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Aaron Burr
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While he was alive, Aaron Burr was known as a clever, well-educated man. However, he is remembered mostly for the scandals in which he was involved. Born in 1756, Burr was a respected fighter in the Revolutionary War. He stayed in the military for many years, eventually having to retire for health reasons. It was at this point that he turned to politics, becoming a U.S. senator from New York in 1791.
In 1800, Thomas Jefferson asked Aaron Burr to run with him in the presidential election. However, things did not work out as planned when Burr received the same number of votes for president that Jefferson did. Burr refused to give up the presidency to Jefferson. When the House of Representatives broke the tie in Jefferson's favor, Burr was forced to become vice president. Thomas Jefferson never trusted Burr after that and limited his activities.
Burr is probably best-known for his duel with Alexander Hamilton. In 1804, while he was still vice president, Burr ran for and lost the election for governor of New York. Believing that Hamilton had somehow caused his defeat, Burr challenged him to a duel. Hamilton accepted, and on July 11, 1804, Burr shot and killed him in Weehawken, New Jersey. At the time, duels were illegal in both New York and New Jersey so Burr was charged with murder. Despite the charges against him, Burr was able to return to Washington to finish his term as vice president.
After his term was over, Burr is alleged to have created a plot against his country that would later be known as the Burr Conspiracy. No one will ever know exactly what Burr was planning, but he seemed to have formed a plan to aid Louisiana in seceding from the Union. Unfortunately for Burr, one of his partners in the plan, General James Wilkinson, betrayed him. Wilkinson wrote to President Jefferson, who was serving his second term as president with a new vice president, and Burr was arrested and tried for treason. Although he was acquitted, his political career was ruined. He spent the rest of his life as a lawyer in New York (where he was eventually able to get the murder charges against him dropped) and died on September 14, 1836.
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Despite his acquittal, Aaron Burr's political career was finished after he was tried for treason. |
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At one point during his military career, Burr, shown here as a young man, served under the traitorous Benedict Arnold. |
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Read a scathing anti-Burr broadside published to decrease support for Burr's political party. |
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Biography of Aaron Burr
Read about the life of Aaron Burr, and learn more about the "Burr Conspiracy."
The Aaron Burr Trial
Find out more about the trial of Aaron Burr, presided over by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall.
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Aaron Burr
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