preview

Analysis Of Aaron Burr 's ' The Duel ' With Alexander Hamilton '

Better Essays

Events That Defined a Nation One of the most detrimental events in Aaron Burr’s career was “The Duel” with Alexander Hamilton. Not only was dueling illegal in 1804 in New Jersey, which is where the duel occurred, but Aaron Burr was the current Vice President of the United States of America taking part in an event that led to the death of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton himself was one of the most powerful figures in the Federalist Party and was so well known within the party that his advocates believed that he emulated the political energy of George Washington, so the death of Hamilton was a shock to the party and to the nation. Now before this duel occurred, Hamilton and Burr both had their reasons why they detested each other. Hamilton, over a period of about fifteen years, completely disparaged Burr as a person and as a politician which frustrated Burr. Hamilton believed that Burr was doing what was politically expedient which Hamilton thought indicated that Burr had no principles. Moreover, Hamilton 's constant political attacks on Burr eventually led to the proclamation of a duel and the fulfillment of the duel which resulted in the death of Alexander Hamilton and the end of Burr’s political career. In regard to the duel, the conclusion of the duel signified how much they detested each other and how their hatefulness for each other changed history even before the duel occurred. For example, in the presidential election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr had the

Get Access