The Extraordinary Duel of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr: Politics & Friendship (1998)

• Report rights infringement
• published: 31 Dec 2015
• views: 4368

One of the most famous personal conflicts in American history, the Burr–Hamilton duel (a draw duel) arose from long-standing political and personal bitterness that developed between the two men over the course of several years. Tensions reached a boiling point with Hamilton's journalistic defamation of Burr's character during the 1804 New York gubernatorial race in which Burr was a candidate. Fought at a time when the practice was being outlawed in the northern United States, the duel had immense political ramifications. Burr, who survived the duel, was indicted for murder in both New York and New Jersey, though these charges were later either dismissed or resulted in acquittal. The harsh criticism and animosity directed toward him following the duel brought an end to his political career. The Federalist Party, already weakened by the defeat of John Adams in the presidential election of 1800, was further weakened by Hamilton's death. The duel was the final skirmish of a long conflict between Democratic-Republicans and Federalists. The conflict began in 1791 when Burr captured a United States Senate seat from Philip Schuyler, Hamilton's father-in-law, who would have supported Federalist policies (Hamilton was the Secretary of the Treasury at the time). When the Electoral College deadlocked in the election of 1800, Hamilton's maneuvering in the House of Representatives caused Thomas Jefferson to be named president and Burr vice-president.[2] In 1800, the Philadelphia Aurora printed extracts from a pamphlet Hamilton had earlier published, "Letter from Alexander Hamilton, Concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams, Esq. President of the United States", a document highly critical of Adams,[3] which had actually been written by Hamilton but intended for private circulation only. Hamilton’s animosity toward Burr was severe and well-documented in personal letters to his friend and compatriot James McHenry. The following quotation from one of these letters on January 4, 1801, exemplifies his bitterness: "Nothing has given me so much chagrin as the Intelligence that the Federal party were thinking seriously of supporting Mr. Burr for president. I should consider the execution of the plan as devoting the country and signing their own death warrant. Mr. Burr will probably make stipulations, but he will laugh in his sleeve while he makes them and will break them the first moment it may serve his purpose."[4] In a more extensive letter written shortly afterward, Hamilton details the many charges he has against Burr, calling him a "profligate, a voluptuary in the extreme”, that he corruptly served the views of the Holland Land Company while a member of Legislature, criticized Burr’s military commission and accused him of resigning under false pretenses, and many more serious accusations. When it became clear that Jefferson would drop Burr from his ticket in the 1804 election, the Vice President ran for the governorship of New York instead. Hamilton campaigned vigorously against Burr, who was running as an independent, causing him to lose to Morgan Lewis, a Democratic-Republican endorsed by Hamilton. Both men had been involved in duels in the past. Hamilton had been a principal in 10 shotless duels prior to his fatal encounter with Burr, including duels with William Gordon (1779), Aedanus Burke (1790), John Francis Mercer (1792–1793), James Nicholson (1795), James Monroe (1797), and Ebenezer Purdy/George Clinton (1804). He also served as a second to John Laurens in a 1779 duel with General Charles Lee and legal client John Auldjo in a 1787 duel with William Pierce.[5] In addition, according to Hamilton, he had had one previous honor dispute with Burr;[6] Burr stated there were two.[7] Additionally, Hamilton's son, Philip, was killed in a November 23, 1801, duel with George I. Eacker, initiated after Philip and his friend Richard Price engaged in "hooliganish" behavior in Eacker's box at the Park Theatre. This was in response to a speech, critical of Hamilton, that Eacker had made on July 3, 1801. Philip and his friend both challenged Eacker to duels when he called them "damned rascals".[8] After Price's duel (also at Weehawken) resulted in nothing more than four missed shots, Hamilton advised his son to delope (throw away his fire). However, after both Philip and Eacker stood shotless for a minute after the command "present", Philip leveled his pistol, causing Eacker to fire, mortally wounding Philip and sending his shot awry. This duel is often cited as having a tremendous psychological impact on Hamilton in the context of the Hamilton–Burr duel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr%E2%80%93Hamilton_duel