In 1791, Burr was elected to theUnited States Senate, where he served until 1797. He later ran in the1800 presidential election. AnElectoral College tie between Burr and Thomas Jefferson resulted in theU.S. House of Representatives voting in Jefferson's favor, with Burr becoming Jefferson's vice president due to receiving the second-highest share of the votes. Although Burr maintained that he supported Jefferson, the president was somewhat at odds with Burr, who was relegated to the sidelines of the administration during his vice presidency and was not selected as Jefferson's running mate in1804 after the ratification of the12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Burr traveled west to theAmerican frontier, seeking new economic and political opportunities. His secretive activities led to his 1807 arrest inAlabama on charges oftreason. He was brought to trial more than once for what became known as theBurr conspiracy, an alleged plot to create an independent country led by Burr, but wasacquitted each time. For a short period of time, Burr left the United States to live in Europe. He returned in 1812 and resumed practicing law in New York City. Burr died of a stroke on September 14, 1836, at the age of 80.
In 1757, Burr's father died while serving as president of College of New Jersey, which later becamePrinceton University. His grandfather, Jonathan Edwards, succeeded his father as the college's president, and lived with Burr and his mother in December 1757. Edwards died in March 1758, and Burr's mother and grandmother died the same year, leaving Burr and his sister orphaned when he was two years old.[1][2] Young Burr and his sister were then placed with theWilliam Shippen family in thePhiladelphia, capital of British America.[4] The following year, in 1759, the children's guardianship was assumed by their 21-year-old maternal uncle, Timothy Edwards.[1][2] The following year, Edwards married Rhoda Ogden, and moved the family toElizabeth, New Jersey, where Burr attended theElizabethtown Academy.[5] Burr had a very strained relationship with his uncle, who was often physically abusive. As a child, he made several attempts torun away from home.[2][6]
During theAmerican Revolutionary War, Burr took part in ColonelBenedict Arnold'sexpedition to Quebec, an arduous trek of more than 300 miles (480 km) through the northern frontier of theProvince of Massachusetts Bay (nowMaine). Arnold was impressed by Burr's "great spirit and resolution" during the long march.[9] He sent him up theSaint Lawrence River to contact GeneralRichard Montgomery, who had takenMontreal, and escort him toQuebec. Montgomery then promoted Burr to captain and made him an aide-de-camp.[8] Burr distinguished himself during theBattle of Quebec on December 31, 1775, where he attempted to recover Montgomery's corpse after he had been killed.[12] However, his attempts to rescue the body of his general were short-lived, as Burr gave up due to the harsh conditions of the snow and the dead weight of Montgomery's body.[13]
In the spring of 1776, Burr's relativeMatthias Ogden helped him to secure a position withGeorge Washington's staff inManhattan, but he quit on June 26 to be on the battlefield.[14] GeneralIsrael Putnam took Burr under his wing, and Burr saved an entire brigade from capture after theBritish landing in Manhattan by his vigilance in the retreat fromLower Manhattan toHarlem. Washington failed to commend his actions in the next day's General Orders, which was the fastest way to obtain a promotion. Burr was already a nationally known hero, but he never received a commendation. According to Ogden, he was infuriated by the incident, which may have led to the eventual estrangement between him and Washington.[15][16] Nevertheless, Burr defended Washington's decision to evacuate New York as "a necessary consequence". It was not until the 1790s that the two men found themselves on opposite sides in politics.[17]
Burr was briefly posted inKingsbridge during 1776, at which time he was charged with protecting 14-year-old Margaret Moncrieffe, the daughter ofStaten Island-based British Major Thomas Moncrieffe. Miss Moncrieffe was in Manhattan "behind enemy lines", and Major Moncrieffe asked Washington to ensure her safe return there. Burr fell in love with Margaret, and her attempts to remain with Burr were unsuccessful.[18]
In late 1776, Burr attempted to secure Washington's approval to retake fortifications onStaten Island, which were then held by the British, citing his deep familiarity with the area. Washington said he wanted to defer such an action until later in the conflict, and ultimately chose not to pursue it. The British learned of Burr's plans and later took extra precautions.[19]
In July 1777, Burr was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assumed virtual leadership ofMalcolm's Additional Continental Regiment.[20] There were approximately 300 men under ColonelWilliam Malcolm's nominal command, but Malcolm was frequently called upon to perform other duties, leaving Burr in charge.[20] The regiment successfully fought off many nighttime raids into central New Jersey by Manhattan-based British troops who arrived by water. Later that year, Burr commanded a small contingent during the harsh winter encampment atValley Forge, guarding "the Gulph", an isolated pass that controlled one approach to the camp. He imposed discipline and defeated an attemptedmutiny by some of the troops.[21]
Burr's regiment was devastated by British artillery on June 28, 1778, at theBattle of Monmouth inNew Jersey, and Burr sufferedheatstroke and exhaustion.[22][23] Washington denied Burr's request for medical leave without pay, and instead placed Burr in temporary command of the garrison atWest Point, New York, until his recovery.[23]
