Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and

Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

who served as the third

vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

from 1801 to 1805 during

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

's first presidential term. He founded the

Manhattan Company The Manhattan Company was a New York bank and holding company established on September 1, 1799. The company merged with Chase National Bank in 1955 to form the Chase Manhattan Bank. It is the oldest of the predecessor institutions that eventuall ...

on September 1, 1799. His personal and political conflict with

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

culminated in the

Burr–Hamilton duel The Burr–Hamilton duel took place in Weehawken, New Jersey, between Aaron Burr, the third U.S. vice president at the time, and Alexander Hamilton, the first and former Secretary of the Treasury, at dawn on July 11, 1804. The duel was the culm ...

where Burr mortally wounded Hamilton. Burr was indicted for dueling, but all charges against him were dropped. The controversy ended his political career. Burr was born to a prominent family in what was then the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial history of the United States, Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherla ...

. After studying theology at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, he began his career as a lawyer before joining the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

as an officer in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

in 1775. After leaving military service in 1779, Burr practiced law in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he became a leading politician and helped form the new Jeffersonian

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...

. In 1791, Burr was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, where he served until 1797. He later ran in the 1800 election. An

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

tie between Burr and Thomas Jefferson resulted in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

voting in Jefferson's favor, with Burr becoming Jefferson's vice president due to receiving the second-highest share of the votes. Although Burr maintained that he supported Jefferson, the president was somewhat at odds with Burr, who was relegated to the sidelines of the administration during his vice presidency and was not selected as Jefferson's running mate in

1804 Events January–March * January 1 – Haiti gains independence from France, and becomes the first black republic. * February 4 – The Sokoto Caliphate is founded in West Africa. * February 14 – The First Serbian uprising begins th ...

after the ratification of the

12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution The Twelfth Amendment (Amendment XII) to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United States, vice president. It replaced the procedure in Arti ...

. Burr traveled west to the

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the Geography of the United States, geography, History of the United States, history, Folklore of the United States, folklore, and Cultur ...

, seeking new economic and political opportunities. His secretive activities led to his 1807 arrest in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

on charges of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. He was brought to trial more than once for what became known as the

Burr conspiracy The Burr conspiracy of 1805-1807, was a treasonous plot alleged to have been planned by American politician and former military officer Aaron Burr (1756-1836), in the years during and after his single term as the third Vice President of the Unite ...

, an alleged plot to create an independent country led by Burr, but was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

each time. For a short period of time, Burr left the United States to live in Europe. He returned in 1812 and resumed practicing law in New York City. Burr died on September 14, 1836, at the age of 80.

Early life and education

Aaron Burr Jr. was born on February 6, 1756, in Newark, in what was then the

, one of the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

of colonial era

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

. He was the second child of the Reverend

Aaron Burr Sr. Aaron Burr Sr. (January 4, 1716 – September 24, 1757) was a Presbyterian minister and college educator in colonial America. He was a founder of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and the father of Aaron Burr (1756–1836), t ...

, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister and second president of the College of New Jersey, which later became

. His mother,

Esther Edwards Burr Esther Edwards Burr (February 13, 1732 – April 7, 1758) kept a personal journal from October 1754, in which she recorded her perspective on current events and her daily activities. Esther Burr's journal is considered an important source in studi ...

, was the daughter of

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

, a theologian, and his wife Sarah Edwards. He had one older sister, Sarah, who was also known as Sally. In 1757, Burr's father died while serving as president of College of New Jersey, which later became

. His grandfather, Jonathan Edwards, succeeded his father as the college's president, and lived with Burr and his mother in December 1757. Edwards died in March 1758, and Burr's mother and grandmother died the same year, leaving Burr and his sister orphaned when he was two years old. Young Burr and his sister were then placed with the

William Shippen William Shippen may refer to: * William Shippen (MP) (1673–1743), English Member of Parliament * William Shippen Sr. (1712–1801), American physician * William Shippen Jr. (1738–1808), his son, American physician * William Castlebury Shippe ...

family in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, capital of British America. The following year, in 1759, the children's guardianship was assumed by their 21-year-old maternal uncle, Timothy Edwards. The following year, Edwards married Rhoda Ogden, and moved the family to

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Elizabethtown Academy. Burr had a very strained relationship with his uncle, who was often physically abusive. As a child, he made several attempts to run away from home. At age 13, Burr was admitted to the College of New Jersey as a sophomore, where he joined the American Whig Society and the Cliosophic Society, the college's literary and debating societies. In 1772, at age 16, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree, but continued studying theology at Princeton for an additional year. He then undertook rigorous theological training with

Joseph Bellamy Joseph Bellamy (20 February 1719 – 6 March 1790) was an American Congregationalist pastor and a leading preacher, author, educator and theologian in New England in the second half of the 18th century. He was a disciple of Jonathan Edwards, and ...

, a Presbyterian, but changed his career path after two years. At age 19, he moved to

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are ...

to study law with his brother-in-law

Tapping Reeve Tapping Reeve (October 1, 1744 – December 13, 1823) was an American lawyer, judge, and law educator. In 1784 he opened the Litchfield Law School, the first law school in the United States, in Litchfield, Connecticut. He was also the brother-in ...

, founder of the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School was a law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that operated from 1774 to 1833. Litchfield was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietar ...

