PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� The Broadway musical 鈥淗amilton鈥� and the historian whose book inspired it will collect the National Constitution Center's Liberty Medal this fall, an award for efforts to spread liberty around the world.
Ron Chernow and 鈥� 鈥� will collect the medal and its $100,000 cash prize at an event in October on Philadelphia's Independence Mall.
Award organizers credited the book and musical for having a 鈥渟ingular impact鈥� by bringing to life and spreading the story of the U.S. Constitution and Alexander Hamilton, a pivotal figure in drafting and promoting the governing document. He was also the first U.S. treasury secretary.
鈥淗amilton,鈥� which a , has become a cultural touchstone, winning the Pulitzer Prize, a Grammy and 11 Tony awards.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who created the musical, called the award a deep honor.
鈥淭he Constitution is not just a historical artifact 鈥� it鈥檚 a challenge. A call to participate. To speak up, to imagine better, and to work, every day, toward that more perfect union,鈥� he said in a statement released before the formal announcement.
Chernow's many books have included biographies of former presidents George Washington and and, more recently, of .
鈥淚n writing about Hamilton, Washington, and Grant, I鈥檝e come to see that liberty is not a gift passed down through generations 鈥� it鈥檚 a responsibility,鈥� Chernow said in a statement. 鈥淥ne that demands courage, compromise, and commitment. These men were imperfect, but they dared to envision something greater than themselves.鈥�
The Liberty Medal was established in 1988 to honor the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution's 1787 signing. Recent winners have included the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader and PBS documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
The Associated Press
