In hindsight, the shipping corner of the Hamilton fandom was probably the funniest thing that could’ve happened with that musical.
Because normally, shipping occurs through analysis of the media and characters. Even if two characters never interact, you could still look at how they behave in a dynamic with others and say that sure, maybe they could be together, that would be fun. It’s self-indulgent, it’s having fun with your imagination.
But not with Hamilton, oh no no. Because these are real people, they have a presence outside of the musical that you have to consider. You can’t just say “I think __ and __ should kiss” because they lived a real life, they were real people who lived through a specific set of events.
(Although personally, I think you should do whatever. They’re so far removed from the real founding fathers that you could probably make them into new characters- and people have. Shoutout Miku Binder Thomas Jefferson.)
But in 2016, people would say something like “yeah Lams is canon” and the pull out HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS to prove their point? They uncovered new information and read through legal transcripts just to say that two old men probably kissed in secret?? That’s HILARIOUS. What an era.