Aaron Burr
             

Aaron Burr, Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and adventurer. He was a formative member of the Democratic-Republican Party in New York and a strong supporter of party leader, Thomas Jefferson, as well as, New York Governor George Clinton. He is remembered not so much for being one of the leaders in American politics, or his tenure as the third US Vice President, under Thomas Jefferson, but for his duel with Alexander Hamilton and his later federal trial and acquittal on charges of treason. These incidents have caused his contributions to the formation of the world's greatest democratic political system to go largely ignored. Unfortunately, most historians lump him in with miscreants such as Benedict Arnold who formulated a scheme which, if successful, would have given British forces control of the Hudson River Valley and split the colonies in half. The plot was thwarted, but Arnold managed to flee to England, where he was rewarded with a commission as a Brigadier General in the British Army along with a reduced award of £6,000 sterling. In the United States, Arnold's name is synonymous with treason. Burr was a victim of politically motivated treason charges, of which he was acquitted, but his reputation was forever tainted.

Aaron Burr Jr. was the son of Rev. Aaron Burr, Sr., an intellectual leader of colonial times and the second president of Princeton University. His mother, Esther Edwards was the daughter of Jonathan Edwards, the famed Calvinist theologian. He to studied theology (Princeton University), but abandoned it after two years to begin the study of law at the celebrated law school conducted by his brother-in-law, Tapping Reeve, at Litchfield, Connecticut. His law studies were put on hold to serve during the Revolutionary War, under Generals, George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and Israel Putnam. His heroism was prominently displayed in Battle of Quebec, retreat from Long Island, and the Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778), where  Burr suffered a stroke in the terrible heat from which he never fully recovered. He resigned from the Continental Army in March 1779 on account of his ill health, and renewed his study of law. Though physically impaired, Burr did continue to perform occasional intelligence missions for the Continental Army under generals such as Arthur St. Clair. Burr was able to finish his law studies and was admitted to the Bar at Albany in 1782. He began to practice in New York City after its evacuation by the British in the following year.

He served in the New York State Assembly from 1784 to 1785, but Burr became seriously involved in politics in 1789, when George Clinton appointed him New York State Attorney General. He was commissioner of Revolutionary War claims in 1791, and that same year he defeated a favored candidate -- Alexander Hamilton's father-in-law, General Philip Schuyler -- for a seat in the United States Senate, and served in the upper house until 1797.
Burr was not reelected to the Senate in 1797, and instead went into the New York state legislature, serving from 1798 through 1801. During John Adams's term as President, national parties became clearly defined. Burr associated himself with Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans (though retaining many Federalist ties), and quickly became a key player in New York politics, largely because of the Tammany Society

   (later to become the infamous Tammany Hall), which Burr converted from a social club into America's first political machine.

Because of his control of the crucial New York legislature, Burr was placed on the Democrat-Republican presidential ticket in the 1800 election with Thomas Jefferson. At the time, state legislatures chose the members of the U.S. Electoral College, and New York was crucial to Jefferson. Thanks to Burr and Tammany's efforts, Jefferson did win New York and the presidential election, but, so did Burr; they tied with 73 electoral votes apiece. It was well understood that the party intended that Jefferson should be President and Burr, Vice President. However, the responsibility for the final choice was that of the US House of Representatives. The attempts of a powerful faction among the Federalists to secure the election of Burr failed, partly because of the opposition of Alexander Hamilton and partly, it would seem, because Burr himself did little to obtain votes in his own favor. Ultimately, the election devolved to the point where it took three days and thirty-six ballots before James A. Bayard, a Delaware Federalist, submitted a blank vote. Federalist abstentions in the Vermont and Maryland delegations led to Jefferson's election as President, and Burr’s moderate Federalist supporters conceded his defeat. Upon confirmation of Jefferson’s election, Burr became Vice President of the United States. His fair and judicial manner as president of the Senate, recognized even by his bitterest enemies, fostered traditions in regard to that position. However, Burr's prior refusal to yield the victory to Jefferson, as he had promised, cost him the trust of his own party, as well as that of President Jefferson. For the rest of the administration, Burr remained an outsider, a position which would result in his indictment of treason for his role in the "Burr Conspiracy".  Burr would stand trial for treason due to the conspiracy but was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

The story behind the relationship between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, which culminated with their infamous duel is so long and detailed, and I can't emphasize enough, "Intriguing" , that I know I will get so obsessed with trying to tell the story that I will spend days in developing it. In the meantime, please check out "Wikipedia"  - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton-Burr_duel

A contemporary artistic rendering of the duel by J. Mund

After the disgrace of both the Hamilton duel and the treason trial, all of Burr's hopes for a political comeback had been dashed. Burr left the United States (and his creditors) for Europe, where he tried to regain his fortunes. He lived abroad from 1808 to 1812, passing most of his time in England, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden and France.