In January 1779, Burr was assigned toWestchester County,New York, in command of Malcolm's Regiment, a region between the British post at Kingsbridge and that of the Americans about 15 miles (24 km) to the north. This district was part of the more significant command of GeneralAlexander McDougall, and there was much turbulence and plundering by lawless bands of civilians and by raiding parties of ill-disciplined soldiers from both armies.[24]
Due to continuing poor health, Burr resigned from the Continental Army in March 1779.[25] During his recovery, Burr carried urgent messages to Washington and various officers at the request of Generals McDougall andArthur St. Clair.[26] On July 5, 1779, he rallied a group ofYale students atNew Haven, Connecticut, along with CaptainJames Hillhouse and the Second ConnecticutGovernor's Guards, in askirmish with the British at theWest River.[27] The British advance was repulsed, forcing them to enter New Haven from nearbyHamden.[27]
In 1783, Burr became an Original Member of the New YorkSociety of the Cincinnati, an organization of officers who had served in the Continental Army and Navy during the Revolution.[28]
Burr metTheodosia Bartow Prevost in August 1778 while she was married toJacques Marcus Prevost, a Swiss-born British officer in theRoyal American Regiment.[29] In Prevost's absence, Burr began regularly visiting Theodosia atThe Hermitage, her home in New Jersey.[30] Theodosia would go on to visit Burr many times throughout his stay at West Point New York in June through July 1778.[31] Although she was ten years older than Burr, the constant visits provoked gossip, and by 1780 the two were openly lovers.[32] In December 1781, Burr learned that Jacques Prevost had died ofyellow fever while serving inJamaica.[33]
Burr and Theodosia were married in 1782, and they moved to a house onWall Street in Lower Manhattan.[34] After several years of severe illness, Theodosia died in 1794 fromstomach oruterine cancer.[35] Their only child to survive to adulthood wasTheodosia Burr Alston, born in 1783.[36]
In the autumn of 1780, Burr resumed his study of law with Thomas Smith ofHaverstraw.[27] He was licensed as an attorney inAlbany, New York, in January 1782, and was admitted to the bar as a counselor that April.[37] He promptly opened a successful law office in Albany.[37] He moved his law practice to New York City the following year, after the British evacuated the city.[34]
Burr quickly became a key player in politics, especially in New York, largely due to the power of the Tammany Society (which becameTammany Hall). Burr converted it from a social club into apolitical machine to help Jefferson reach the presidency, particularly in New York City.[38]
Burr served in theNew York State Assembly in 1784–85. In 1784, as an assemblyman, he unsuccessfully sought to abolishslavery immediately following the war,[39] despite having owned slaves himself.[40][41] He also continued his military service as a lieutenant colonel and commander of a regiment in the militia brigade commanded by William Malcolm.[42] He became seriously involved in politics in 1789, whenGovernorGeorge Clinton appointed him asNew York State Attorney General.[43] He was also Commissioner of Revolutionary War Claims.[44]
In 1791, Burr was elected by the legislature as aUnited States Senator fromNew York, defeating incumbent GeneralPhilip Schuyler.[44][45] During his time in theSenate, Burr made several federalist enemies due to his beliefs, including his opposition to Hamilton's proposed financial system. During the 1795 debates on theJay Treaty, Burr gave a speech illustrating his alignment with theDemocratic-Republican party;[46] he would formally join the party prior to the end of his Senatorial term.[47] In Burr's last year of being a senator, he opposed Washington's foreigner policy inWashington's Farewell Address.[45] Rather than trying to be reelected, Burr resigned from the Senate in 1797, after only one term.[45]
PresidentJohn Adams appointed Washington as commanding general of U.S. forces in 1798, but he rejected Burr's application for a brigadier general's commission during theQuasi-War withFrance. Washington wrote, "By all that I have known and heard, Colonel Burr is a brave and able officer, but the question is whether he has not equal talents at intrigue."[50] Burr returned to the New York State Assembly in 1798 and served there through 1799.[51] During this time, he cooperated with theHolland Land Company in gaining passage of a law to permitaliens to hold and convey lands.[52] National parties became clearly defined during Adams' presidency, and Burr loosely associated himself with the Democratic-Republicans. However, he had moderateFederalist allies such as SenatorJonathan Dayton of New Jersey.[53]
In September 1799, Burr founded his own bank, theManhattan Company,[54] and the enmity between him and Hamilton may have arisen from how he did so. Before the establishment of Burr's bank, the Federalists held amonopoly on banking interests in New York via the federal government'sBank of the United States and Hamilton'sBank of New York.[55] These banks financed operations of significant business interests owned by aristocratic members of the city. Hamilton had prevented the formation of rival banks. Small businessmen relied ontontines to buy property and establish a voting voice.[56][a]
