A Burr In Hamilton's Side

A History Of The United States

Meet Aaron Burr. 6 February 1756 to 14 September 1836. It's surprising that he lived to be 80 years old. 

Burr was born in New Jersey. His family was well connected and had a lot of influence in New York and New Jersey. His social standing was similar to that of Washington and Jefferson, and much higher than Franklin, Adams, and especially Hamilton. His father was a Presbyterian minister and the second President of the College of New Jersey; so it is of no surprise that Aaron went to Princeton.

Burr was a lawyer before joining the Continental Army in 1775, during the New York campaign. Burr was an important player in New York politics, and loved the rough and tumble nature of politics. He became a New York Assemblyman in 1785, and went back into law in 1779. In 1791, the New York legislature elected Burr to the United States Senate. In 1796, he ran for president, coming in fourth.

Starting about 1790, political factions started appearing within the state and national governments. In some of the states the political divisions were very pronounced, and in others it rather low key. But within the federal government, the political division slowly grew, becoming more pronounced over time.

Part of the difference was regional, with the northern and southern states developing different economies. New England was starting to develop a manufacturing economy, which required a great deal of capital outlay and time, and was reliant on a population of wage earners. New Englanders tended to be conservative, pious, hard working, thrifty, and well educated.

The South had an agricultural based economy, which was already supporting several rich landowners and a small middle-class made up of merchants, with the landowners and merchants relying on slave labor. This also left a large population of unskilled and semi-skilled labor who were very poor, lived on small farmsteads in isolated communities. Southerners had a population that was mostly rural in nature, with few large cities. The social classes seldom intermixed, leading to a society that was more stratified than that of New England.

The middle states were the breadbasket of the nation. Family farmers lived in small communities, producing most of the food crops and herd animals used by the rest of the nation. Some of these states had large slave populations, while others were sustained by immigrants from Europe who came to the United States for the opportunities the new country offered. The middle states tended to be more liberal than either New England or the South. Several religions found a safe refuge in the middle states, and it was the region that saw the most immigration from Europe. The middle states had the fastest growing population, with more large cities than either the South or New England.

These differences were enough to roughly split the United States into two political groups: Federalists and Republican-Democrats. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong central government, high tariffs, a central Bank of the United States, open immigration, an end to slavery, and friendly relations with England.

The Republican-Democrats, led by Thomas Jefferson, supported strong state governments, a weak central government, low tariffs, no central bank, limited immigration, no restrictions on slavery, and friendly relations with France.

By 1798, Burr was active in the Tammany Society, where he joined Jefferson's Republican-Democrats. Burr played a key role in converting the social club into the major political machine in New York City. The Tammany Society played a major role in Adams’ defeat in the 1800 election and was the major opposition to Hamilton’s Federalists in New York politics.

Burr and Alexander Hamilton knew one another since Hamilton attended Princeton. They ran in the same social circles. In September 1799, Burr fought a duel with John Barker Church, whose sister-in-law was Elizabeth Hamilton, Alexander's wife. Church accused Burr of taking a bribe from the Holland Company in exchange for his political influence. Neither man was injured in the duel, Church apologized, and that ended the dispute. But the incident shows the level of dislike between Burr and Hamilton, and just how deadly it could become. By 1800 their dislike of each other ran very deep.

Between the Bank of the United States, which Hamilton had established when he was the Secretary of the Treasury, and Hamilton's Bank of New York, the Federalists held a monopoly on banking in New York City. Hamilton used his influence to prevent other banks from being established in and the two banks limited their operations to only the very wealthy. So there was a need for a bank that was opened to small businessmen and workers within the city.

Burr obtained the support of Hamilton and other Federalists to back the building of a new water company for Manhattan; however, Burr changed the application for the state charter to include the ability to invest surplus funds into any cause that did not violate state law. Once he received his charter, Burr built a bank on the site where he dug the well for his water company, thus breaking Hamilton's monopoly on banking. Burr used this bank to spread the influence of the Republican-Democrats among the middle and lower classes.

Between 1789 and 1800, the French Revolution occurred. After a violent civil war, the French deposed the monarchy and, eventually, established a republican form of government. The French Revolution was a very bloody affair that killed off most of the French royalty, nobility, and aristocracy, as well as most of the leaders of the revolution. The French Republic, however, was short-lived. During most of the later years of the revolution, the French were at war with England and other European countries, who were trying to restore the Bourbon monarchy. 