Burr returned quietly to New York in 1812, intending to visit his oldest daughter, Theodosia Burr (born 1783) named after his loving wife. She was widely known for her beauty and social accomplishments and had married Joseph Alston of South Carolina in 1801 at the age of 18. Burr's other daughter, Sarah, had died at the age of three, and he had lost his wife, Theodosia Bartow Prevost, the widow of a British army officer who had died in the West Indies during the Revolutionary War, to cancer after 12 years of marriage in 1795. Burr had been very close to his remaining daughter, lavishing all his love and attention upon her, making every effort to raise and education her in the finest manner available. Her success and national adulation was solace to her father after he had suffered so many losses in life. She was sailing to New York from her home in South Carolina, in eager anticipation of seeing her beloved father who had been abroad for almost five years. To compound all his political, social, legal and financial losses, Burr was truly devastated when he learned that his Theodosia had been killed. The ship she had been traveling on from South Carolina was lost at sea off the Carolina coast (due either to piracy or shipwreck), along with all of Burr's important papers, legal documents, and personal effects. Burr fell into depression, feeling everything in his illustrious life had gone bad or destructed. Having lost all his adventurous spirit, idealism, and the optimistic tenacity that had propelled his illustrious career, he reluctantly chose to remain in New York City and again utilize the law degree he had earned 30 years prior. Now in his early sixties, he accepted the fact that he had failed in most of his grandiose enterprises, and New York was the home to most of his early successes. Though broken both physically and spiritually, not to mention financially, plus he was disgraced in the public's eye, the former Vice President still remained close with many of New York's prominent politicians, businessmen, and intellects. Thus began his new life as a moderately successful attorney in New York City.

It was during this twenty year period of Aaron Burr's waning career that he befriended a young Jeffersonian Democrat, an honored naval hero, who was fast rising in New York politics, Asa Eastwood. Burr saw himself in the young politician, 25 years his junior. Both were National War heroes, they shared the same political ideals, both were staunch abolitionists (long before it was politically correct), and they shared a background in New York politics (including a strong allegiance with NY Gov. Clinton).  Eastwood was untainted by Burr's political misadventures, and despite his lack of formal education, was able to express himself with a non-combative demeanor, that drew the admiration of even his strongest political adversaries. He enjoyed the respect of the old politicians, a rarity for a man of his age and minimal political experience. Not only was Burr able to share boundless political knowledge with Eastwood, it appears he also could better wield his reduced political clout behind the scenes, avoiding the pratfalls and ill-will associated with his tarnished career.

 ***
ASA...

NY Legislature-Other offices
Gov. G. Clinton & son Gov. Clinton
 Tammany - Jefferson - Party Allegiance

*** 

Burr remained in New York in the capacity of attorney, and minor player in NY politics for the next 20 years until his death in a Port Richmond, Staten Island, New York hotel in 1836, at age 80. He had maintained his devote interest in America's Western expansion until his death. Fortunately, he did live to witness the Texas Revolution, a southwestern movement that duplicated that of the thirteen colonies, in which he had played such a major role. He noted with pleasure: "What was treason in me thirty years ago, is patriotism now."

Aaron Burr Jr. was buried in Princeton Cemetery, an honor befitting a true national hero, revolutionary free thinker, and (wink) a better shot than former friend, foe, and Secretary of the US Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.

Accomplishments of AARON BURR - The Third Vice President of the United States

Born: February 6, 1756
Died: September 14, 1836
State: New York (b. New Jersey)
Party: Democratic-Republican

--Grandson of Jonathan Edwards, noted Colonial clergyman.
--His father, Aaron Burr, Sr., was a founder of Princeton University.
--Graduated from Princeton, then called the College of New Jersey (1772).
--Colonel in Continental Army, including service with George Washington at Valley Forge (1775-79).
--Admitted to New York State bar (1782).
--Served several terms in the New York State Assembly in the 1780's and 1790's.
--Attorney General of New York (1789-90).
--Senator from New York (1791-97).
--Vice President of the United States (1801-05).
--As Vice President, he was a political opponent of President Thomas Jefferson.
--The Twelfth Amendment was passed in 1804 as a result of the contest between Burr and Jefferson for the Presidency .
--Unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New York (1804).
--Killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel while serving as Vice President (1804).
--Presided over the Senate's impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase (1805).
--Tried for and acquitted of treason, over events in the Mississippi Territory (1807).
--His political career over, he became a successful lawyer.

copyright 2006