. In 1775, news reached Litchfield of the clashes with British troops in the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

, which launched the

, and Burr put his studies on hold to enlist in the

, whose commander-in-chief was

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Career

Revolutionary War

The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec December 31 1775

During the

, Burr took part in Colonel

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

's expedition to Quebec, an arduous trek of more than through the northern frontier of the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

(now

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

). Arnold was impressed by Burr's "great spirit and resolution" during the long march. He sent him up the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

to contact General

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

, who had taken

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and escort him to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Montgomery then promoted Burr to captain and made him an aide-de-camp. Burr distinguished himself during the Battle of Quebec on December 31, 1775, where he attempted to recover Montgomery's corpse after he had been killed. However, his attempts to rescue the body of his general was short-lived, as Burr gave up due to the harsh conditions of the snow and the dead weight of Montgomery's body. In the spring of 1776, Burr's stepbrother

Matthias Ogden Matthias Ogden (October 22, 1754 – March 31, 1791) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, and served in various political positions afterwards. Family Matthias Ogden was a son of Robert Ogden, ...

helped him to secure a position with

's staff in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, but he quit on June 26 to be on the battlefield. General

Israel Putnam Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...

took Burr under his wing, and Burr saved an entire brigade from capture after the British landing in Manhattan by his vigilance in the retreat from

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

. Washington failed to commend his actions in the next day's General Orders, which was the fastest way to obtain a promotion. Burr was already a nationally known hero, but he never received a commendation. According to Ogden, he was infuriated by the incident, which may have led to the eventual estrangement between him and Washington. Nevertheless, Burr defended Washington's decision to evacuate New York as "a necessary consequence". It was not until the 1790s that the two men found themselves on opposite sides in politics. Burr was briefly posted in

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population ...

during 1776, at which time he was charged with protecting 14-year-old Margaret Moncrieffe, the daughter of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

-based British Major Thomas Moncrieffe. Miss Moncrieffe was in Manhattan "behind enemy lines", and Major Moncrieffe asked Washington to ensure her safe return there. Burr fell in love with Margaret, and her attempts to remain with Burr were unsuccessful. In late 1776, Burr attempted to secure Washington's approval to retake fortifications on

, which were then held by the British, citing his deep familiarity with the area. Washington said he wanted to defer such an action until later in the conflict, and ultimately chose not to pursue it. The British learned of Burr's plans and later took extra precautions. In July 1777, Burr was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assumed virtual leadership of

Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment was one of the sixteen Additional Continental regiments authorized by the Second Continental Congress for the Continental Army. The regiment's colonel was William Malcolm, a wealthy New York City merchan ...

. There were approximately 300 men under Colonel William Malcolm's nominal command, but Malcolm was frequently called upon to perform other duties, leaving Burr in charge. The regiment successfully fought off many nighttime raids into central New Jersey by Manhattan-based British troops who arrived by water. Later that year, Burr commanded a small contingent during the harsh winter encampment at

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

, guarding "the Gulph", an isolated pass that controlled one approach to the camp. He imposed discipline and defeated an attempted

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

by some of the troops. Burr's regiment was devastated by British artillery on June 28, 1778, at the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and Burr suffered

heatstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun-stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, ...

and exhaustion. Washington denied Burr's request for medical leave without pay, and instead placed Burr in temporary command of the garrison at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

, until his recovery. In January 1779, Burr was assigned to

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in command of Malcolm's Regiment, a region between the British post at Kingsbridge and that of the Americans about to the north. This district was part of the more significant command of General

Alexander McDougall Alexander McDougall (1732 9 June 1786) was a Scottish-born American seaman, merchant, a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution, and a military leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a maj ...

, and there was much turbulence and plundering by lawless bands of civilians and by raiding parties of ill-disciplined soldiers from both armies. Due to continuing poor health, Burr resigned from the Continental Army in March 1779. During his recovery, Burr carried urgent messages to Washington and various officers at the request of Generals McDougall and

Arthur St. Clair Major-General Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-born American military officer and politician. Born in Thurso, Caithness, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in the Province of Pe ...

. On July 5, 1779, he rallied a group of

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

students at

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, along with Captain

James Hillhouse James Hillhouse (October 20, 1754 – December 29, 1832) was an American lawyer, real estate developer, and politician from New Haven, Connecticut. He represented the state in both chambers of the US Congress. From February to March 1801, Hill ...

and the Second Connecticut Governor's Guards, in a skirmish with the British at the West River. The British advance was repulsed, forcing them to enter New Haven from nearby

Hamden Hamden is the name of several places in the United States of America. It also is a surname. Places *Hamden, Connecticut *Hamden Township, Becker County, Minnesota *Hamden, Missouri *Hamden, New York *Hamden, Ohio *Hamden, Oklahoma Name *Erika Ham ...

. In 1783, Burr became an Original Member of the New York

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

, an organization of officers who had served in the Continental Army and Navy during the Revolution.

Marriage to Theodosia Bartow Prevost

Aaron_Burr_and_His_Wife_Theodosia_Bartow

Burr met

Theodosia Bartow Prevost Theodosia Bartow Burr (November 1746 – May 18, 1794), previously known as Theodosia Bartow Prevost, was an American Patriot. Raised by a widowed mother, she married British Army officer Jacques Marcus Prevost at age 17. After the American Re ...

in August 1778 while she was married to

Jacques Marcus Prevost James Marcus or Mark Prevost (born Jacques-Marc Prevost; 1736 – 1781) was a British Army officer. After being commissioned in Europe, he commanded troops of the British Army in North America and the West Indies, including during the French and ...

, a Swiss-born British officer in the

Royal American Regiment The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

. In Prevost's absence, Burr began regularly visiting Theodosia at The Hermitage, her home in New Jersey. Theodosia would go on to visit Burr many times throughout his stay at West Point New York in June through July 1778. Although she was ten years older than Burr, the constant visits provoked gossip, and by 1780 the two were openly lovers. In December 1781, Burr learned that Prevost had died of yellow fever while serving in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. Burr and Theodosia were married in 1782, and they moved to a house on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

in Lower Manhattan. After several years of severe illness, Theodosia died in 1794 from

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...

uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ute ...