Burr used his power as the head of the New York State Assembly in order to convince his delegation to let a private company run the project as a doctor, Joseph Browne had previously suggested.[57] He solicited support from Hamilton and other Federalists under the guise that he was establishing a badly needed water company for Manhattan. He secretly changed the application for a state charter at the last minute to include the ability to invest surplus funds in any cause that did not violate state law,[58] and dropped any pretense of founding a water company once he had gained approval, but he did dig a well and built a large working water storage tank on the site of his bank, which was still standing and apparently still working in 1898.[59][60] Hamilton and other supporters believed that Burr had acted "dishonorably" for tricking them.[9] Meanwhile, construction was delayed on a safe water system for Manhattan, and writerRon Chernow suggests that the delay may have contributed to deaths during a subsequentmalaria epidemic.[61] However,Museum of American Finance employees Maura Ferguson and Sarah Poole believe that the epidemic was not malaria, butyellow fever.[57]
The Manhattan Company was more than a bank; it was a tool to promote Democratic-Republican power and influence, and its loans were directed to partisans. By extending credit to small businessmen, who then obtained enough property to gain the franchise to vote, the bank was able to increase the party's electorate. Federalist bankers in New York responded by trying to organize a credit boycott of Democratic-Republican businessmen.[62]
Shortly after the bank's founding, Burr fought aduel withJohn Barker Church, whose wifeAngelica was the sister-in-law ofAlexander Hamilton.[63] Church had accused Burr of taking abribe from the Holland Land Company in exchange for his political influence. Burr and Church fired at each other and missed, and afterward, Church acknowledged that he was wrong to have accused Burr without proof. Burr accepted this as an apology, and the two men shook hands and ended the dispute.[64]
In the1800 United States presidential election, Burr combined the political influence of the Manhattan Company with party campaign innovations to deliver New York's support for Thomas Jefferson.[65] That year, New York's state legislature chose the presidential electors, as they had four years earlier, in 1796, when they gave their support to John Adams. Prior to the April 1800 legislative elections, the State Assembly was controlled by the Federalists. The City of New York elected assembly members on an at-large basis. Burr and Hamilton were the key campaigners for their respective parties. Burr's Democratic-Republican slate of assemblymen was elected, giving the party control of the legislature, which in turn gave New York State's electoral votes to Jefferson and Burr. This drove another wedge between Burr and Hamilton, who had developed a rivalry with Jefferson.[66]
Burr enlisted the help of Tammany Hall to win the voting for selection ofElectoral College delegates. He gained a place on the Democratic-Republican presidential ticket with Jefferson in the 1800 election. Jefferson and Burr won New York, and tied for the presidency overall, with 73 electoral votes each. Members of the Democratic-Republican Party understood they intended that Jefferson should be president and Burrvice president, but the tied vote required that the final choice be made by theU.S. House of Representatives, with each of the sixteen states having one vote, and nine votes needed for election.[67]
Burr remained quiet publicly, refusing to surrender the presidency to Jefferson, who was seen as the great enemy of the Federalists. Rumors circulated that he and a faction of Federalists were encouraging Democratic-Republican representatives to vote for him, blocking Jefferson's election in the House. However, solid evidence of such a conspiracy was lacking, and historians generally gave Burr the benefit of the doubt. In 2011, however, historian Thomas Baker discovered a previously unknown letter fromWilliam P. Van Ness toEdward Livingston, two leading Democratic-Republicans in New York.[68] Van Ness was very close to Burr, serving as his second in the duel with Alexander Hamilton. As a leading Democratic-Republican, Van Ness secretly supported the Federalist plan to elect Burr as president and tried to get Livingston to join.[68] Livingston agreed at first, then reversed himself. Baker argues that Burr probably supported the Van Ness plan: "There is a compelling pattern of circumstantial evidence, much of it newly discovered, that strongly suggests Aaron Burr did exactly that as part of a stealth campaign to compass the presidency for himself."[69] The attempt did not work, however, at least in part because of Livingston's reversal and especially Hamilton's vigorous opposition to Burr. Jefferson was ultimately elected president, and Burr vice president.[70][71]
Jefferson never trusted Burr, so he was effectively shut out of party matters. As vice president, Burr earned praise from some enemies for his even-handedness and his judicial manner as President of the Senate; he fostered some practices for that office that have become time-honored traditions.[72] Burr's judicial manner in presiding over theimpeachment trial of JusticeSamuel Chase has been credited as helping to preserve the principle of judicial independence that was established byMarbury v. Madison in 1803.[73] One newspaper wrote that Burr had conducted the proceedings with the "impartiality of an angel, but with the rigor of a devil".[74]
Burr was not nominated to a second term as Jefferson's running mate in the1804 election, and Clinton replaced Burr as vice president on March 4, 1805.Burr's farewell speech on March 2, 1805,[75] moved some of his harshest critics in the Senate to tears.[76] But the 20-minute speech wasnever recorded in full,[77] and has been preserved only in short quotes and descriptions of the address, which defended the American system of government.[75]
An early 20th century illustration after painting "Ein Ehrenhandel" by Joseph Munsch (Austrian, 1832-1896)[78] depicting theduel between Burr (right) andAlexander Hamilton (left) on July 11, 1804, inWeehawken, New Jersey.
