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The Revolutionary Generation, By Joseph J. Ellis

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Joseph J. Ellis, the author of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, is an American author and historian. Born July 18, 1943 in Washington, D.C., Ellis would grow up to be one of the best, well-known scholars of America. He began his college education at Yale University, then at the College of William & Mary. Ellis ' works include Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, American Sphinx, and His Excellency: George Washington. His books have brought his name into one of remembrance as his books have gone on to win the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and New York Times bestseller. Ellis has taught at many prestigious colleges including Mount Holyoke College, Williams College, Commonwealth Honors College at the …show more content…

Alexander Hamilton was one of the key, founding figures of the Federalist, a political party who believed in a strong, national government. However, Aaron Burr considered himself a Democratic-Republican, a political party who favored for the states to have more power than the national government; in other words, both men believed in the exact opposite for the government of the United States. As a result, Hamilton and Burr disagreed on many things, resulting in a great amount of animosity towards each other. The duel was held on Wednesday, July 11, 1804 in Weehawken, New Jersey. The choice of weapon for the duel was a pistol chosen by Hamilton since he was the one challenged. Again since he was the challenged, Hamilton had the choice of position, so he chose a place located upstream. However, that would include one of many mistakes that would cost him his life. As both men shot at each other, only one was hit. Shot in a fatal location, Hamilton was hit on his right side, right above his hip. Ellis states, “Hamilton himself recognized his own condition almost immediately…Meanwhile, Burr seemed surprised and regretful at the outcome of his shot” (25). The two eyewitnesses at the time, Pendleton and Van Ness, decided to make a “Joint Statement” in which they stated that both men upheld the “code duello”,

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