. Their only child to survive to adulthood was

Theodosia Burr Alston Theodosia Burr Alston (June 21, 1783 – January 2 or 3, 1813) was an American socialite and the daughter of the third U.S. Vice President, Aaron Burr, and Theodosia Bartow Prevost. She became First Lady of South Carolina after her husband, ...

, born in 1783.

Law and politics

In the autumn of 1780, Burr resumed his study of law with Thomas Smith of Haverstraw. He was licensed as an attorney in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, in January 1782, and was admitted to the bar as a counselor that April. He promptly opened a successful law office in Albany. He moved his law practice to New York City the following year, after the British evacuated the city. Burr quickly became a key player in politics, especially in New York, largely due to the power of the Tammany Society (which became

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

). Burr converted it from a social club into a

political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...

to help Jefferson reach the presidency, particularly in New York City.

Government

Burr served in the New York State Assembly in 1784–85. In 1784, as an assemblyman, he unsuccessfully sought to abolish Slavery in the United States, slavery immediately following the war, despite having owned slaves himself. He also continued his military service as a lieutenant colonel and commander of a regiment in the militia brigade commanded by William Malcolm. He became seriously involved in politics in 1789, when Governor of New York, Governor George Clinton (vice president), George Clinton appointed him as New York State Attorney General. He was also Commissioner of Revolutionary War Claims. In 1791, Burr was elected by the legislature as a United States Senator from New York (state), New York, defeating incumbent General Philip Schuyler. During his time in the United States Senate, Senate, Burr made several federalist enemies due to his beliefs. One of the main things he was against was Hamilton's system in terms of finance. Due to him not approving of many federalist policies, Burr became a Democratic-Republican Party, Democratic-Republican while in the Senate. In 1795, while many were debating on the Jay Treaty, Burr gave a speech on the matter, further showing how he was becoming a part of the Democratic-Republican party. In Burr's last year of being a senator, he opposed Washington's foreigner policy in George Washington's Farewell Address, Washington's Farewell Address. Rather than trying to be reelected, Burr resigned from the Senate in 1797, after only one term. Burr ran in the 1796 United States presidential election, 1796 presidential election and received 30 United States Electoral College, electoral votes, coming in fourth behind John Adams,

and Thomas Pinckney. He was shocked by this defeat, but many Democratic-Republican electors voted for Jefferson and a candidate other than Burr. President of the United States, President John Adams appointed Washington as commanding general of U.S. forces in 1798, but he rejected Burr's application for a brigadier general's commission during the Quasi-War with French First Republic, France. Washington wrote, "By all that I have known and heard, Colonel Burr is a brave and able officer, but the question is whether he has not equal talents at intrigue." Burr returned to the New York State Assembly in 1798 and served there through 1799. During this time, he cooperated with the Holland Land Company in gaining passage of a law to permit Alien (law), aliens to hold and convey lands. National parties became clearly defined during Adams' presidency, and Burr loosely associated himself with the Democratic-Republicans. However, he had moderate Federalist Party, Federalist allies such as Senator Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey.

Manhattan Company

In September 1799, Burr founded his own bank, the

, and the enmity between him and Hamilton may have arisen from how he did so. Before the establishment of Burr's bank, the Federalists held a monopoly on banking interests in New York via the federal government's First Bank of the United States, Bank of the United States and Hamilton's Bank of New York. These banks financed operations of significant business interests owned by aristocratic members of the city. Hamilton had prevented the formation of rival banks. Small businessmen relied on tontines to buy property and establish a voting voice. Burr used his power as the head of the New York State Assembly in order to convince his delegation to let a private company run the project as a doctor, Joseph Browne had previously suggested. He solicited support from Hamilton and other Federalists under the guise that he was establishing a badly needed water company for Manhattan. He secretly changed the application for a state charter at the last minute to include the ability to invest surplus funds in any cause that did not violate state law, and dropped any pretense of founding a water company once he had gained approval, but he did dig a well and built a large working water storage tank on the site of his bank, which was still standing and apparently still working in 1898. Hamilton and other supporters believed that Burr had acted "dishonorably" for tricking them. Meanwhile, construction was delayed on a safe water system for Manhattan, and writer Ron Chernow suggests that the delay may have contributed to deaths during a subsequent malaria epidemic. However, Museum of American Finance employees Maura Ferguson and Sarah Poole believe that the epidemic was not malaria, but yellow fever. The Manhattan Company was more than a bank; it was a tool to promote Democratic-Republican power and influence, and its loans were directed to partisans. By extending credit to small businessmen, who then obtained enough property to gain the franchise to vote, the bank was able to increase the party's electorate. Federalist bankers in New York responded by trying to organize a credit boycott of Democratic-Republican businessmen. Shortly after the bank's founding, Burr fought a duel with John Barker Church, whose wife Angelica Schuyler Church, Angelica was the sister-in-law of

. Church had accused Burr of taking a bribery, bribe from the Holland Land Company in exchange for his political influence. Burr and Church fired at each other and missed, and afterward, Church acknowledged that he was wrong to have accused Burr without proof. Burr accepted this as an apology, and the two men shook hands and ended the dispute.

