilton also knows about Burr’s own indiscretions—namely his affair with the then-married Theodosia.

This phrase “know what we know” brings to mind another Shakespearian reference, in addition to the MacBeth ones in “Take a Break”. In Othello, the villain, Iago, who has done all he could to sabotage Othello, is asked what drove him to his misdeeds. His final reply is:

What you know, you know
From this time forth I will never speak a word.

Iago is seen as one of Shakespeare’s most evil and villainous characters because he never explains his motives nor does he ask repentance for his misdeeds.

The parallels between Iago and Burr, Jefferson and Madison are their hatred for the protagonist and their desire for power. By using the line “we know what we know”, the sense of ambiguous and sinister motives is applied to Burr and Co, just as it was to Iago. The reigning difference is that after Iago swore to “never speak a word”, he held true to his promise and did not speak for the remainder of the play. Burr, Jefferson and Madison’s promises to keep quiet are not truly believed, which leads Hamilton to write the Reynolds Pamphlet.

In addition, there is an echo on the last “know” that sounds much like the “no, no” from the end of “Say No to This”.