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HISTORY'S
CURRENTS
THE BURR CONSPIRACY AND THE DEFINITION OF TREASON
Aaron Burr served
in the army during the Revolutionary War. He achieved the
rank of Lt. Colonel and met the soon future political leaders
such as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. He left
the army in 1799 and became a lawyer in New York. Burr became
a prominent New York political figure in the 1790s, where
he became a state legislator, attorney general and United
States Senator. He was a major New York Republican, which
was the opposition party to the Federalists founded by Thomas
Jefferson before the 1796 election. Burr was often at odds
with fellow New York politician, Alexander Hamilton and
the two men grew to hate and distrust one another. In 1800
Aaron Burr ran as the Vice Presidential candidate on Thomas
Jefferson’s Republican ticket.
The election
of 1800 disclosed a major problem in the U.S. Constitution.
In the early republic, the electors voted for two men. The
person with the most votes became President, and the man
with the second most votes became Vice President. Jefferson
and Burr both received 73 votes for president. While everyone
realized that the votes were for Jefferson as President
and Burr as Vice President, the federalist in the House
of Representatives tried to embarrass Jefferson by electing
Burr as President. The voting continued for 35 ballots.
While Burr never indicated he wanted to be President, he
never instructed the House of Representatives to vote for
Jefferson as President either. Finally Burr’s old nemesis,
Alexander Hamilton, convinced the lone Representative from
Delaware to vote for Jefferson. While Hamilton disagreed
with Jefferson politically, he thought Burr was a political
opportunist and personally loathed Burr. Jefferson never
forgave Burr for the embarrassment of the Election of 1800,
and Burr never forgave Hamilton for interfering in the election.
Burr realized
that he would be dropped from the 1804 ticket. He ran for
Governor of New York in 1804 where he was confronted once
again by Hamilton’s political influence. The insults between
Hamilton and Burr became personal, and after the election
Burr and Hamilton fought their famous duel. On July 11,
1804, Burr killed Hamilton at Weehawken, New Jersey, with
one of Hamilton’s own dueling pistols. A New York grand
jury indicted Burr for the murder of Hamilton even though
the duel had occurred in New Jersey. Burr then headed to
the South.
Burr visited
several places in the South including South Carolina, St.
Simons Island, and St. Marys, Georgia, and even Spanish
held East Florida. In St. Marys Burr visited Archibald Clark,
the local customs official in America’s southernmost port
and a college friend from the College of New Jersey (later
Princeton). Archibald Clark was a major player in the ill-fated
East Florida revolt in 1811, where local citizens staged
a revolt against the Spanish authorities and tried to get
annexed to the United States. It is quite possible that
Burr was checking into the possibilities of such a revolt
in 1804; however, Burr would always keep his plans secret,
playing his cards close to his vest. He never revealed any
real plans to anyone. Finding unfertile ground in Florida
and the South, Burr returned to Washington, D.C. He served
out his term as Vice President and then headed West.
It was on Burr’s
western excursion that the famous “Burr Conspiracy” unfolded.
Aaron Burr possessed the type of personality that could
make a simple walk to the barbershop appear like a major
national plot. Burr was also a master of political intrigue.
Out West he met with major political leaders such as the
U.S. Governor of the Louisiana Territory, James Wilkenson,
an individual of devious character and totally void of political
morality. Burr also met with the soon to be famous Tennessee
political and military leader Andrew Jackson and important
church leaders. He conferred with members of the U.S. Army
and anyone who could help him in his endeavor, although
he never totally disclosed his plans. His plans seemed to
include the creation of some territory out west with Burr
as the leader. Perhaps Burr’s plans included separating
the Texas territory or all of Mexico from Spain or the separation
of part of the Louisiana Territory from the United States.
No one was really sure what Burr was planing.
Burr then made
arrangements to purchase half a million acres of land out
west and then began to make arrangements to colonize the
land. He enlisted the aid of Harmon Blennerhasset who constructed
some thirteen flatboats for the trip down the Mississippi
River from Ohio. Burr’s boat was an ornate raft that included
a fireplace, promenade deck and even an elaborate “wine
cellar.” Burr began his decent of the Ohio-Mississippi Rivers
with 60 men. Governor Wilkenson accused Burr of treason
and Jefferson had him arrested in present day Alabama. Burr
was brought to trial in Federal Court at Richmond, Virginia,
in 1807. Presiding over the case was an old Jefferson enemy,
the Federalist Chief Justice, John Marshal.
The case against
Aaron Burr was weak. No one could really testify to what
Burr had planned. To further embarrass Jefferson, Chief
Justice Marshal applied a strict Constitutional definition
of treason in the case. The government had to produce two
eyewitness accounts to an overt act of treason. No witness
could do this. Marshal also subpoenaed Jefferson who refused
to appear citing “the independence of the executive branch.”
Burr was acquitted of treason but went into European exile
to avoid prosecution for the murder of Alexander Hamilton.
Burr returned
to the United States in 1812 and reopened his law practice.
He was never tried for the murder of Hamilton. During a
messy divorce from his second wife, she further embarrassed
him by claming to be the only woman ever to sleep with both
George Washington and the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Burr
left this veil of tears in 1836.
The XII Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1804. This amendment
required presidential electors to separate their votes for
President and Vice President and avoided a repeat of the
chaos of the Election of 1800.
History’s currents,
or current history. You decide!
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