1800 presidential election

In the 1800 United States presidential election, Burr combined the political influence of the Manhattan Company with party campaign innovations to deliver New York's support for Thomas Jefferson. That year, New York's state legislature chose the presidential electors, as they had four years earlier, in 1796, when they gave their support to John Adams. Prior to the April 1800 legislative elections, the State Assembly was controlled by the Federalists. The City of New York elected assembly members on an at-large basis. Burr and Hamilton were the key campaigners for their respective parties. Burr's Democratic-Republican slate of assemblymen was elected, giving the party control of the legislature, which in turn gave New York State's electoral votes to Jefferson and Burr. This drove another wedge between Burr and Hamilton, who had developed a rivalry with Jefferson. Burr enlisted the help of Tammany Hall to win the voting for selection of

delegates. He gained a place on the Democratic-Republican presidential ticket with Jefferson in the 1800 election. Jefferson and Burr won New York, and tied for the presidency overall, with 73 electoral votes each. Members of the Democratic-Republican Party understood they intended that Jefferson should be president and Burr Vice President of the United States, vice president, but the tied vote required that the final choice be made by the

, with each of the sixteen states having one vote, and nine votes needed for election. Burr remained quiet publicly, refusing to surrender the presidency to Jefferson, who was seen as the great enemy of the Federalists. Rumors circulated that he and a faction of Federalists were encouraging Democratic-Republican representatives to vote for him, blocking Jefferson's election in the House. However, solid evidence of such a conspiracy was lacking, and historians generally gave Burr the benefit of the doubt. In 2011, however, historian Thomas Baker discovered a previously unknown letter from William P. Van Ness to Edward Livingston, two leading Democratic-Republicans in New York. Van Ness was very close to Burr, serving as his second in the duel with Alexander Hamilton. As a leading Democratic-Republican, Van Ness secretly supported the Federalist plan to elect Burr as president and tried to get Livingston to join. Livingston agreed at first, then reversed himself. Baker argues that Burr probably supported the Van Ness plan: "There is a compelling pattern of circumstantial evidence, much of it newly discovered, that strongly suggests Aaron Burr did exactly that as part of a stealth campaign to compass the presidency for himself." The attempt did not work, however, at least in part because of Livingston's reversal and especially Hamilton's vigorous opposition to Burr. Jefferson was ultimately elected president, and Burr vice president.

Vice presidency (1801–1805)

Jefferson never trusted Burr, so he was effectively shut out of party matters. As vice president, Burr earned praise from some enemies for his even-handedness and his judicial manner as President of the Senate; he fostered some practices for that office that have become time-honored traditions. Burr's judicial manner in presiding over the Impeachment trial of Samuel Chase, impeachment trial of Justice Samuel Chase has been credited as helping to preserve the principle of judicial independence that was established by ''Marbury v. Madison'' in 1803. One newspaper wrote that Burr had conducted the proceedings with the "impartiality of an angel, but with the rigor of a devil". Burr was not nominated to a second term as Jefferson's running mate in the 1804 United States presidential election, 1804 election, and Clinton replaced Burr as vice president on March 4, 1805. Aaron Burr's farewell address, Burr's farewell speech on March 2, 1805, moved some of his harshest critics in the Senate to tears. But the 20-minute speech was Lost literary work, never recorded in full, and has been preserved only in short quotes and descriptions of the address, which defended the American system of government.

Duel with Hamilton

When it became clear that Jefferson would drop Burr from his ticket in the 1804 election, Burr ran for governor of New York instead. He lost the 1804 New York gubernatorial election, gubernatorial election to little known Morgan Lewis (governor), Morgan Lewis, in what was the most significant margin of loss in the state's history up to that time. Burr blamed his loss on a personal smear campaign believed to have been orchestrated by his party rivals, including Clinton. Hamilton also opposed Burr, due to his belief that Burr had entertained a Federalist secession movement in New York. In April, the ''Albany Register'' published a letter from Dr. Charles D. Cooper to Senator Philip Schuyler, which relayed Hamilton's judgment that Burr was "a dangerous man and one who ought not to be trusted with the reins of government," and claiming to know of "a still more despicable opinion which General Hamilton has expressed of Mr. Burr". In June, Burr sent this letter to Hamilton, seeking an affirmation or disavowal of Cooper's characterization of Hamilton's remarks. Hamilton replied that Burr should give specifics of his remarks, not Cooper's, and said he could not answer regarding Cooper's interpretation. A few more letters followed, in which the exchange escalated to Burr's demanding that Hamilton recant or deny any statement disparaging Burr's honor over the past fifteen years. Hamilton, meaning what he said and wanting to ensure his reputation stayed clean for the future, did not. According to historian Thomas Fleming, Burr would have immediately published such an apology, and Hamilton's remaining power in the New York's Federalist party would have been diminished. Burr responded by challenging Hamilton to a duel, personal combat then formalized under rules known as ''code duello''. Dueling was outlawed in New York, with bitter punishment awaiting any involved in dueling. It also was illegal in