When it became clear that Jefferson would drop Burr from his ticket in the 1804 election, Burr ran forgovernor of New York instead. He lost thegubernatorial election to little knownMorgan Lewis, in what was the most significant margin of loss in the state's history up to that time.[79] Burr blamed his loss on a personalsmear campaign believed to have been orchestrated by his party rivals, including Clinton.[80] Hamilton also opposed Burr, due to his belief that Burr had entertained a Federalist secession movement in New York.[81] In April, theAlbany Register published a letter from Dr.Charles D. Cooper to SenatorPhilip Schuyler, which relayed Hamilton's judgment that Burr was "a dangerous man and one who ought not to be trusted with the reins of government," and claiming to know of "a still more despicable opinion which General Hamilton has expressed of Mr. Burr".[82] In June, Burr sent this letter to Hamilton, seeking an affirmation or disavowal of Cooper's characterization of Hamilton's remarks.[83]
Hamilton replied that Burr should give specifics of his remarks, not Cooper's, and said he could not answer regarding Cooper's interpretation. A few more letters followed, in which the exchange escalated to Burr's demanding that Hamilton recant or deny any statement disparaging Burr's honor over the past fifteen years.[84] Hamilton, meaning what he said and wanting to ensure his reputation stayed clean for the future, did not.[85] According to historian Thomas Fleming, Burr would have immediately published such an apology, and Hamilton's remaining power in the New York's Federalist party would have been diminished.[86] Burr responded by challenging Hamilton to a duel,[87] personal combat then formalized under rules known ascode duello.[88]
Dueling was outlawed in New York, with bitter punishment awaiting any involved in dueling. It also was illegal inNew Jersey, but the criminal ramifications were less severe.[89] On July 11, 1804, the enemies met outsideWeehawken, New Jersey, at the same location where Hamilton's oldest son,Philip Hamilton, had been killed in a duel three years earlier. Both men fired, and Hamilton was mortally wounded by a shot just above the hip.[85][89]
The observers disagreed on who fired first. They did agree that there was a three-to-four-second interval between the first and the second shot, raising difficult questions in evaluating the two camps' versions.[90] Historian William Weir speculated that Hamilton might have been undone by his machinations: secretly setting hispistol's trigger to require only a half-pound of pressure as opposed to the usual ten pounds. Weir contends, "There is no evidence that Burr even knew that his pistol had a set trigger."[91]Louisiana State University history professors Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein concur with this, noting that "Hamilton brought the pistols, which had a larger barrel than regular dueling pistols, and a secrethair-trigger, and were therefore much more deadly,"[92] and conclude that "Hamilton gave himself an unfair advantage in their duel, and got the worst of it anyway."[92] However, other accounts state that Hamilton reportedly responded "not this time" when his second,Nathaniel Pendleton, asked whether he would set the hair-trigger feature.[93][94]
David O. Stewart, in his biography of Burr,American Emperor, notes that the reports of Hamilton's intentionally missing Burr with his shot began to be published in newspaper reports in papers friendly to Hamilton only in the days after his death.[95] However,Ron Chernow, in his 2004 biographyAlexander Hamilton, states that Hamilton told numerous friends well before the duel of his intention to avoid firing at Burr. Additionally, Hamilton wrote several letters, including aStatement on Impending Duel With Aaron Burr[96] and his last missives to his wife dated before the duel,[97] which also attest to his intention. The second shot, witnesses reported, followed so soon after the first that witnesses could not agree on who fired first. Before the duel proper, Hamilton took a good deal of time getting used to the feel and weight of the pistol and putting on his glasses to see his opponent more clearly. Theseconds placed Hamilton so that Burr would have the rising sun behind him, and during the brief duel, one witness reported, Hamilton seemed to be hindered by this placement as the sun was in his eyes.[98]
Each man took one shot. Burr's shot fatally injured Hamilton. While it is unclear whether Hamilton's was purposely fired into the air, Burr's bullet entered Hamilton's abdomen above his right hip, piercing hisliver andspine. Hamilton was evacuated to theManhattan residence of his friend,William Bayard Jr., where he and his family received visitors includingEpiscopal bishopBenjamin Moore, who gave Hamiltonlast rites. Burr was charged with multiple crimes, including murder, in New York and New Jersey, but was never tried in either jurisdiction.[98]
Burr fled toSouth Carolina, where his daughter lived with her family, but soon returned toPhiladelphia and then toWashington, D.C. to complete his term as vice president. He avoided New York and New Jersey for a time, but all the charges against him were eventually dropped. In the case of New Jersey, theindictment was thrown out on the basis that, although Hamilton was shot in New Jersey, he died in New York.[98]
Burr envisioned the probability of theSpanish-American War. In case war was declared,Andrew Jackson, then commander ofTennessee'smilitia, stood ready to assist Burr.[101]Burr's expedition of about eighty men carried modest arms for hunting and no warmateriel was ever revealed even whenBlennerhassett Island was seized byOhio's militia.[102] Burr vowed the aim of his conspiracy was that if he settled there with a large group of armed farmers and war broke out, he would likely face a force with which to fight and claim land for himself thereby restoring his wealth. However, the war did not emerge as soon as Burr expected. In 1819, theAdams–Onís Treaty securedFlorida for the U.S. without a fight, andwar in Texas did not commence until 1836, the year Burr died.[103]
After a near-incident with Spanish forces atNatchitoches, Wilkinson decided he could best protect himself by betraying Burr's plans to his Spanishspymasters and to President Jefferson.[104] Jefferson issued an order for Burr's arrest, declaring him a traitor before any indictment.[105] Burr read this in a newspaper in theTerritory of Orleans on January 10, 1807. Several journals reported on the subject, creating a pool of rumors, most against Burr.[106] Jefferson's warrant put federal agents on his trail.[107] Burr twice turned himself in to federal authorities, and both times judges found his actions legal and released him.[108]
