We invited the cast to perform today because we wanted to share this incredible musical with folks who might otherwise not get the experience.  And I want to thank . . . the show's producers for helping to bring Hamilton to the White House. [applause]

Now, the truth is, though, that they do owe me. [laughter]  Because seven years ago, Lin Manuel Miranda came to the White House poetry jam, and he took the mike, and he announced that he and his musical collaborator, Alex Blackamore [applause] -- that they were going to perform a song from a hip-hop album they working on -- and I'm quoting him -- about the life of somebody who embodies hip-hop, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.[laughter]

So we all started laughing, but Lin Manuel was serious.  Who's laughing now? [laughter]

. . . Obviously since that time Hamilton has become a phenomenon, a smash hit, taking Broadway by storm, captivating the entire country, winning tons of awards, turned musical haters into die-hard fans. . . .

There is a reason why this has become a cultural phenomenon. . . . Lin Manuel picked up [Alexander Hamilton, a historical monograph by professional historian, Ron Chernow] at the airport, for some light beach reading. [laughter] [Chernow] identified a quintessentially American story.  In the character of Hamilton, a striving immigrant, who escaped poverty, made his way to the New World, climbed to the top by sheer force of will and pluck and determination, Lin Manuel saw something of his own family, and every immigrant family.  And in the Hamilton that Lin Manuel and his incredible cast and crew bring to life -- a man who is "just like his country, young, scrappy, and hungry" --  we recognize the improbable story of America, and the spirit that has sustained our nation for over 240 years. . . .

With  a cast as diverse as America itself, including the outstandingly talented women [long applause], the show reminds us that this nation was built by more than just a few great men, that it is an inheritance that belongs to all of us.  And that's why Michelle and I wanted to bring this show to the White House.  Because Hamilton is not just for those who can score a ticket to a pricey Broadway show.  It is a story for all of us, and about all of us. . . .

We hope that the remarkable life of Alexander Hamilton will show our young people the possibilities within themselves, and how much they can achieve in the span of a lifetime.  And we hope that they'll walk away with an understanding of what our Founders got started.  That it was just a start, it was just the beginning.  That's what makes America so great -- you finish the story. We're not finished. This is a constant work in progress, America.  We're boisterous and we're diverse.  We're full of energy and perpetually young in spirit. . . . We make mistakes.  We have our foibles.  But ultimately, when every voice is heard, we overcome them. . . . America is what we make of it.

And we only need to look at this cast -- performing in front of George and Martha [pointing to the paintings, audience laughs].  I think it's fair to say that our Founders couldn't have dreamt up the future that they set in motion.  It's only by exercising their greatest gift to us, the gift of citizenship, that we keep our democracy alive and continue the work of creating that more perfect union.

Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom, Jr.):
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a
Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten
Spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor
Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

John Laurens (Anthony Ramos):
The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
By being a lot smarter
By being a self-starter
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter

Thomas Jefferson (Daveed Diggs):
And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted
Away across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter

James Madison (Okieriete Onaodowan):
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain

Burr:
Well, the word got around, they said, "This kid is insane, man"
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
"Get your education, don't forget from whence you came, and
The world's gonna know your name. What's your name, man?"

Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda):
Alexander Hamilton
My name is Alexander Hamilton
And there's a million things I haven't done
But just you wait, just you wait...

Eliza Hamilton (Phillipa Soo):
When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden
Half-dead sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick

All (except Hamilton), whispering:
And Alex got better but his mother went quick

George Washington (Christopher Jackson):
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside
A voice saying

All (except Hamilton):
"Alex, you gotta fend for yourself."

Washington:
He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf

Burr:
There would have been nothin' left to do
For someone less astute
He woulda been dead or destitute
Without a cent of restitution
Started workin,' clerkin' for his late mother's landlord
Tradin' sugar cane and rum and all the things he can't afford
Scammin' for every book he can get his hands on
Plannin' for the future.  See him now as he stands on
The bow of a ship headed for a new land
In New York you can be a new man

All: In New York you can be a new man --
Hamilton: Just you wait!
All: In New York you can be a new man --
Hamilton: Just you wait!

All: In New York you can be a new man --
Women: In New York
Men: New York
Hamilton: Just you wait!

All:
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
We are waiting in the wings for you
Waiting in the wings for you
You could never back down. You never learned to take your time!

All:
Oh, Alexander Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton
When America sings for you
Will they know what you overcame?
Will they know you rewrote the game?
The world will never be the same, oh

Burr: The ship is in the harbor now, See if you can spot him
Men: Just you wait
Burr: Another immigrant, Comin' up from the bottom
All: Just you wait
Burr: His enemies destroyed his rep, America forgot him

Hercules Mulligan (Okieriete Onaodowan) and Marquis de Lafayette (Daveed Diggs): We fought with him
John Laurens and Philip Hamilton (Anthony Ramos): Me? I died for him
Washington: Me? I trusted him
Eliza: Me? I loved him
Burr: And me? I'm the damn fool that shot him

All: There's a million things I haven't done, But just you wait!
Burr: What's your name, man?
All: Alexander Hamilton!