, but the criminal ramifications were less severe. On July 11, 1804, the enemies met outside Weehawken, New Jersey, at the same location where Hamilton's oldest son, Philip Hamilton, had been killed in a duel three years earlier. Both men fired, and Hamilton was mortally wounded by a shot just above the hip. The observers disagreed on who fired first. They did agree that there was a three-to-four-second interval between the first and the second shot, raising difficult questions in evaluating the two camps' versions. Historian William Weir speculated that Hamilton might have been undone by his machinations: secretly setting his pistol's trigger to require only a half-pound of pressure as opposed to the usual ten pounds. Weir contends, "There is no evidence that Burr even knew that his pistol had a set trigger." Louisiana State University history professors Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein concur with this, noting that "Hamilton brought the pistols, which had a larger barrel than regular dueling pistols, and a secret wiktionary:hair-trigger, hair-trigger, and were therefore much more deadly," and conclude that "Hamilton gave himself an unfair advantage in their duel, and got the worst of it anyway." However, other accounts state that Hamilton reportedly responded "not this time" when his second, Nathaniel Pendleton, asked whether he would set the hair-trigger feature. David O. Stewart, in his biography of Burr, ''American Emperor'', notes that the reports of Hamilton's intentionally missing Burr with his shot began to be published in newspaper reports in papers friendly to Hamilton only in the days after his death. However, Ron Chernow, in his 2004 biography ''Alexander Hamilton (book), Alexander Hamilton'', states that Hamilton told numerous friends well before the duel of his intention to avoid firing at Burr. Additionally, Hamilton wrote several letters, including a ''Statement on Impending Duel With Aaron Burr'' and his last missives to his wife dated before the duel, which also attest to his intention. The second shot, witnesses reported, followed so soon after the first that witnesses could not agree on who fired first. Before the duel proper, Hamilton took a good deal of time getting used to the feel and weight of the pistol and putting on his glasses to see his opponent more clearly. The Duel#Offence and satisfaction, seconds placed Hamilton so that Burr would have the rising sun behind him, and during the brief duel, one witness reported, Hamilton seemed to be hindered by this placement as the sun was in his eyes.Stewart, (2011). Each man took one shot. Burr's shot fatally injured Hamilton. While it is unclear whether Hamilton's was purposely fired into the air, Burr's bullet entered Hamilton's abdomen above his right hip, piercing his liver and human vertebral column, spine. Hamilton was evacuated to the

residence of his friend, William Bayard Jr., where he and his family received visitors including Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal bishop Benjamin Moore (bishop), Benjamin Moore, who gave Hamilton last rites. Burr was charged with multiple crimes, including murder, in New York and New Jersey, but was never tried in either jurisdiction. Burr fled to South Carolina, where his daughter lived with her family, but soon returned to

and then to Washington, D.C. to complete his term as vice president. He avoided New York and New Jersey for a time, but all the charges against him were eventually dropped. In the case of New Jersey, the indictment was thrown out on the basis that, although Hamilton was shot in New Jersey, he died in New York.

Post-vice presidency (1805–1836)

Conspiracy and trial

After Burr left the vice presidency at the end of his term in 1805, he journeyed to the western frontier, areas west of the Allegheny Mountains and down the Ohio River, Ohio River Valley, eventually reaching the lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. He leased 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) of land, known as the Bastrop Tract, along the Ouachita River, in present-day Louisiana, from the History of Spain (1700-1810), Spanish government. Starting in Pittsburgh and then proceeding to Beaver, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia, Wheeling, Virginia, and onward, he drummed up support for his planned settlement, whose purpose and status was unclear. Burr's most important contact was General James Wilkinson, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army at New Orleans, and governor of the Louisiana Territory. Others included Harman Blennerhassett, who offered the use of his private island for training and outfitting Burr's expedition. Wilkinson later proved to be a bad choice. Burr envisioned the probability of the Spanish-American War. In case war was declared, Andrew Jackson, then commander of Tennessee's Militia (United States), militia, stood ready to assist Burr. Burr's expedition of about eighty men carried modest arms for hunting and no war materiel was ever revealed even when Blennerhassett Island was seized by Ohio's militia. Burr vowed the aim of his conspiracy was that if he settled there with a large group of armed farmers and war broke out, he would likely face a force with which to fight and claim land for himself thereby restoring his wealth. However, the war did not emerge as soon as Burr expected. In 1819, the Adams–Onís Treaty secured Florida for the U.S. without a fight, and Texas Revolution, war in Texas did not commence until 1836, the year Burr died. After a near-incident with Spanish forces at Natchitoches, Louisiana, Natchitoches, Wilkinson decided he could best protect himself by betraying Burr's plans to his Spanish spymasters and to President Jefferson. Jefferson issued an order for Burr's arrest, declaring him a traitor before any indictment. Burr read this in a newspaper in the Territory of Orleans on January 10, 1807. Several journals reported on the subject, creating a pool of rumors, most against Burr. Jefferson's warrant put federal agents on his trail. Burr twice turned himself in to federal authorities, and both times judges found his actions legal and released him. Jefferson's warrant, however, followed Burr, who fled toward Spanish Florida. He was intercepted at Wakefield, Alabama, Wakefield, in Mississippi Territory in present-day

, on February 19, 1807, by Edmund P. Gaines and Nicholas Perkins III. He was confined to Fort Stoddert after being arrested on charges of

. Burr's secret correspondence with Anthony Merry and the Carlos Martínez de Irujo y Tacón, Marquis of Casa Yrujo, the British and Spanish ministers in Washington, D.C., were eventually revealed. Burr tried to secure money and conceal what may have been his true design, which was aiding Mexico in overthrowing the Kingdom of Spain's governance of the Southwestern United States, Southwest. If Burr intended to establish a dynasty in what later became Mexican territory, such an offense at the time was a misdemeanor under the Neutrality Act of 1794, which United States Congress, Congress passed to block Filibuster (military), filibuster expeditions against U.S. neighbors, including those of George Rogers Clark and William Blount. Despite this,

