After a very bizarre weekend, I told the friend that I was with that I would be writing about it... in code so as to "protect" all those involved...so here goes... my ponderings of a weekend gone wrong:
Alexander Hamilton was shot by Aaron Burr(or history as I see it)
Alexander Hamilton was not a president. You know why? He wasn’t born in America. But Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury and his face now graces the $10 bill. Alexander Hamilton was a rather important person: He was a leader in the New York militia, founded the Bank of New York, served in the Legislature, and was the only New Yorker to sign the Constitution. He had the skills to win friends and influence people.
Alexander Hamilton was secretive. In the 1796 Presidential Election, under the Constitution as it stood then, each of the Electors had two votes, which they were to cast for different men. The one with the most votes would be President, while the first loser would be Vice President. The Federalists, of which Hamilton was a part, planned to deal with this by having all the Electors vote for John Adams (the current Vice President) and all but a few for Thomas Pinckney. Thomas Jefferson had chosen Aaron Burr to be his running mate.
Alexander Hamilton was presented with an interesting situation. He did not like John Adams and embraced this opportunity to defeat him. He secretly encouraged his circle of northern Electoral friends to vote for Adams and Pinckney. Then he secretly encouraged his circle of southern Electoral friends to vote for Jefferson and Pinckney. Ideally, Pinckney would then have more votes than Adams and would become President while Adams would remain as Vice President.
Well, his little plan didn’t work. A cardinal rule known by women is, “Friends talk.” In other words, the Federalists found out about Hamilton’s little plan and did not appreciate their Electors being bullied by one of their own. Needless to say, John Adams won and Thomas Jefferson was elected to be his Vice President.
Alexander Hamilton would not be defeated however. In the 1800 Presidential Election, he worked to not only defeat rival Democratic-Republican candidates, but also his party’s own John Adams (again…Hey, the man could hold grudge). Through a series of events, Hamilton lost not only his cause, but his standing among the Federalists…and Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for the Presidency. Throughout the tie-breaker, Hamilton supported Jefferson, reporting that, “At least he’s honest.” Alexander Hamilton thought Aaron Burr was dangerous. (Jefferson, as I hope you know, won the tie breaker)
Aaron Burr did not seek reelection in 1804, but instead went after the Governorship of New York. He was, via Hamilton’s influence, defeated. After such a victory, Hamilton bragged about his apparent success at a dinner party. Hamilton’s words were published in a Newspaper for all the world (or at least New York) to see.
Aaron Burr, feeling an attack of his honor, and still stinging from the latest defeat, demanded an apology. Hamilton refused on the grounds that he could not recall the instance (what goes on at dinner parties, stays at dinner parties, eh?). Miscommunication continued through a series of letters and despite attempts from friends to avert a confrontation, a duel was scheduled.
The night before the duel, Hamilton wrote a letter asserting that he had an intention to miss Aaron Burr. There is a code of honor among gentleman that allows them to disengage their opponent before either is shot. Hamilton apparently did not follow this procedure, as Aaron Burr’s shot hit Hamilton directly in the torso. At first it was unclear who shot first, but researchers have since considered the circumstances and have indicated that Burr fired second…
Alexander Hamilton must have liked to be right. It seemed that the current political scene was never good enough for him. He sought the upper hand by demanding that others secede to his idea of what they should feel and think. I wonder if others’ answers were ever good enough for him, or did he always demand further explanation without offering any insights of his own. He led a secretive life but seemed to want to know what everyone else was doing and got upset when they didn’t offer the details he felt entitled to or when those details didn’t match his ideal.
Burr and Hamilton had a long history. Who knows if they were ever friends. They definitely had a myriad of differences, but perhaps in a different set of circumstances, they may have even been allies. But there was a wedge there. A wedge that perhaps Burr tried to take away through a variety of situations. A wedge that finally came to point and ended in a challenge for a duel.
I don’t know if anyone knows what the letters between Hamilton and Burr written before their duel entailed. It seems clear, however, that Hamilton had some expectation of Burr that Burr could not live up to. And it seems that Burr just wanted an apology. Perhaps feeling beaten and betrayed (not seeing other options), Hamilton challenged Burr to a duel. Why? To get communication going? To open the gates of possibilities? To heal wounds that had not been created by Burr? To prove to Burr that he was the bigger man?
I guess in the end it doesn’t matter why Hamilton challenged Burr. And though I wonder what he hoped to gain from that experience I guess that also doesn’t matter. For in the end it was Hamilton… not Burr… that took the bullet.