In 1807, Burr was charged with treason in U.S.circuit court inRichmond, Virginia. Hisdefense lawyers includedEdmund Randolph,John Wickham,Luther Martin, and Benjamin Gaines Botts.[113] Burr wasarraigned four times for treason prior to being indicted before agrand jury. The only physical evidence presented to the grand jury was Wilkinson's letter from Burr, which proposed stealing land in theLouisiana Purchase. During the grand jury's deliberations, however, the court discovered that the letter was written in Wilkinson's handwriting. He said he had made a copy because he had lost the original. The grand jury dismissed the letter out as evidence, and the news made a laughingstock of Wilkinson for the rest of the proceedings.[114]
The trial, which was presided over by Chief JusticeJohn Marshall, began on August 3.Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution requires that treason either be admitted in open court or proven by an overt act witnessed by two people. Since no witnesses came forward, Burr wasacquitted on September 1, despite efforts by theJefferson administration to exert its political influence against him in the trial. Burr was immediately tried on a misdemeanor charge and was again acquitted.[115]
Jefferson used his influence as president to seek Burr's conviction, leading the trial to be seen as a major test of theU.S. Constitution and theseparation of powers. Jefferson challenged the authority of theSupreme Court and Chief Justice Marshall, who was appointed byJohn Adams and clashed with Jefferson over Adams' last-minute judicial appointments. Jefferson believed that Burr's treason was obvious. Burr sent a letter to Jefferson in which he stated that he could do Jefferson much harm. The case, as tried, was decided on whether Burr was present at certain events at certain times and in certain capacities. Jefferson used all of his personal influence in an attempt to convince Marshall to convict Burr, but Marshall was not swayed.[115]
HistoriansNancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein write that Burr:
was not guilty of treason, nor was he ever convicted, because there was no evidence, not one credible piece of testimony, and the star witness for the prosecution had to admit that he had doctored a letter implicating Burr.[92]
David O. Stewart, on the other hand, alleged that Burr was not explicitly guilty of treason, according to Marshall's definition, but evidence existed linking him to treasonous crimes. Bollman admitted to Jefferson during an interrogation that Burr planned to raise an army and invade Mexico. He said that Burr believed that he should be Mexico's monarch, since a republican government, in Burr's view, was not appropriate for Mexico.[116]
By the conclusion of his trial for treason, despite an acquittal, all of Burr's hopes for a political comeback had been dashed, and he fled America and his creditors for Europe.[117] Dr.David Hosack, Hamilton's physician and a friend to both Hamilton and Burr, lent Burr money for passage on a ship.[118]
Burr lived in self-imposedexile from 1808 to 1812, passing most of this period in England, where he occupied a house onCraven Street,London. He became a good friend, even confidant, of the EnglishUtilitarian philosopherJeremy Bentham, and on occasion lived at Bentham's home. He also spent time in Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany andFrance. Ever hopeful, he solicited funding for renewing his plans for a conquest of Mexico but was rebuffed. He was ordered out of England andEmperor Napoleon of France refused to receive him.[72] However, one of his ministers held an interview concerning Burr's goals for Spanish Florida or theBritish West Indies.[citation needed]
After returning from Europe, Burr used the surname "Edwards", his mother's maiden name, for a while to avoid creditors. With help from old friendsSamuel Swartwout and Matthew L. Davis, Burr returned to New York City and his law practice.[9] Later he helped the heirs of the Eden family in a financial lawsuit. By the early 1820s, the remaining members of the Eden household, Eden's widow and two daughters, had become a surrogate family to Burr.[119]
Image of Aaron Burr in 1833 or 1834, by J. Vandyke
Despite financial setbacks, Burr lived out the remainder of his life in New York in relative peace until 1833.[120] On July 1 of that year, at age 77, he marriedEliza Jumel, a wealthy widow who was nineteen years his junior. They lived together briefly at her residence which she had acquired with her first husband, theMorris-Jumel Mansion in theWashington Heights neighborhood ofManhattan.[121] Listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, it is now preserved and open to the public.[122]
Soon after the marriage, Jumel realized her fortune was dwindling due to Burr'sland speculation losses,[123] and separated from him after four months of marriage. The apocryphal story is that she choseAlexander Hamilton Jr.[124] as her divorce lawyer in 1834, the same year Burr suffered an immobilizingstroke.[125]
In addition to his daughter Theodosia, Burr was the father of at least three other children and headopted two sons. Burr also acted as a parent to his two stepsons by his wife's first marriage and he became a mentor or guardian to several protégés who lived in his home.[9]
Theodosia Burr Alston was born in 1783 and was named after her mother. She was the only child of Burr's marriage to Theodosia Bartow Prevost who survived to adulthood. A second daughter, Sally, lived to the age of three.[126] Two unnamed stillborns arrived later, with the first son in February 1787 and the second on July 9, 1788.[citation needed]
Burr was a devoted and attentive father to Theodosia.[126] Believing that a young woman should have an education equal to that of a young man, he prescribed a rigorous course of studies for her which included the classics, French, horsemanship and music.[126] Their surviving correspondence indicates that he affectionately treated his daughter as a close friend and confidante as long as she lived. Theodosia was devoted to her father as well, once having wrote to him "...you appear to me so superior, so elevated above all other men..."[127]
Theodosia became widely known for her education and accomplishments. In 1801, she marriedJoseph Alston of South Carolina.[128] They had a son together, Aaron Burr Alston, in 1802.[129] In 1812, the young boy died ofmalaria at age ten. Following her son's death, Theodosia sent a letter to her father, stating, "...there is no more joy for me, the world is a blank. I have lost my boy. My child is gone forever. He expired on the 30th of June."[130]
