Today in History, July 11, 1804-- Aaron Burr Murders Alexander Hamilton in a Duel
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Today in History, July 11, 1804
Traitor and British agent Aaron Burr shoots Alexander Hamilton in a duel, mortally wounding him. (written two years ago, revised and edited for clarity with sources)--
I've written about Hamilton on Facebook in a series of four articles, which are an incomplete series and frankly not well written. This piece from two years ago is however timely, given all of the discussion about originalism, the Supreme Court, and the Constitution's framers. I've edited it for clarity and grammar, and I otherwise have more to write on this. Sources included below.
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What I do want to address today is two things. First, is that Burr was a traitor, and the philosophical "founding father" of what became the Confederacy. I will treat the subject at length in an article when I resume the Hamilton series, so as not to give it short shrift.
In short, Burr engaged in a serious sedition plot for northern secession in 1807, three years after murdering Hamilton, to separate the western and southern states from the northern states, to create a slaveocracy which had its geographical center in Cuba, which would include Central America, the Carribean, and the northern half of South America. This new empire would be ceded to the British sphere as a tributary rump state, whose economic resources and slaves would be at the service of the British crown. Burr would have himself installed as President of the new northern entity.
If you look at a map, that configuration conforms with the system later envisaged by the terrorist organization and secret society known as "The Knights of the Golden Circle". (KGC)
KGC evolved out of the "Southern Jurisdiction of Scottish Rite Freemasons," whose most well known leader after the Civil War was Confederate General and war criminal, Albert Pike. (whose statue in Judiciary Square in front of the US Treasury building Trump recently ordered replaced and repaired in Washington DC)
The "Golden Circle" in question was the one drawn on their map, with Cuba at the center, extending its radius as far North as Virginia. You can construct that in a map to see how far and wide that separate new country would extend.
There are many sources on KGC, but Burr's role in its inspiration is known, and as well that they were the group which was the umbrella for the future military/political leadership of the Confederacy. It was that group, many of whom were given asylum and supported by London, which orchestrated both a. attempted kidnapping and later assassination plots against Lincoln, as I have written about and documented elsewhere. And, it was KGC which evolved into the terrorist Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War. Albert Pike, memorialized as a "poet" on his statue wrote the anthem for the Klan.
Burr was put on trial for treason for his plot to lead half the nation out of the Union, but unfortunately was acquitted with the help of his lawyer Henry Clay, the greatest mistake of the career of the future Secretary of State and mentor for Lincoln.
His so-called "duel" with Hamilton was cold blooded murder. They had been longtime political enemies. Burr won a US Senate seat against Hamilton's father-in-law, Phillip Schuyler in a dirty campaign in 1791. Hamilton wrote articles to sink Burr's campaign for New York Governor. Hamilton's maneuvering in the US House to throw the presidential election to his old adversary Jefferson prevented Burr from being President, after the Electoral College deadlocked, so Burr became Vice President instead (a position which then had no power or influence). Imagine the Vice President shooting to death a former Secretary of the Treasury, and founding father of the American Revolution!
Hamilton correctly saw Burr as a British agent-of-influence, and acted repeatedly to negate his political power. An exchange of letters written by Hamilton friend Dr. Charles Cooper in which Hamilton characterized Burr as "most despicable" found it's way to Burr, who demanded clarification and retraction. That became the flash point for Burr's challenge to Hamilton.
Hamilton had participated in "affairs of honor" as a "second" on more than one occasion. He had no actual dueling experience. Hamilton foolishly accepted, risking himself, family, and nation by allowing his conflict with Burr to escalate to this level. He should have extricated himself earlier and hit Burr on another flank, given his importance to the nation at that stage of its infancy. Instead, he blundered in, naively believing that if he fired high and missed, (which he did) Burr would do the same.
Of course, we know what happened. Hamilton was mortally wounded and died days later. Burr was accused of murder, but the charges did not stick. Burr, his political career ruined, continued his political intrigues to divide the nation, sabotage Hamilton's ecomomic system, and groom the future initiators of what became the secessionist movement, such as Martin Van Buren, who in turn groomed the Hamilton hating Andrew Jackson. . I will write more on this in the near future.
Secondly, it's important to understand the consequences of Hamilton's reckless and fatal mistake. He should have been President. If he had, the Jefferson administration would not have gotten away with defunding the US Navy, leaving us vulnerable to British attack. There would likely not have been a War of 1812. Hamilton's program combined with his staunch opposition to slavery would have weakened the southern plantation system, and begun the eradication of slavery sooner. The movement which he led in the Federalist Party would have successfully expanded the role of the 1st and 2nd National Banks of the US, and the economic development of the nation would have been on a different trajectory. The networks Burr left behind would have been scattered to the four winds, and you can make a case for arguing there might not have been a Confederacy, or a Civil War.
That is how history works. One. Bad. Decision. In these times, this kind of consideration becomes even more crucial.
Think about it.
Sources
[Martin Van Buren's education was limited to that which could be obtained in the common schools and at Kinderhook Academy. In 1796 he began the study of law, completing his preparation in 1802 in New York, where he studied under William Peter van Ness (1778-1826), an eminent lawyer and later Aaron Burr's second in the duel with Alexander Hamilton. Van Buren made the acquaintance of Burr. ] -- (source Latin Library bio of Martin Van Buren. LFR)
Rumors were spread that Van Buren was Burr's illegitimate son, but never proven.
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(1993 demo to remove Pike statue)