From 1795 to 1799, following the Reign of Terror, France was ruled by the Directory, which was very weak due to internal strife as well as the ongoing Wars of the French Revolution. In November 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte led a military coup that overthrew the Directory and established the French Consulate. In early 1800 Napoleon was named First Consul, bringing an end to the revolution and the beginning of the military dictatorship. By 1802, Napoleon achieved victory over Austria, bringing an end to the French Revolutionary Wars and the beginning of the French Empire. 

When the Electoral College deadlocked between Jefferson and Burr for the office of President in 1800, the election was thrown to the House of Representatives. It took a majority of the House to elect the president. After 35 rounds of voting, Hamilton told the Federalists to vote for Jefferson, whom he believed was more honorable and who would make a better President. After Hamilton's intervention, Jefferson was elected President on the 36th ballot, and Burr and Hamilton's dislike of one another grew.

On 4 March 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the third President of the United States, and Arron Burr became the third Vice President of the United States.

During the Revolutionary War, Jefferson had served as a delegate from Virginia in the Second Continental Congress, wrote the Declaration of Independence, and had served as Governor of Virginia. Under the confederation he had served as the United States Ambassador to France. He had served as Secretary of State during Washington’s administration, and had been elected as Vice President in 1796.

Jefferson and Adams had formed a strong friendship during the time that they served in the Second Continental Congress. This friendship continued until Adams served as Vice President and Jefferson served as Secretary of State in Washington’s administration.

Late in Washington’s first term as President, newspapers, such as The Aurora, published by Benjamin Franklin Bache, the grandson of Benjamin Franklin, and Gazette of the United States, published by John Fenno, became the primary means by which the nascent political parties made their views and opinions known to the general population. These early political newspapers were vicious in their attacks on politicians. Every scandal, rumor, and gossip concerning politicians and their supporters were fodder for the political newspapers, and they often had a huge influence on government policy and public opinion.

George Washington came under severe political attacks from The Aurora and other newspapers during his second term as President. Both Jefferson and Hamilton, as members of Washington’s cabinet, were often the subject of attacks from the newspapers, as was Vice President Adams.

The life of a publisher or editor of a political newspaper wasn’t an easy one. Several publishers and editors suffered being tarred and feathered, being ran out of town on a rail, having their presses and type broken up, and their offices set on fire. Under the Sedition Act, several political newspaper publishers and editors, most of whom were Republican-Democrats, were arrested and placed in jail. Benjamin Bache died in jail while waiting trial for violating the Sedition Act.

When the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which criticized the Sedition Act and advocated for state nullification of federal laws, were written and published, suspicion fell upon Jefferson as being the principle author. When asked about the matter by Adams, Jefferson denied having anything to do with their authorship or publication. When Adams found out later that Jefferson had lied to him, their friendship was over.

Burr's ambition and back stabbing, and his refusal to stand down following the Election of 1800, ensured that the relationship between Jefferson and Burr would never defrost. Jefferson tolerated Burr, but he didn’t like him.

Jefferson was the first President to be sworn in at the new Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Chief Justice John Marshall, Jefferson's cousin, administered the Oath of Office.

Jefferson's dislike of formal etiquette was evident at the start of his administration when he walked to the Capitol plainly dressed. Jefferson frequently greeted visitors to the President's Mansion dressed in a robe and house slippers. Rather than giving the State of the Union Address to Congress in person, Jefferson started the tradition of sending the address by letter; this tradition would continue until the presidency of Woodrow Wilson.

Jefferson was the first President to try to reduce the national debt by lowering taxes and cutting governmental programs. He was likely the last President to successfully reduce the military budget in order to lower the national debt. However, Jefferson did establish the United States Military Academy at West Point. Jefferson knew the importance of a good, quality education, and had established the University of Virginia when he served as Governor of Virginia.

One of the foreign policy issues facing the United States since Washington's administration concerned the Barbary Pirates and the demand for tribute from the Barbary States in North Africa. Adams had wanted to avoid war during his administration, but had allowed American ships to defend themselves against attacks by the Barbary Pirates. Jefferson decided to deal with the problem headon.

Sweden had been at war with the Barbary States since 1800 over the issue of tribute. Jefferson had long been opposed to paying tribute to the Barbary States, and upon taking office he had the United States stop paying tribute.

On 10 May 1801, Tripoli declared war on the United States, the first foreign state to do so. Before learning of the declaration of war, Jefferson sent a United States Navy squadron which included three frigates under the command of Commodore Richard Dale, and the schooner USS Enterprise, commanded by Lieutenant Andrew Sterrett, to the Mediterranean Sea as a show of force. This was the first American Navy squadron to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The American ships joined the Swedish ships in a blockage of the Barbary States.

