In Hamilton (the musical) the main character is frequently put down for being an immigrant, as opposed to those "natively" born in the colonies/US. I'm very curious about whether this is more of a modern projection of immigration issues, of if there are other examples of politically active immigrants and the impact that may have had on their success. Were immigrants looked down upon as the U.S. began it's nationhood?
Or, if there aren't other examples, are there specific historical references to people being irritated with Alexander Hamilton's status due to being an immigrant, or was it more all the other reasons to dislike him?
It's funny that you ask this. One criticism I'd make of the musical is that Hamilton was actually extremely xenophobic and anti-immigrant. He was a supporter of the Alien and Sedition acts, which made it extremely difficult for immigrants to gain citizenship. Paradoxically, despite being an immigrant himself, Hamilton wanted citizenship to be restricted to only native born white males (who owned property). Contrary to how the musical portrays things, Jefferson and Madison, despite being slaveowners, were in fact ironically the defenders of immigrants and diversity.
The musical is enjoyable, but it does get a few things wrong.
That being said, the Alien and Sedition acts were eventually allowed to expire, and regardless immigrants like Hamilton and Albert Gallatin were able to make a large impact on the early republic.