During the winter of 1812–1813, Theodosia was lost at sea with theschoonerPatriot off the Carolinas. Although it is unknown what truly happened to Theodosia and the other passengers, the most common theories are that they were either murdered by pirates or shipwrecked in a storm. Burr and Mr. Alston personally chose to believe the theory that she had died in a storm, not wanting to think their beloved had been murdered.[127]
Upon Burr's marriage, he became stepfather to the two teenage sons of his wife's first marriage. Augustine James Frederick Prevost (called "Frederick") andJohn Bartow Prevost had both joined their father in the Royal American Regiment in December 1780, at the ages of 16 and 14.[29] When they returned in 1783 to become citizens of the United States,[29] Burr acted as a father to them: he assumed responsibility for their education, gave both of them clerkships in his law office and frequently was accompanied by one of them as an assistant when he traveled on business.[131] John was later appointed by Jefferson to a post in the Territory of Orleans as the first judge of theLouisiana Supreme Court.[132]
Nathalie de Lage de Volude
Burr served as a guardian to Nathalie de Lage de Volude (1782–1841) from 1794 to 1801, during Theodosia's childhood. The young daughter of a Frenchmarquis, Nathalie was taken to New York for safety during theFrench Revolution by hergoverness, Caroline de Senat.[133] Burr opened his home to them, allowing Madame Senat to tutor private students there along with his daughter, and Nathalie became a companion and close friend to Theodosia.[134] While traveling to France for an extended visit in 1801, Nathalie met Thomas Sumter Jr., a diplomat and the son of GeneralThomas Sumter.[133] They married inParis in March 1802, before returning to his home in South Carolina. From 1810 to 1821 they lived inRio de Janeiro,[135] where Sumter served as the American ambassador toPortugal during thetransfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil.[136] One of their children,Thomas De Lage Sumter, was a Congressman from South Carolina.[133]
In the 1790s, Burr also took the painterJohn Vanderlyn into his home as a protégé,[137] and provided him with financial support and patronage for 20 years.[138] He arranged Vanderlyn's training byGilbert Stuart in Philadelphia and sent him in 1796 to theÉcole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he remained for six years.[139]
Burr adopted two sons,Aaron Columbus Burr and Charles Burdett, during the 1810s and 1820s after the death of his daughter Theodosia. Aaron (born Aaron Burr Columbe) was born in Paris in 1808 and arrived in America around 1815, and Charles was born in 1814.[119][140][141] Both of the boys were reputed to be Burr's biological sons. A Burr biographer described Aaron Columbus Burr as "the product of a Paris adventure", conceived presumably during Burr's exile from the United States between 1808 and 1814.[141]
In 1835, the year before his death, Burr acknowledged two young daughters whom he had fathered late in his life, by different mothers. Burr made specific provisions for his surviving daughters in awill dated January 11, 1835, in which he left "all the rest and residue" of his estate, after other specific bequests, to six-year-old Frances Ann (bornc. 1829), and two-year-old Elizabeth (bornc. 1833).[142]
In 1787 or earlier, Burr began a relationship withMary Emmons, who was East Indian, likely ofBengali ethnicity. She worked as a servant in his household during his first marriage. She came fromCalcutta toSaint-Domingue (modern-dayHaiti), where she had lived under the adopted name Eugénie Beauharnais before coming to America and taking on the name Mary Emmons.[41][143][144] Burr fathered two children with Emmons, both of whom married into Philadelphia's "Free Negro" community in which their families became prominent:
One contemporary of John Pierre Burr identified him as a natural son of Burr in a published account,[147] but Burr never acknowledged his relationship or children with Emmons during his life, in contrast to his adoption or acknowledgment of other children born later in his life.[citation needed]
In 2018, Louisa and John were acknowledged by the Aaron Burr Association as the children of Burr after Sherri Burr, a descendant of John Pierre, provided both documentary evidence and results of aDNA test to confirm a familial link between descendants of Burr and descendants of Pierre.[148][149] The Association installed a headstone at Pierre's grave to mark his ancestry. Stuart Fisk Johnson, the president of the Association, commented, "A few people didn't want to go into it because Aaron's first wife, Theodosia, was still alive, and dying of cancer [when Aaron fathered Pierre] ... But the embarrassment is not as important as it is to acknowledge and embrace actual living, robust, accomplished children."[150]
Burr was a man of complex character who made many friends, but also many powerful enemies. He was indicted for murder after the death of Hamilton, but never prosecuted;[151] he was reported by acquaintances to be curiously unmoved by Hamilton's death, expressing no regret for his role in the result. He was arrested and prosecuted for treason by President Jefferson, but acquitted.[152] Although the charges were dropped, Burr remained distrusted by contemporaries for the rest of his life.[1]
In his later years in New York, Burr provided money and education for several children, some of whom were reputed to be his natural children. To his friends and family, and often to strangers, he could be kind and generous. Jane Fairfield, the wife of the struggling poetSumner Lincoln Fairfield, recorded in her autobiography that in the late 1820s, their friend Burrpawned his watch to provide for the care of the Fairfields' two children.[153] Jane wrote that, while traveling, she and her husband had left the children in New York with their grandmother, who proved unable to provide adequate food or heat for them. The grandmother took the children to Burr's home and asked his help: "[Burr] wept, and replied, 'Though I am poor and have not a dollar, the children of such a mother shall not suffer while I have a watch.' He hastened on this godlike errand, and quickly returned, having pawned the article for twenty dollars, which he gave to make comfortable my precious babes."[153]