sought the highest charges against Burr. In 1807, Burr was charged with treason in U.S. circuit court in Richmond, Virginia. His defense (law), defense lawyers included Edmund Randolph, John Wickham (attorney), John Wickham, Luther Martin, and Benjamin Gaines Botts. Burr was arraignment, arraigned four times for treason prior to being indicted before a grand jury. The only physical evidence presented to the grand jury was Wilkinson's letter from Burr, which proposed stealing land in the Louisiana Purchase. During the grand jury's deliberations, however, the court discovered that the letter was written in Wilkinson's handwriting. He said he had made a copy because he had lost the original. The grand jury dismissed the letter out as evidence, and the news made a laughingstock of Wilkinson for the rest of the proceedings. The trial, which was presided over by Chief Justice John Marshall, began on August 3. Article Three of the United States Constitution#Section 3: Treason, Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution requires that treason either be admitted in open court or proven by an overt act witnessed by two people. Since no witnesses came forward, Burr was acquittal, acquitted on September 1, despite efforts by the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson administration to exert its political influence against him in the trial. Burr was immediately tried on a misdemeanor charge and was again acquitted. Jefferson used his influence as president to seek Burr's conviction, leading the trial to be seen as a major test of the Constitution of the United States, U.S. Constitution and the separation of powers. Jefferson challenged the authority of the United States Supreme Court, Supreme Court and Chief Justice Marshall, who was appointed by John Adams and clashed with Jefferson over Adams' last-minute judicial appointments. Jefferson believed that Burr's treason was obvious. Burr sent a letter to Jefferson in which he stated that he could do Jefferson much harm. The case, as tried, was decided on whether Burr was present at certain events at certain times and in certain capacities. Jefferson used all of his influence to attempt in an attempt to convince Marshall to convict Burr, but Marshall was not swayed. Historians Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein write that Burr: David O. Stewart, on the other hand, alleged that Burr was not explicitly guilty of treason, according to Marshall's definition, but evidence existed linking him to treasonous crimes. Bollman admitted to Jefferson during an interrogation that Burr planned to raise an army and invade Mexico. He said that Burr believed that he should be Mexico's monarch, since a republican government, in Burr's view, was not appropriate for Mexico.

Exile and return

By the conclusion of his trial for treason, despite an acquittal, all of Burr's hopes for a political comeback had been dashed, and he fled America and his creditors for Europe. Dr. David Hosack, Hamilton's physician and a friend to both Hamilton and Burr, lent Burr money for passage on a ship. Burr lived in self-imposed exile from 1808 to 1812, passing most of this period in England, where he occupied a house on Craven Street, London. He became a good friend, even confidant, of the English Utilitarianism, Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, and on occasion lived at Bentham's home. He also spent time in Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and French First Empire, France. Ever hopeful, he solicited funding for renewing his plans for a conquest of Mexico but was rebuffed. He was ordered out of England and Napoleon, Emperor Napoleon of France refused to receive him. However, one of his ministers held an interview concerning Burr's goals for Spanish Florida or the British West Indies. After returning from Europe, Burr used the surname "Edwards", his mother's maiden name, for a while to avoid creditors. With help from old friends Samuel Swartwout and Matthew L. Davis, Burr returned to New York City and his law practice. Later he helped the heirs of the Eden family in a financial lawsuit. By the early 1820s, the remaining members of the Eden household, Eden's widow and two daughters, had become a surrogate family to Burr.

Later life

Despite financial setbacks, Burr lived out the remainder of his life in New York in relative peace until 1833. On July 1 of that year, at age 77, he married Eliza Jumel, a wealthy widow who was nineteen years his junior. They lived together briefly at her residence which she had acquired with her first husband, the Morris–Jumel Mansion, Morris-Jumel Mansion in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, Washington Heights neighborhood of

. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is now preserved and open to the public. Soon after the marriage, Jumel realized her fortune was dwindling due to Burr's land speculation losses, and separated from him after four months of marriage. The apocryphal story is that she chose Alexander Hamilton Jr. as her divorce lawyer in 1834, the same year Burr suffered an immobilizing stroke.

Personal life

In addition to his daughter Theodosia, Burr was the father of at least three other children and he adoption, adopted two sons. Burr also acted as a parent to his two stepsons by his wife's first marriage and he became a mentor or guardian to several protégés who lived in his home.

Burr's daughter Theodosia

Theodosia Burr Alston was born in 1783 and was named after her mother. She was the only child of Burr's marriage to Theodosia Bartow Prevost who survived to adulthood. A second daughter, Sally, lived to the age of three. Two unnamed stillborns arrived later, with the first son in February 1787 and the second on July 9, 1788. Burr was a devoted and attentive father to Theodosia. Believing that a young woman should have an education equal to that of a young man, he prescribed a rigorous course of studies for her which included the classics, French, horsemanship and music. Their surviving correspondence indicates that he affectionately treated his daughter as a close friend and confidante as long as she lived. Theodosia was devoted to her father as well, once having wrote to him "...you appear to me so superior, so elevated above all other men..." Theodosia became widely known for her education and accomplishments. In 1801, she married Joseph Alston of South Carolina. They had a son together, Aaron Burr Alston, in 1802. In 1812, the young boy died of malaria at age ten. Following her son's death, Theodosia sent a letter to her father, stating, "...there is no more joy for me, the world is a blank. I have lost my boy. My child is gone forever. He expired on the 30th of June." Theodosia Burr Alston walks plank

During the winter of 1812–1813, Theodosia was lost at sea with the schooner ''Patriot'' off the Carolinas. Although it is unknown what truly happened to Theodosia and the other passengers, the most common theories are that they were either murdered by pirates or shipwrecked in a storm. Burr and Mr. Alston personally chose to believe the theory that she had died in a storm, not wanting to think their beloved had been murdered.

