1804 : Burr slays Hamilton in duel
In a duel held in Weehawken, New Jersey, Vice President Aaron Burr
fatally shoots his long-time political antagonist Alexander Hamilton.
Hamilton, a leading Federalist and the chief architect of America's
political economy, died the following day.
Alexander Hamilton, born on the Caribbean island of Nevis, came to the
American colonies in 1773 as a poor immigrant. (There is some
controversy as to the year of his birth, but it was either 1755 or
1757.) In 1776, he joined the Continental Army in the American
Revolution, and his relentless energy and remarkable intelligence
brought him to the attention of General George Washington, who took
him on as an aid. Ten years later, Hamilton served as a delegate to
the Constitutional Convention, and he led the fight to win
ratification of the final document, which created the kind of strong,
centralized government that he favored. In 1789, he was appointed the
first secretary of the treasury by President Washington, and during
the next six years he crafted a sophisticated monetary policy that
saved the young U.S. government from collapse. With the emergence of
political parties, Hamilton was regarded as a leader of the
Federalists.
Aaron Burr, born into a prestigious New Jersey family in 1756, was
also intellectually gifted, and he graduated from the College of New
Jersey (later Princeton) at the age of 17. He joined the Continental
Army in 1775 and distinguished himself during the Patriot attack on
Quebec. A masterful politician, he was elected to the New State
Assembly in 1783 and later served as state attorney. In 1790, he
defeated Alexander Hamilton's father-in-law in a race for the U.S.
Senate.
Hamilton came to detest Burr, whom he regarded as a dangerous
opportunist, and he often spoke ill of him. When Burr ran for the vice
presidency in 1796 on Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican ticket
(the forerunner of the Democratic Party), Hamilton launched a series
of public attacks against Burr, stating, "I feel it is a religious
duty to oppose his career." John Adams won the presidency, and in 1797
Burr left the Senate and returned to the New York Assembly.
In 1800, Jefferson chose Burr again as his running mate. Burr aided
the Democratic-Republican ticket by publishing a confidential document
that Hamilton had written criticizing his fellow Federalist President
John Adams. This caused a rift in the Federalists and helped Jefferson
and Burr win the election with 73 electoral votes each.
Under the electoral procedure then prevailing, president and vice
president were not voted for separately; the candidate who received
the most votes was elected president, and the second in line, vice
president. The vote then went to the House of Representatives. What at
first seemed but an electoral technicality--handing Jefferson victory
over his running mate--developed into a major constitutional crisis
when Federalists in the lame-duck Congress threw their support behind
Burr. After a remarkable 35 tie votes, a small group of Federalists
changed sides and voted in Jefferson's favor. Alexander Hamilton, who
had supported Jefferson as the lesser of two evils, was instrumental
in breaking the deadlock.
Burr became vice president, but Jefferson grew apart from him, and he
did not support Burr's renomination to a second term in 1804. That
year, a faction of New York Federalists, who had found their fortunes
drastically diminished after the ascendance of Jefferson, sought to
enlist the disgruntled Burr into their party and elect him governor.
Hamilton campaigned against Burr with great fervor, and Burr lost the
Federalist nomination and then, running as an independent for
governor, the election. In the campaign, Burr's character was savagely
attacked by Hamilton and others, and after the election he resolved to
restore his reputation by challenging Hamilton to a duel, or an
"affair of honor," as they were known.
Affairs of honor were commonplace in America at the time, and the
complex rules governing them usually led to an honorable resolution
before any actual firing of weapons. In fact, the outspoken Hamilton
had been involved in several affairs of honor in his life, and he had
resolved most of them peaceably. No such recourse was found with Burr,
however, and on July 11, 1804, the enemies met at 7 a.m. at the
dueling grounds near Weehawken, New Jersey. It was the same spot where
Hamilton's son had died defending his father's honor two years before.
There are conflicting accounts of what happened next. According to
Hamilton's "second"--his assistant and witness in the duel--Hamilton
decided the duel was morally wrong and deliberately fired into the
air. Burr's second claimed that Hamilton fired at Burr and missed.
What happened next is agreed upon: Burr shot Hamilton in the stomach,
and the bullet lodged next to his spine. Hamilton was taken back to
New York, and he died the next afternoon.
Few affairs of honor actually resulted in deaths, and the nation was
outraged by the killing of a man as eminent as Alexander Hamilton.
Charged with murder in New York and New Jersey, Burr, still vice
president, returned to Washington, D.C., where he finished his term
immune from prosecution.
In 1805, Burr, thoroughly discredited, concocted a plot with James
Wilkinson, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army, to seize the Louisiana
Territory and establish an independent empire, which Burr, presumably,
would lead. He contacted the British government and unsuccessfully
pleaded for assistance in the scheme. Later, when border trouble with
Spanish Mexico heated up, Burr and Wilkinson conspired to seize
territory in Spanish America for the same purpose.
In the fall of 1806, Burr led a group of well-armed colonists toward
New Orleans, prompting an immediate U.S. investigation. General
Wilkinson, in an effort to save himself, turned against Burr and sent
dispatches to Washington accusing Burr of treason. In February 1807,
Burr was arrested in Louisiana for treason and sent to Virginia to be
tried in a U.S. court. In September, he was acquitted on a
technicality. Nevertheless, public opinion condemned him as a traitor,
and he fled to Europe. He later returned to private life in New York,
the murder charges against him forgotten. He died in 1836.
history.com/tdih.do
1656 : First Quaker colonists land at Boston
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5169
1979 : Skylab crashes to Earth
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5170
1995 : U.S. establishes diplomatic relations with Vietnam
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5171
#########################################
In a duel held in Weehawken, New Jersey, Vice President Aaron Burr
fatally shoots his long-time political antagonist Alexander Hamilton.
