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1-023 The Deadly Rivalry: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr III
Vol. 1- No. 23
1995
The Deadly Rivalry: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, part III Lead: The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr ended in death. Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts. Content: In the first administration of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton became Secretary of the Treasury and nominal leader of the Federalist Party. Aaron Burr, his great rival from New York politics, sat in the Senate seat he won from Hamilton's father-in-law. Burr allied himself with Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State. As the decade progressed, the characters of Hamilton and Burr came more clearly into focus. While Hamilton had profound convictions and would go to great extents to strengthen the power of the Federal Government, he was essentially a great statesman. He loved the Union, and despite his disappointment at the growth of Jefferson's Republican Party he was willing to put the needs of the nation above his own ambitions. Burr, on the other hand, swiftly gained the reputation of an unscrupulous politician who would do just about anything to attain power. In the presidential election of 1800 Jefferson and Burr were tied with 73 votes each in the Electoral College. The election then shifted to the House of Representatives where each state had a single vote. This meant that the Federalists, in control of the House until March, would elect the president. Burr quietly signaled that he would shift alliances and continue the Federalist program should they support him in the final vote. Hamilton was horrified and worked actively to hold back the Federalist votes, thus insuring Jefferson's election. Bad blood between Burr and Jefferson continued during their term together, and Burr was not included on the ticket. Instead he went home to New York to run for governor. During the election it came out that Burr was plotting with several senators from New England to secede from the Union and set up a new country in the Northeast. When Hamilton heard of the plot he used his remaining political clout against Burr and the latter was defeated. For two decades these men had circled around each other, highly suspicious and with increasing animosity. They had fought each other in New York and on the national level with Hamilton usually emerging as the victor. Finally, Burr had had enough. He challenged Hamilton to a duel, and on the morning of July 11, 1804, killed him. Hamilton's shot went into the air. Burr took careful aim and removed for good this barrier to his ambitions. The producer of A Moment In Time is Steve Clark. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts. Resources Burr, Aaron. Memoirs of Aaron Burr, With Miscellaneous Selections from his Correspondence. Edited by Matthew L. Davis. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1836-1837. Daniels, Jonathan. Ordeal of Ambition: Jefferson, Hamilton Burr. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1970. Lomask, Milton. Aaron Burr. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux Publishing Company, 1972 (1982). Copyright 1995 by Educational Broadcast, Inc.
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