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Mulligan
Portrayed by the same actor as Mulligan, Madison is depicted as being wonky and uncharismatic, though he is able to get incredible amounts of work done via his collaboration with the more charismatic Thomas Jefferson (“What’d I Miss?”). As a slaveholding Virginian, Madison is deeply opposed to Hamilton’s more industry-centric financial plan. Both Mulligan/Madison and Lafayette/Jefferson illustrate the same dramatic trick: the characters who are Hamilton’s friends in the first act become his enemies in the second, isolating the titular character onstage just as he was isolated in reality.
Madison Quotes in Hamilton
The Hamilton quotes below are all either spoken by Madison or refer to Madison. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 2: The Room Where it Happens Quotes
HAMILTON, JEFFERSON, MADISON, WASHINGTON: What do you want, Burr?
What do you want, Burr?
If you stand for nothing,
Burr, what do you fall for?
BURR: I
Wanna be in
The room where it happens.
The room where it happens.
I
Wanna be in
The room where it happens.
The room where it happens.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Madison Character Timeline in Hamilton
The timeline below shows where the character Madison appears in Hamilton. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1: Non-Stop
...the Federalist papers, written over the course of six months. John Jay wrote 5, James Madison wrote 29, and “Hamilton wrote the other 51.”
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Act 2: What’d I Miss
...been in France for much of the war, shoring up French aid. This song gives Madison a chance to catch his friend up on his hatred of Hamilton.
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As Jefferson prepares to head to Washington, Madison warns him that Hamilton’s plan is overreaching. Jefferson quickly thinks up some remarks for his...
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Act 2: Cabinet Battle #1
Hamilton is frustrated that Jefferson and Madison are ganging up on him, but Washington is firm that the only way to create...
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Act 2: The Room Where it Happens
...less / smile more.”) Indeed, Hamilton has set up a cozy dinner with Jefferson and Madison, and Burr is enraged to have been excluded.
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...details of what went on behind closed doors: Hamilton gets his bank, and Jefferson and Madison get the nation’s capital right in their backyard (Washington, D.C.). As trumpets play, Burr obsesses...
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Act 2: Cabinet Battle #2
Before Hamilton can glory in his victory, however, Jefferson and Madison corner him and remind him that Washington will not be president forever. In the song’s...
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Act 2: Washington On Your Side
Jefferson, Madison, and Burr—all now part of the Democratic-Republican Party—express their frustration at Hamilton’s success. Jefferson sings...
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Act 2: The Adams Administration
...comes back with a rant, damaging both himself and Adams in the process. Jefferson and Madison celebrate that their path to power is now clear.
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Act 2: We Know
Jefferson, Burr, and Madison accuse Hamilton of using his role in the Treasury to embezzle money. Hamilton explains that...
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Act 2: Election of 1800
...“can we get back to politics?” Realizing that some people see Jefferson as too “extreme,” Madison convinces his friend to seek Hamilton’s endorsement. Meanwhile, Burr openly campaigns for himself, a first...
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Act 2: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story
The company gathers to commemorate Hamilton one final time. Jefferson and Madison begrudgingly admit that his financial plans were genius (despite all the time they spent trying...
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