By Fairfield's account, Burr had lost his religious faith before that time; upon seeing a painting ofJesus' suffering, Burr candidly told her, "It is a fable, my child; there never was such a being."[154]
Burr believed women to be intellectually equal to men and hung a portrait ofMary Wollstonecraft over his mantel. The Burrs' daughter, Theodosia, was taught dance, music, several languages and learned to shoot from horseback. Until her death at sea in 1813, she remained devoted to her father. Not only did Burr advocate education for women, upon his election to the New York legislature, he submitted a bill, which failed to pass, that would have allowedwomen to vote.[155] Hamilton attacked Burr for supporting the idea that women were the intellectual equals of men.[156]
Burr was considered a notorious womanizer.[157] In addition to cultivating relationships with women in his social circles, his journals indicate that he was a frequent patron ofprostitutes during his travels in Europe; he recorded brief notes of dozens of such encounters, and the amounts he paid. He described "sexual release as the only remedy for his restlessness and irritability".[158] Along with journals of his own, during the 1804 New York gubernatorial election, one of his enemies, James Cheetham, stated he had a list of "the top 20 prostitutes in New York City", all of whom mentioned they had Burr as a customer and favored him over the others.[80]
Burr also fought againstanti-immigrant sentiment, led by Hamilton's Federalist party, which suggested that anyone without English heritage was a second-class citizen and even challenged the rights of non-Anglos to hold office. In response, Burr insisted that anyone who contributed to society deserved all the rights of any other citizen, no matter their background.[159]
John Quincy Adams wrote in his diary when Burr died: "Burr's life, take it all together, was such as in any country of sound morals his friends would be desirous of burying in quiet oblivion."[160] Adams' father, President John Adams, had frequently defended Burr during his life. At an earlier time, he wrote, Burr "had served in the army, and came out of it with the character of a knight without fear and an able officer".[161]
Gordon S. Wood, a leading scholar of the revolutionary period, holds that it was Burr's character that put him at odds with the rest of theFounding Fathers, especially Madison, Jefferson and Hamilton. He believed that this led to his personal and political defeats and, ultimately, to his place outside the golden circle of revered revolutionary figures. Because of his habit of placing self-interest above the good of the whole, those men thought that Burr represented a serious threat to the ideals for which they had fought the revolution. Their ideal, as particularly embodied in Washington and Jefferson, was that of "disinterested politics",[162] a government led by educated gentlemen. They would fulfill their duties in a spirit of public virtue and without regard to personal interests or pursuits. This was the core of anEnlightenment gentleman, and Burr's political enemies thought that he lacked that essential core. Hamilton thought that Burr's self-serving nature made him unfit to hold office, especially the presidency.[163] Hamilton believed it "a religious duty to oppose his career", as he wrote in 1792.[164]
Although Hamilton considered Jefferson a political enemy, he also believed him a man of public virtue. Hamilton conducted an unrelenting campaign in the House of Representatives to prevent Burr's election to the presidency and gain election of his erstwhile enemy, Jefferson. Hamilton characterized Burr as exceedingly immoral, as well as "unprincipled & dangerous".[165] Hamilton deemed his political quest as one for "permanent power".[166][167] He contended that Burr cared little about the Constitution and predicted that if he gained any more power, his leadership would continue to be for personal gain, while Jefferson was a true patriot and public servant committed to preserving the Constitution.[168]
Burr died in a boarding home after suffering two strokes[169] inPort Richmond, New York, onStaten Island, on September 14, 1836, at age 80, the same day that his divorce was officially completed.[8] The boarding house later became known as the St. James Hotel.[170][171] He was buried near his father's gravesite inPrinceton, New Jersey.[172]
Although Burr is often remembered primarily for his duel with Hamilton, his establishment of guides and rules for the first impeachment trial set a high bar for behavior and procedures in the Senate chamber, many of which are followed today.[43][173]
HistorianNancy Isenberg, seeking to explain Burr's negative image in modern times, wrote that his portrayal as a villain is actually the result of a smear campaign invented by his political enemies centuries ago, and then disseminated in newspapers, pamphlets and personal letters during and after his lifetime. According to Isenberg, pop-cultural portraits of Burr have repeated these distortions, transforming him into the quintessential "bad guy" of early American history.[156] Stuart Fisk Johnson describes Burr asprogressive thinker and doer, a brave military patriot and brilliant lawyer who helped establish some of the physical infrastructure and guiding legal principles which helped in the founding of America.[174]
A lasting consequence of Burr's role in the election of 1800 was theTwelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which changed how vice presidents were chosen. As was evident from the 1800 election, the situation could quickly arise where the vice president, as the defeated presidential candidate, could not work well with the president. The Twelfth Amendment required that electoral votes be cast separately for president and vice president.[175]
Burr is also sometimes seen as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States,[8] although this characterization is unusual.[176]
In the alternative history anthologyAlternate Presidents (1992) byMike Resnick. "The War of '07" byJayge Carr, Aaron Burr is elected the third president in1800 againstThomas Jefferson, establishes an alliance withNapoleon Bonaparte, and creates a family dictatorship. Aaron Burr serves as president for nine terms until his death on September 14, 1836. His grandson and final vice president Aaron Burr Alston becomes the fourth president of the United States.[citation needed]
^Members of the electoral college in the 18th century cast two ballots but did not specify an office. The first-place finisher overall became president and the runner-up vice president. They did not run on a "ticket" and were often opponents.
