In Shakespeare and the Making of America, Kevin J. Hayes tells a story
that has never been told before. He traces the history of reading
Shakespeare in British North America during the eighteenth century, a
story that goes from Drury Lane Theatre in London to the backwoods of
South Carolina to the back alleys of Boston to Independence Hall in
Philadelphia. The most prominent figures in the story are the Founding
Fathers of the United States of America: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin,
Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George
Washington. Hayes looks at how these men read, understood and applied
the words of Shakespeare to suit a new nation. Shakespeare's plays were
not just read for entertainment value; they were also appreciated for
their insights into the human condition. When it came time to assert
American rights to liberty and freedom in the face of British tyranny,
the words of Shakespeare were always handy to make a point or seal an
argument. American writers quoted Shakespeare to justify their actions
during the French and Indian War, the Stamp Act crisis and the
Revolutionary War. Echoes of Shakespeare can be heard in some of the
most fundamental documents in American history: the Declaration of
Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