Stepchildren and protégés

Upon Burr's marriage, he became stepfather to the two teenage sons of his wife's first marriage. Augustine James Frederick Prevost (called "Frederick") and John Bartow Prevost had both joined their father in the Royal American Regiment in December 1780, at the ages of 16 and 14. When they returned in 1783 to become citizens of the United States, Burr acted as a father to them: he assumed responsibility for their education, gave both of them clerkships in his law office and frequently was accompanied by one of them as an assistant when he traveled on business. John was later appointed by Jefferson to a post in the Territory of Orleans as the first judge of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Burr served as a guardian to Nathalie de Lage de Volude (1782–1841) from 1794 to 1801, during Theodosia's childhood. The young daughter of a French marquis, Nathalie was taken to New York for safety during the French Revolution by her governess, Caroline de Senat. Burr opened his home to them, allowing Madame Senat to tutor private students there along with his daughter, and Nathalie became a companion and close friend to Theodosia. While traveling to France for an extended visit in 1801, Nathalie met Thomas Sumter Jr., a diplomat and the son of General Thomas Sumter. They married in Paris in March 1802, before returning to his home in South Carolina. From 1810 to 1821 they lived in Rio de Janeiro, where Sumter served as the American ambassador to History of Portugal (1777–1834), Portugal during the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil. One of their children, Thomas De Lage Sumter, was a Congressman from South Carolina. In the 1790s, Burr also took the painter John Vanderlyn into his home as a protégé, and provided him with financial support and patronage for 20 years. He arranged Vanderlyn's training by Gilbert Stuart in Philadelphia and sent him in 1796 to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he remained for six years.

Adopted and acknowledged children

Burr adopted two sons, Aaron Columbus Burr and Charles Burdett, during the 1810s and 1820s after the death of his daughter Theodosia. Aaron (Name change, born Aaron Burr Columbe) was born in Paris in 1808 and arrived in America around 1815, and Charles was born in 1814. Both of the boys were reputed to be Burr's biological sons. A Burr biographer described Aaron Columbus Burr as "the product of a Paris adventure", conceived presumably during Burr's exile from the United States between 1808 and 1814. In 1835, the year before his death, Burr acknowledged two young daughters whom he had fathered late in his life, by different mothers. Burr made specific provisions for his surviving daughters in a will and testament, will dated January 11, 1835, in which he left "all the rest and residue" of his estate, after other specific bequests, to six-year-old Frances Ann (born ), and two-year-old Elizabeth (born ).

Unacknowledged children

In 1787 or earlier, Burr began a relationship with Mary Emmons (called "Eugenie"), who may have been East Indian. She worked as a servant in his household during his first marriage. Emmons may have come from Calcutta to Saint-Domingue or Haiti before coming to America. Burr fathered two children with Emmons, both of whom married into Philadelphia's "Free Negro" community in which their families became prominent: * Louisa Burr (Webb) (Darius) (-1878) worked most of her life as a valued servant in the home of Elizabeth Powel Francis Fisher, a prominent Philadelphia society matron, and later in the home of her son Joshua Francis Fisher. She was married to Francis Webb (1788–1829), a founding member of the Pennsylvania Augustine Education Society, secretary of the Haitian emigration, Haytien Emigration Society formed in 1824, and distributor of ''Freedom's Journal'' from 1827 to 1829. After his death, Louisa remarried and became Louisa Darius. Her youngest son Frank J. Webb wrote the 1857 novel ''The Garies and Their Friends''. * John Pierre Burr (–1864) became a member of Philadelphia's Underground Railroad and served as an agent for the abolitionism, abolitionist newspaper ''The Liberator (newspaper), The Liberator''. He worked in the National Black Convention movement and served as chairman of the American Moral Reform Society. One contemporary of John Pierre Burr identified him as a natural son of Burr in a published account, but Burr never acknowledged his relationship or children with Emmons during his life, in contrast to his adoption or acknowledgment of other children born later in his life. In 2018, Louisa and John were acknowledged by the Aaron Burr Association as the children of Burr after Sherri Burr, a descendant of John Pierre, provided both documentary evidence and results of a DNA test to confirm a familial link between descendants of Burr and descendants of Pierre. The Association installed a headstone at Pierre's grave to mark his ancestry. Stuart Fisk Johnson, the president of the Association, commented, "A few people didn't want to go into it because Aaron's first wife, Theodosia, was still alive, and dying of cancer [when Aaron fathered Pierre] ... But the embarrassment is not as important as it is to acknowledge and embrace actual living, robust, accomplished children."

