Spotlight: The Burr-Hamilton Duel

The most famous duel in American history took place on July 11, 1804, in Weehawken, New Jersey, between sitting Vice President Aaron Burr and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Weehawken, located across the Hudson River to the west of Manhattan, had become a popular dueling ground, in part because of its secluded location and its proximity to New York City. According to the National Park Service, at the time dueling was illegal in both New York and New Jersey, but the penalties for dueling were less harsh in New Jersey.

Hamilton and Burr had been political rivals for many years. Both men served in the army during the Revolutionary War. Hamilton’s most significant role was as an aide to General George Washington from 1777 to 1781. Burr held several field command roles and was a part of the harsh winter encampment at Valley Forge. After the war, both Burr and Hamilton settled in New York City, where they practiced law and engaged in politics. Hamilton served in the Continental Congress and as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He co-authored the Federalist Papers, a series of essays in support of the new U.S. Constitution. Burr served in the New York State Assembly from 1784 to 1785 and as New York Attorney General from 1789 to 1791. In 1791, Burr was elected United States Senator from New York, defeating incumbent Senator Philip Schuyler, who happened to be Hamilton’s father-in-law.

George Washington was unanimously elected to be the first President of the United States by the Electoral College in 1788 and reelected in 1792. Newly-inaugurated President Washington selected his former aide Hamilton to serve as the first Secretary of the Treasury, a position he held from 1789 to 1795. In that role, Hamilton is credited with putting the United States on a path to fiscal success by creating a financial system that stabilized the nation's economy, establishing a national bank, and generally promoting industry and commerce. Hamilton’s contributions went beyond monetary policy. President Washington sought counsel from the members of his Cabinet on a variety of matters. During these sessions, Hamilton’s input proved invaluable but was often met by strong opposing viewpoints from Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Aaron Burr also opposed Hamilton’s proposed financial system in the Senate. 

When President Washington declined to serve a third term, the young nation faced its first contested presidential election in 1796. Aaron Burr set his sights on the national stage, throwing his hat in the ring as a presidential candidate, while Alexander Hamilton campaigned vigorously for John Adams and against Thomas Jefferson. The major political parties were the Federalists with which Hamilton and Adams aligned and the Democratic-Republicans which included Jefferson and Burr. At the time, the Constitutional process for electing the President and Vice President allowed each elector to vote for two individuals, without designating one for President and one for Vice President. The candidate receiving the most votes would become President and the runner-up would be named Vice President. Both the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans ran multiple candidates, hoping to secure both the presidency and the vice presidency. That was not to be. The 1796 election is the only one in which the President and Vice President were elected from opposing political parties. Incumbent Vice President John Adams, a Federalist, was elected President with 71 electoral votes, while former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republican party received 68 electoral votes and was elected Vice President. Former governor Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina, a Federalist, finished third with 59 electoral votes, and Burr came in fourth with 30 electoral votes. The remaining 48 electoral votes were dispersed among nine other candidates. 

Burr ran again in the 1800 presidential election, this time aligning with Jefferson, who hoped including Burr as his intended Vice President would deliver New York’s crucial electoral votes. Due to a lack of coordination with electoral voting, Jefferson and Burr tied for first place, each securing 73 electoral votes. Incumbent President John Adams failed to gain reelection, coming in third place with 65 votes. Under Article II of the Constitution, it was up to the House of Representatives to break the tie between Jefferson and Burr.  One man would become President and the other Vice President. The House was controlled by the Federalists. While Hamilton fiercely disagreed with Jefferson’s policies, he deemed Burr an unprincipled, dangerous man, and as a result, Hamilton favored Jefferson over Burr. He convinced several Federalists in the House to support Jefferson, giving Jefferson the presidency.

Burr became the nation’s third Vice President, with a term that ran from 1801 to 1805. Jefferson was of the belief that Burr actively tried to defeat him in the House and marginalized Burr in his role as Vice President. The 1796 and 1800 presidential elections highlighted the potential for a Constitutional crisis under the prescribed form of electing a President. As a result, Congress passed the Twelfth Amendment, which ensured that separate electoral votes would be counted for President and Vice President. Jefferson dropped Burr from his reelection ticket, adding former New York Governor George Clinton in his place. The Twelfth Amendment was ratified in 1804 and became effective for the 1804 presidential election. While serving out his term as Vice President, Burr turned his attention back to New York politics, entering the race for governor as an Independent. Burr lost the April 1804 gubernatorial election by a large margin, due in part to Hamilton’s active opposition to his candidacy. After Burr’s defeat, an Albany newspaper published comments claiming that Hamilton had expressed a “despicable opinion” of Burr at a dinner party during the election. Burr demanded that Hamilton apologize or explain his statements. Hamilton refused to do so, and the disagreement quickly escalated with Burr challenging Hamilton to a duel.

Burr and Hamilton arrived in Weehawken in the early morning hours on July 11^th, by separate row boats. The site of the duel was a secluded ledge approximately 20 feet above the Hudson River below the towering cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades. When emissaries failed to resolve the dispute, Hamilton and Burr paced off and proceeded to duel with pistols. Each fired one shot. Burr emerged from the duel unscathed, when Hamilton’s shot went high. Burr shot Hamilton in the abdomen, and the bullet lodged in his spine. The wound proved fatal; Hamilton died the next day back in Manhattan, surrounded by family. Burr faced intense public condemnation following Hamilton’s death. While Hamilton had been a controversial figure during the shaping of the nation due to his forceful advocacy for a strong federal government, even his opponents recognized his prolific contributions to establishing a new form of government. Thousands of mourners attended his funeral procession on July 14, 1804. He is buried in the Trinity Church Cemetery at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway in lower Manhattan. 

Murder charges were brought against Burr in both New York and New Jersey. Burr fled to South Carolina and eventually returned to Washington, D.C. to serve out the remainder of his term as Vice President. One of his major duties was presiding over the Senate impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase in early 1805. The proceeding, which resulted in Chase’s acquittal, is significant because it established the principle of judicial independence and the idea that federal judges should not be removed based on political disagreements. Burr was recognized for his fairness and professionalism. 

The murder charges were eventually dropped, but this was not the end of Burr’s trouble with the law. After his time as Vice President ended in March 1805, with his political career in ruins, the still ambitious Burr engaged in questionable activities on the western frontier. In 1806 he became involved in a scheme to create an independent nation in the western territories or possibly seize Spanish lands in Mexico. Jefferson’s administration accused Burr of treason, and he was arrested and tried in 1807. Chief Justice John Marshall presided over the trial which ended in Burr's acquittal based on lack of evidence he had committed any overt act of treason. Following the trial, Burr moved to Europe, attempting to reestablish himself financially and politically. Finding little success, he returned to the United States in 1812 and resumed practicing law in New York. His later years were plagued with personal and financial difficulties. Burr died on September 14, 1836 at the age of eighty, thus ending a colorful chapter in American history.