^Wright, Robert K. Jr.; MacGregor, Morris J. Jr. "David Brearly".Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution. Washington D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 71-25. Archived fromthe original on October 9, 2019. RetrievedMarch 6, 2025.
^"Ebb & Flow".NYC Department of Records & Information Services. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2024.
^Brian Phillips Murphy, " 'A Very Convenient Instrument': The Manhattan Company, Aaron Burr, and the Election of 1800."William and Mary Quarterly 65.2 (2008): 233–266.onlineArchived July 31, 2020, at theWayback Machine
^Thomas, Gordon L. (1953). "Aaron burr's farewell address".Quarterly Journal of Speech.39 (3):273–282.doi:10.1080/00335635309381878. "Except for some of his court-room speeches [...] no verbatim reports of his speeches are extant."
^Winfield, Charles H. (1874).History of the County of Hudson, New Jersey from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. New York: Kennard and Hay. Chapter 8, "Duels." pp. 219.
Baker, Thomas N. (Winter 2011). "'An Attack Well Directed': Aaron Burr Intrigues for the Presidency".Journal of the Early Republic.31 (4). University of Pennsylvania Press:553–598.doi:10.1353/jer.2011.0073.JSTOR41261652.S2CID144183161.
Berkin, Carol; Miller, Christopher L.; Cherny, Robert W.; Gormly, James L.; Egerton, Douglas R. & Woestman, Kelly (2013) [1st pub. Houghton Mifflin: 1995].Making America: A History of the United States (Brief 6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.ISBN978-1133317692.
James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S., eds. (1971)."Burr, Theodosia".Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Harvard University Press. p. 270.ISBN978-0-674-62734-5.
McFarland, Philip (1979).Sojourners. New York: Atheneum.
Murphy, Brian Phillips (2008). "'A Very Convenient Instrument': The Manhattan Company, Aaron Burr, and the Election of 1800".William and Mary Quarterly.65 (2).
Office of Art and Archives (n.d.)."Burr, Aaron".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. U.S. Congress.Archived from the original on December 7, 2014.
Bureau of Public Affairs."Thomas Sumter Jr. (1768–1840)".Office of the Historian. United States Department of State.Archived from the original on October 18, 2012.
Pickett, Albert James (1900) [1st pub. Walker and James:1851]."The Arrest of Aaron Burr in Alabama".History of Alabama. Birmingham, AL: The Webb Book Co. pp. 488–502.
Williams, Edward G. (January 1973)."The Prevosts of the Royal Americans".Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine (PDF).56 (1):16–17.Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. RetrievedMay 21, 2019.
Dean, Richard. "The Treason Trial of Aaron Burr."Litigation 47 (2020): 9+online
Faulkner, Robert K. "John Marshall and the Burr Trial".Journal of American History 1966 53(2): 247–258.ISSN0021-8723
Freeman, Joanne B. "Dueling as Politics: Reinterpreting the Burr-Hamilton Duel."William and Mary Quarterly 53(2) (1996): 289–318.ISSN0043-5597
Fruchtman, Jack. "Hero or Villain? The Treason Trial of Aaron Burr (1807)." inPolitical Trials in an Age of Revolutions: Britain and the North Atlantic, 1793—1848 (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018) pp. 297–319.online
Gelormino, Nicola A. "Mediation: The Process That Might Have Saved Face for Two Prominent Figures in American History and the Life of the First Secretary of the Treasury." American Journal of. Mediation 4 (2010): 83+online.
Harrison, Lowell. 1978. "The Aaron Burr Conspiracy." American History I Illustrated 13:25.
Burr, Aaron.Political Correspondence and Public Papers of Aaron Burr. Mary-Jo Kline and Joanne W. Ryan, eds. 2 vol. Princeton University Press, 1983. 1311 pp.
Ford, Worthington Chauncey."Some Papers of Aaron Burr"Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 29#1: 43–128. 1919
Robertson, David.Reports of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr (Late Vice President of the United States) for Treason and for Misdemeanor ... Two Volumes (1808)online
Van Ness, William Peter.An Examination of the Various Charges Exhibited Against Aaron Burr, vice-president of the United States: and a Development of the Characters and Views of His Political Opponents. (1803)Available through Haithi Trust
1. In1792, withGeorge Washington as the candidate favored to be elected president, theDemocratic-Republican Party nominated George Clinton; their intention was that he be elected vice president. 2. Before passage of theTwelfth Amendment, in 1804, eachpresidential elector would cast two votes; the candidate who received a majority of votes would become president and the runner-up would become vice president. 3. Aaron Burr was a presidential candidate in the elections in1796 and1800, although the Democratic-Republican Party also nominatedThomas Jefferson; their intention was that Jefferson be elected president and Burr be elected vice president.
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