Character

Burr was a man of complex character who made many friends, but also many powerful enemies. He was indicted for murder after the death of Hamilton, but never prosecuted; he was reported by acquaintances to be curiously unmoved by Hamilton's death, expressing no regret for his role in the result. He was arrested and prosecuted for treason by President Jefferson, but acquitted. Although the charges were dropped, Burr remained distrusted by contemporaries for the rest of his life. In his later years in New York, Burr provided money and education for several children, some of whom were reputed to be his natural children. To his friends and family, and often to strangers, he could be kind and generous. Jane Fairfield, the wife of the struggling poet Sumner Lincoln Fairfield, recorded in her autobiography that in the late 1820s, their friend Burr pawnshop, pawned his watch to provide for the care of the Fairfields' two children. Jane wrote that, while traveling, she and her husband had left the children in New York with their grandmother, who proved unable to provide adequate food or heat for them. The grandmother took the children to Burr's home and asked his help: "[Burr] wept, and replied, 'Though I am poor and have not a dollar, the children of such a mother shall not suffer while I have a watch.' He hastened on this godlike errand, and quickly returned, having pawned the article for twenty dollars, which he gave to make comfortable my precious babes." By Fairfield's account, Burr had lost his religious faith before that time; upon seeing a painting of Jesus' suffering, Burr candidly told her, "It is a fable, my child; there never was such a being." Burr believed women to be intellectually equal to men and hung a portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft over his mantel. The Burrs' daughter, Theodosia, was taught dance, music, several languages and learned to shoot from horseback. Until her death at sea in 1813, she remained devoted to her father. Not only did Burr advocate education for women, upon his election to the New York legislature, he submitted a bill, which failed to pass, that would have allowed Women's suffrage, women to vote. Hamilton attacked Burr for supporting the idea that women were the intellectual equals of men. Burr was considered a notorious womanizer. In addition to cultivating relationships with women in his social circles, his journals indicate that he was a frequent patron of prostitution, prostitutes during his travels in Europe; he recorded brief notes of dozens of such encounters, and the amounts he paid. He described "sexual release as the only remedy for his restlessness and irritability". Along with journals of his own, during the 1804 New York gubernatorial election, one of his enemies, James Cheetham, stated he had a list of "the top 20 prostitutes in New York City", all of whom mentioned they had Burr as a customer and favored him over the others. Burr also fought against Opposition to immigration, anti-immigrant sentiment, led by Hamilton's Federalist party, which suggested that anyone without English heritage was a second-class citizen and even challenged the rights of non-Anglos to hold office. In response, Burr insisted that anyone who contributed to society deserved all the rights of any other citizen, no matter their background. John Quincy Adams wrote in his diary when Burr died: "Burr's life, take it all together, was such as in any country of sound morals his friends would be desirous of burying in quiet oblivion." Adams' father, President John Adams, had frequently defended Burr during his life. At an earlier time, he wrote, Burr "had served in the army, and came out of it with the character of a knight without fear and an able officer". Gordon S. Wood, a leading scholar of the revolutionary period, holds that it was Burr's character that put him at odds with the rest of the Founding Fathers, especially Madison, Jefferson and Hamilton. He believed that this led to his personal and political defeats and, ultimately, to his place outside the golden circle of revered revolutionary figures. Because of his habit of placing self-interest above the good of the whole, those men thought that Burr represented a serious threat to the ideals for which they had fought the revolution. Their ideal, as particularly embodied in Washington and Jefferson, was that of "disinterested politics", a government led by educated gentlemen. They would fulfill their duties in a spirit of public virtue and without regard to personal interests or pursuits. This was the core of an Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment gentleman, and Burr's political enemies thought that he lacked that essential core. Hamilton thought that Burr's self-serving nature made him unfit to hold office, especially the presidency. Hamilton believed it "a religious duty to oppose his career", as he wrote in 1792. Although Hamilton considered Jefferson a political enemy, he also believed him a man of public virtue. Hamilton conducted an unrelenting campaign in the House of Representatives to prevent Burr's election to the presidency and gain election of his erstwhile enemy, Jefferson. Hamilton characterized Burr as exceedingly immoral, as well as "unprincipled & dangerous". Hamilton deemed his political quest as one for "permanent power". He contended that Burr cared little about the Constitution and predicted that if he gained any more power, his leadership would continue to be for personal gain, while Jefferson was a true patriot and public servant committed to preserving the Constitution.

Death

Burr died in a boarding home known as St. James Hotel after suffering two strokes in Port Richmond, Staten Island, Port Richmond, New York, on

, on September 14, 1836, at age 80, the same day that his divorce was officially completed. The house later became known as the St. James Hotel. He was buried near his father's gravesite in Princeton, New Jersey.

Legacy

Although Burr is often remembered primarily for his duel with Hamilton, his establishment of guides and rules for the first impeachment trial set a high bar for behavior and procedures in the Senate chamber, many of which are followed today. Historian Nancy Isenberg, seeking to explain Burr's negative image in modern times, wrote that his portrayal as a villain is actually the result of a smear campaign invented by his political enemies centuries ago, and then disseminated in newspapers, pamphlets and personal letters during and after his lifetime. According to Isenberg, pop-cultural portraits of Burr have repeated these distortions, transforming him into the quintessential "bad guy" of early American history. Stuart Fisk Johnson describes Burr as progressivism, progressive thinker and doer, a brave military patriot and brilliant lawyer who helped establish some of the physical infrastructure and guiding legal principles which helped in the founding of America. A lasting consequence of Burr's role in the election of 1800 was the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which changed how vice presidents were chosen. As was evident from the 1800 election, the situation could quickly arise where the vice president, as the defeated presidential candidate, could not work well with the president. The Twelfth Amendment required that electoral votes be cast separately for president and vice president. Burr is also sometimes seen as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, although this characterization is unusual.

Representation in literature and popular culture

* Edward Everett Hale's 1863 story "The Man Without a Country" is about a fictional co-conspirator of Burr's in the Southwest and Mexico, who is placed in internal exile (in the custody of the United States Navy) for his crimes. * Gore Vidal's Burr (novel), ''Burr: A Novel'' (1973) is part of his ''Narratives of Empire'' series. * PBS's ''American Experience'' episode "The Duel" (2000) chronicled the events that led to the Burr–Hamilton duel. * Burr is a principal character in the 2015 biographical musical Hamilton (musical), ''Hamilton'', written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and inspired by historian Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton (book), 2004 biography of Hamilton. Leslie Odom Jr. won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Aaron Burr on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Giles Terera portrayed Aaron Burr in the West End theatre, West End production, winning the Laurence Olivier Awards, Laurence Olivier Award in the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, same category. * In the alternative history anthology'' Alternate Presidents'' (1992) by Mike Resnick. "The War of '07" by Jayge Carr, Aaron Burr is elected the third president in 1800 United States presidential election, 1800 against

, establishes an alliance with Napoleon Bonaparte, and creates a family dictatorship. Aaron Burr serves as president for nine terms until his death on September 14, 1836. His grandson and final vice president Aaron Burr Alston becomes the fourth president of the United States.

Notes

References

Works cited

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External links

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