On 1 August, the Enterprise defeated the 14-gun Tripolitan corsair Tripoli in a one-sided battle. This was the first defeat of an enemy's flag ship by a United States Navy ship.

In 1802, Congress granted Jefferson the authority to take any action as necessary to protect American ships and citizens from the Barbary Pirates, essentially declaring war on the Barbary states, even though hostilities had already been entered into. The Barbary War would continue until 1805.

The turning point in the war was the Battle of Derna, which lasted from April to May of 1805. An American expedition of US Marines and mercenaries, led by William Eaton and Presley O'Bannon, crossed the Sahara Desert from Alexandria, Egypt, to Derna, Tripoli. Eventually, Derna fell to the invading force and the American flag was raised for the first time in victory over a foreign city or on foreign soil. The capturing of Derna by the American force resulted in the Barbary states releasing captured Americans and entering into a peace treaty with the United States on 10 June 1805.

On 9 December 1803, Congress submitted a constitutional amendment to the states which changed the way the President and Vice President are elected, because of Burr's attempts to become President in 1801.

By 1803, France was in need of money because of the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolution, and the Wars of the French Revolution. But there was no country in Europe that was going to lend France money. 

France had claimed and controlled the Louisiana Territory since 1699. In 1762, the French possessions were ceded to Spain during the Seven Years War. In October 1800, just before Napoleon's coup, the French traded territory in Tuscany to Spain in exchange for the Louisiana Territory. In 1801, Napoleon confirmed this exchange of land.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, from 1798 to 1800, the United States and France were engaged in the Quasi-War. French agents in the Louisiana Territory were surveying the area for forts and other defenses of the Mississippi River. Their activities were one of the reasons that the Alien Acts were passed by Congress during Adams’ term as President.

Napoleon saw the expansion of French colonies in America as key to securing French economic stability. Part of Napoleon's plan was the conquest of Santo Domingo, which ended in failure in 1803, because of an outbreak of yellow fever that killed the French general who was leading the attack, along with 20,000 French soldiers. Without Santo Domingo, Napoleon didn't see a need for New Orleans, but he knew that the United States were interested in having navigation rights on the Mississippi River and the ability to use the Port of New Orleans. 

In 1803, France secretly acquired the Louisiana Territory back from Spain three weeks before ceding the territory to the United States for $15 million (about $414.6 million in today’s money).

Jefferson was not a supporter of big government, and had opposed a lot of power given to the federal government under the Constitution. There was no provision under the Constitution for the United States to purchase land from another nation. But Jefferson could not afford to pass up the deal, or allow the Louisiana Territory to become a Spanish or English possession.

By creative use of the powers to make treaties with foreign countries, Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory, and the Senate approved the treaty with France and the purchase. Spain turned the Louisiana Territory over to France on 30 November 1803, and France turned the Louisiana Territory over to the United States on 20 December. 

Spain gained control of lands in Italy it wanted and got rid of a large chunk of land in America that it could not defend; France got $15 million that it needed to pay off its debts and to finance Napoleon's wars; the United States gained full control of the Mississippi River and the southern part of the Great Lakes, the major port of New Orleans, and expansive territory north of the Red River, to the Rocky Mountains, and to the Pacific Ocean. The United States were the owners of a vast amount of territory, but no one knew what it contained.

Hamilton and the Federalists were not happy with the Louisiana Purchase. Not so much because it was done, but that it was done by Jefferson, outside of the strict constitutional interpretation that Jefferson normally championed. 

Because of Burr’s political connections in New York, he was still very important to Jefferson’s administration. Because of this, Jefferson put several of Burr’s close relatives into important administrative positions in New Orleans.

In February 1804, the Republican-Democrats held their nominating caucus for President and Vice President. With the Twelfth Amendment likely to be ratified that June, Jefferson dropped Burr as his running mate and chose George Clinton, Governor of New York, instead. This opened up the New York governorship in the April 1804 election, and Burr decided to run for the seat. 

Many Republican-Democrats opposed Burr for Governor. Neither Jefferson nor Clinton endorsed his campaign. Morgan Lewis ran as the Federalist candidate. The political newspapers in New York launched a series of campaign attacks against both men.

On 4 February 1796, Samuel Chase became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was a Federalist and he often clashed with the Jefferson administration, especially when he was riding circuit. Several of his decisions as a circuit judge angered the Republican-Democrats. On 12 March 1804, the House of Representatives began hearings on impeachment proceedings against Associate Justice Chase on charges that Chase allowed his political views to influence his judicial opinions.