Hamilton, a leading Federalist and the chief architect of America's
political economy, died the following day.
Alexander Hamilton, born on the Caribbean island of Nevis, came to the
American colonies in 1773 as a poor immigrant. (There is some
controversy as to the year of his birth, but it was either 1755 or
1757.) In 1776, he joined the Continental Army in the American
Revolution, and his relentless energy and remarkable intelligence
brought him to the attention of General George Washington, who took
him on as an aid. Ten years later, Hamilton served as a delegate to
the Constitutional Convention, and he led the fight to win
ratification of the final document, which created the kind of strong,
centralized government that he favored. In 1789, he was appointed the
first secretary of the treasury by President Washington, and during
the next six years he crafted a sophisticated monetary policy that
saved the young U.S. government from collapse. With the emergence of
political parties, Hamilton was regarded as a leader of the
Federalists.
Aaron Burr, born into a prestigious New Jersey family in 1756, was
also intellectually gifted, and he graduated from the College of New
Jersey (later Princeton) at the age of 17. He joined the Continental
Army in 1775 and distinguished himself during the Patriot attack on
Quebec. A masterful politician, he was elected to the New State
Assembly in 1783 and later served as state attorney. In 1790, he
defeated Alexander Hamilton's father-in-law in a race for the U.S.
Senate.
Hamilton came to detest Burr, whom he regarded as a dangerous
opportunist, and he often spoke ill of him. When Burr ran for the vice
presidency in 1796 on Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican ticket
(the forerunner of the Democratic Party), Hamilton launched a series
of public attacks against Burr, stating, "I feel it is a religious
duty to oppose his career." John Adams won the presidency, and in 1797
Burr left the Senate and returned to the New York Assembly.
In 1800, Jefferson chose Burr again as his running mate. Burr aided
the Democratic-Republican ticket by publishing a confidential document
that Hamilton had written criticizing his fellow Federalist President
John Adams. This caused a rift in the Federalists and helped Jefferson
and Burr win the election with 73 electoral votes each.
Under the electoral procedure then prevailing, president and vice
president were not voted for separately; the candidate who received
the most votes was elected president, and the second in line, vice
president. The vote then went to the House of Representatives. What at
first seemed but an electoral technicality--handing Jefferson victory
over his running mate--developed into a major constitutional crisis
when Federalists in the lame-duck Congress threw their support behind
Burr. After a remarkable 35 tie votes, a small group of Federalists
changed sides and voted in Jefferson's favor. Alexander Hamilton, who
had supported Jefferson as the lesser of two evils, was instrumental
in breaking the deadlock.
Burr became vice president, but Jefferson grew apart from him, and he
did not support Burr's renomination to a second term in 1804. That
year, a faction of New York Federalists, who had found their fortunes
drastically diminished after the ascendance of Jefferson, sought to
enlist the disgruntled Burr into their party and elect him governor.
Hamilton campaigned against Burr with great fervor, and Burr lost the
Federalist nomination and then, running as an independent for
governor, the election. In the campaign, Burr's character was savagely
attacked by Hamilton and others, and after the election he resolved to
restore his reputation by challenging Hamilton to a duel, or an
"affair of honor," as they were known.
Affairs of honor were commonplace in America at the time, and the
complex rules governing them usually led to an honorable resolution
before any actual firing of weapons. In fact, the outspoken Hamilton
had been involved in several affairs of honor in his life, and he had
resolved most of them peaceably. No such recourse was found with Burr,
however, and on July 11, 1804, the enemies met at 7 a.m. at the
dueling grounds near Weehawken, New Jersey. It was the same spot where
Hamilton's son had died defending his father's honor two years before.
There are conflicting accounts of what happened next. According to
Hamilton's "second"--his assistant and witness in the duel--Hamilton
decided the duel was morally wrong and deliberately fired into the
air. Burr's second claimed that Hamilton fired at Burr and missed.
What happened next is agreed upon: Burr shot Hamilton in the stomach,
and the bullet lodged next to his spine. Hamilton was taken back to
New York, and he died the next afternoon.
Few affairs of honor actually resulted in deaths, and the nation was
outraged by the killing of a man as eminent as Alexander Hamilton.
Charged with murder in New York and New Jersey, Burr, still vice
president, returned to Washington, D.C., where he finished his term
immune from prosecution.
In 1805, Burr, thoroughly discredited, concocted a plot with James
Wilkinson, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army, to seize the Louisiana
Territory and establish an independent empire, which Burr, presumably,
would lead. He contacted the British government and unsuccessfully
pleaded for assistance in the scheme. Later, when border trouble with
Spanish Mexico heated up, Burr and Wilkinson conspired to seize
territory in Spanish America for the same purpose.
In the fall of 1806, Burr led a group of well-armed colonists toward
New Orleans, prompting an immediate U.S. investigation. General
Wilkinson, in an effort to save himself, turned against Burr and sent
dispatches to Washington accusing Burr of treason. In February 1807,
Burr was arrested in Louisiana for treason and sent to Virginia to be
tried in a U.S. court. In September, he was acquitted on a
technicality. Nevertheless, public opinion condemned him as a traitor,
and he fled to Europe. He later returned to private life in New York,
the murder charges against him forgotten. He died in 1836.
history.com/tdih.do
1656 : First Quaker colonists land at Boston
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5169
1979 : Skylab crashes to Earth
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5170
1995 : U.S. establishes diplomatic relations with Vietnam
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5171
#########################################
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