8 things we learned from PBS's excellent documentary 'Hamilton's America'

History, it transpires, is not just the stuff of textbooks and sold-out Broadway musicals. It's ever-present, unfolding as we live and breathe and bear witness to remarkable events.

That's equal parts common sense and a grounding realization, and it's the backbone of Hamilton's America, a PBS documentary about a historical figure and the historic musical he inspired.

SEE ALSO: Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda's new version of 'Hamilton' tune with lyrics about Hillary Clinton

By now, Lin-Manuel Miranda's story is widely known and inextricably connected to that of the eponymous character in his show. Hamilton's America lets us deeper into their shared world as the filmmakers follow Miranda through the show's genesis and spectacular success.

Below, eight of our favorite revelations from the ninety-minute documentary that aired Friday night. 

1. George W. Bush can throw some serious shade

"That's the way that history works," President Bush says with his signature smirk in the introduction. "Sometimes it takes a while for people to give you credit."

2. Lin and his dad are basically the same person

Luis Miranda moved from Puerto Rico to New York and constantly hungered for more. He worked in advocacy, for the mayor's office and to raise his family. 

"In my experience, immigrants are never the lazy ones," Mr. Miranda says. They're not the stupid ones. They're the smart, hard workers because they have to work so much harder to make sense of their reality and succeed in that reality."

3. Lin and Hamilton were the same person for a while, too

Miranda and his wife Vanessa welcomed son Sebastian in November 2014, and in footage from that time, Miranda is overwhelmed by how much he has in common with the founding father.

4. "Our show opened and everyone freaked out"

Image: joan marcus

That's one way to put it, Lin. Hamilton opened at the Public Theater and was instantly fast-tracked to Broadway. At the time, Miranda seems to be in a daze, a fog of disbelief settling over him that hasn't so much lifted as its become part of his everyday reality.

5. Questlove has seen Hamilton nine times

He throws that number out like it's super normal, but...what. 

"There's double and triple meanings and layers upon layers. I've had to see Hamilton eight or nine times to get references that I didn't get the first eight times around."

Dude, leave some tickets for the rest of us.

6. FLOTUS is a fangirl

Image: chuck kennedy/The White House

The Obamas' smiling faces are recurring set pieces in Hamilton's America, from Miranda's debut song performance in 2008 to an interview with President Obama for the documentary itself.

"[Hamilton] is simply the best piece of art in any form that I have ever seen in my life," Michelle Obama said in 2016, after audibly squeaking with excitement about the cast's White House performance.

7. Hamilton doesn't forgive the Founding Fathers' ugliness

Resurgent interest in the founding fathers in 2016 can't ignore the fact that most of them were bigots and slaveowners. Christopher Jackson discusses his struggle to reconcile that George Washington owned slaves, but acknowledges that he "never made peace with it," and that it's "ugly" and "abhorrent." 

Daveed Diggs recognizes the dichotomy of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence and "he sucks."

"Those are both true and those have to be both true," Diggs insists. "We have to stop separating them."

8. "Every rap battle sets a historical precedent"

"That is the highest stakes you could have for a rap battle, higher even than Eight Mile," Miranda says. 

FIGHTING WORDS.