In April 1804, the Albany Register published a letter from Dr. Charles Cooper to Philip Schuyler, that relayed Hamilton's judgment that Burr was "a dangerous man and one who ought not to be trusted with the rains of government", and claimed to know of "a still more despicable opinion which General Hamilton has expressed of Mr. Burr". Later that month, Burr lost the election for Governor of New York to Morgan Lewis. Burr found himself to be a lame duck Vice President.

On 15 June 1804, the Twelfth Amendment was ratified by the states:

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;

The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;

The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

In June 1804, Burr sent a copy of the Cooper Letter to Alexander Hamilton, seeking an affirmation or disavowal of Cooper's reporting of Hamilton's remarks. Hamilton replied that it was Burr who should give specifics of what Burr was claiming he had said, not Cooper's reporting of them.

Other letters and accusations were exchanged between the two men covering the previous 15 years. Hamilton, refusing to be dishonoured, refused to recant his statements concerning Burr. Burr responded by challenging Hamilton to a duel and Hamilton accepted.

Dueling was outlawed in the State of New York, and the sentence for a conviction for dueling was death. Dueling was illegal in New Jersey, but the consequences were much less harsh. So Burr and Hamilton settled on a site on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, just outside of Weehawken.

On 11 July 1804, Burr and Hamilton met at dawn. There is disagreement as to what happened next. Hamilton's seconds said that Hamilton shot first but intentionally missed, either shooting above Burr's head or off to the side; Burr waited for several seconds before taking careful aim, shooting Hamilton in the side above the hip. Burr claimed that Hamilton fired directly at him but missed.

In the end, Burr was not injured. Hamilton was fatally injured, dying later that afternoon in New York. Burr was the first Vice President to shoot someone while in office, the second Vice President to do so was Dick Cheney.

Burr was charged with multiple crimes, including murder, in New Jersey and New York, but he was never tried in either jurisdiction. Burr fled to South Carolina, and eventually returned to Philadelphia, then to Washington, to complete his term as Vice President. Eventually all charges against him in New Jersey and New York were dropped. Congress, with the Republican-Democrats in control, failed to impeach Burr for the murder of Hamilton.

On 4 December 1804, the House of Representatives adopted 8 articles of impeachment against Associate Justice Chase and sent the matter to the Senate for trial.

On 9 February 1805, the impeachment trial of Associate Justice Chase began with Burr presiding over the Senate in his role as President of the Senate. At this time, Vice President Burr had been indicted for the murder of Alexander Hamilton in New York and in New Jersey.

On 13 February, Burr presided over the certification of the Electoral College vote for the 1804 Election, which the Jefferson/Clinton ticket won.

On 1 March, Associate Justice Chase was acquitted of all charges by the Senate. Burr won praise from both the Democrats and the Federalists on how fairly he had handled Chase's trial.

On 4 March 1805, Burr's term as Vice President came to an end, and he was out of office. Because of the duel with Hamilton, his political career was also at an end.

Burr traveled to New Orleans, having planned to raise a settlement on land he owned, Bastrop Tract. Burr gained a following of men as he traveled to Louisiana, and these men were outfitted and trained for war on a private island owned by Harman Blennerhassett. Burr also had contact with General James Wilkinson, Governor of Louisiana Territory, and Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army at New Orleans.

Burr expected a war between the United States and Spain over the Louisiana Territory, a war that never happened. It was alleged that Burr attempted to get Spain to attack the United States, hoping to carve out a large section of the Louisiana Territory to start his own country.

The newspapers of the time wrote that Burr was trying to foment war between the United States and Spain for his own personal gain. Burr was charged with treason and a Warrant was issued for his arrest. Burr turned himself in to federal authorities twice, but Federalist judges in the district courts held his actions to be legal and released him.

On 19 February 1807, Burr was finally taken into custody in Mississippi Territory on charges of treason. Burr stood trial for treason before the United States District Court in Richmond, Virginia. Chief Justice John Marshall presided over the trial in his role as Circuit Judge. Under the Constitution, in order to be convicted of treason, the accused must either make a confession in open court, or there must be two or more people who come forth as witnesses to the same act. The government could not produce the required two witnesses and Burr was acquitted of the charges.

Burr's Treason Trial provided one of several tests of the separation of powers between the executive branch under Jefferson and the judicial branch under Marshall. Jefferson did everything he could to influence the trial against Burr and to gain his conviction, but Marshall never allowed Jefferson's interference to determine the outcome of the trial. 

After being acquitted of treason against the United States, Burr went to Europe for a number of years. He returned to New York in 1812, and he resumed his law practice. He died in a boarding house, broke and alone, in 1836.