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Analysis of aaron burr
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In the months between and including May and September, in 1807, Aaron Burr was tried by the Supreme Court in Virginia on the count of treason against the United States. During the period of 1804 to 1807, Burr allegedly committed several overt acts, which are actions, that may be innocent in themselves, but in combination with the intentions and results of that act, become criminal actions. The trial was about treason, which the Constitution defines as “levying war against [the United States], or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid or comfort,“ (Art. III, Sect. 3) and the prosecution must prove that Burr committed the overt act with the testimony of two witnesses, for the treason conviction to stand. In this trial, Burr’s actions outside of the state of Virginia have no bearing on the overt act of assembling troops to levy war against the United States, and therefore the majority of his admissible actions occurred on Blennerhasset’s Island in Virginia. (Doc 108) Although the prosecution made a strong case for Burr’s guilt, the differentiation between his intentions and his actions, his background as an American patriot and the lack of concrete evidence, one must conclude that Aaron Burr is not guilty of treason. He perhaps was even the victim of a larger governmental conspiracy to rid him of all prestige, honor and legacy.
The prosecution tried to prove that Burr used his power to assemble an army of men to conquer New Orleans, then Mexico and eventually found a new nation composed of the Western American states and Mexico. The fault in their argument is that his actions do not necessarily point directly towards this conclusion. It is true that Burr wrote letters and even discussed a new war with Spain and the formation of a new nation, but this does not constitute treason for “individuals may meet together and traitorously determine to make dispositions to bring forces into the field, and levy war against their country; this is a conspiracy, but not treason.” (Doc 108) Therefore, even if Burr intended to eventually enact his plan, the simple act of planning it does not constitute treason. But even the true intentions of Burr remain unclear, for he had recently purchased 400,000 acres of land in the Western states and perhaps he assembled these men to settle it. (Doc 33) His actions of enlisting men, arming them and supplying them does not constitute treason because the overt act remains innocent without confirmation of intent to harm the United States.
The Scottsboro Trials, Brown v. Mississippi, and trial of Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
The Trent Affair was the diplomatic crisis that potentially brought Great Britain and the United States closest to war during the first year of the American Civil War. Although war seemed possible, both sides managed to avoid an armed conflict, and in the process gained greater confidence in one another.
Even though Jefferson admitted that the letters he received from Wilkinson contained "such a mixture of rumors, conjectures, and suspicions, as renders it difficult to sift out the real facts, and unadvisable to hazard more than general outlines, strengthened by current information, on the particular credibility of the relator," and George Hay, U.S. Attorney, confided to Jefferson that "[m]y confidence in [Wilkinson] is shaken, if not destroyed," the case against Burr was till thoroughly supported by Jefferson. However, the letters became the prosecution’s downfall when it was discovered that Wilkinson altered the cipher letter. Burr could now use the letters for his defense if Jefferson would hand them over to
Although Henry refused to serve on the Constitutional Convention, Madison needed Henry's persuasive ways. Henry had a way to make people agree with his ideas. Even though Henry didn't serve on the Constitutional Convention, he was still present to put in his word. As soon as the meetings opened, Henry began to argue against the Constitution. This argument went on for three weeks. Henry was aware that the new government had to be strong, but felt that the Constitution made the central government too powerful. He thought that the power should lay in the hands of the states. "What right had they [the group that wrote the Constitution] to say 'We the people,' instead We, the States?" he demanded.
When the Civil War erupted, Wilkes was in his early twenties- still very young and naïve. Booth’s family mostly supported the Union. On the other hand, Booth was a supporter of the Confederates. As a child, his father’s farm had been operated by slaves, which influenced his views on the subject of the Confederates. Malicious and harmful emotions and opinions materialized from the war that led Booth to start creating schemes against President Lincoln. By 1864, at age 26, he created a plan to keep Lincoln hostage and planned to release him only if the Confederates in the war were freed. The plan began to crumble, so Booth decided to reach out to others who felt the same as he did. He met with several conspirators. The most crucial meeting was when Booth and a few others met at a woman named Mary Surratt’s boarding house in Washington D.C. to come up with a ne...
What do you think caused the Salem Trials? In 1692 20 witches were hanged in Salem, Massachusetts. Mostly women were involved. In this article you will learn why gold diggers caused the Salem Trials.
In March, 1918, French teacher, feminist and socialist activist, Hélène Brion was trialed for treason and defeatism in regards to the spread of her propaganda items throughout France, that challenged the Allies war efforts in World war 1(Michallat, W. 2013). The primary source to be analysed in this essay is the statement Brion delivered at her trial for treason.
Thomas Corwin, former U.S. Senator and governor of Ohio, opposed the Mexican- American war. As a legislator, he spoke a speech as it is written in this document. In the beginning, he is questioning the president about whether the land they are fighting for has a right to be theirs. He claims that if they continue with the war, it is treason, and that the north and the south would collide. The irony of this is that he believes it was treason for going through with the war; however, most people believed he was committing treason for not going through with the war.
He went against his beliefs two other times when he went along with the 1804 impeachments of Federal district judge John Pickering and Supreme court judge Samuel Chase. The constitution states that “treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors” must be committed to warrant this, but both men were impeached by the Senate due to erratic behavior.
To start with, the colonies were glad to be British. There were little instances of Parliament's control that troubled the colonies, similar to the Currency Acts of 1751 and 1764. Being that as it may, when the French and Indian War occurred (1754 – 1763), King George III lost a lot of cash because of purchasing costly supplies for his armed forces and the settlements. Keeping in mind the end goal to pay off his debts, he forced charges on the colonies without their consent. This insulted the settlers. Yet, the things that sparked the American Revolution were the Boston Tea Party, The Intolerable Acts and The First Continental Congress.
The Salem Witch Trials took place in the summer and into the fall of the year 1692, and during this dark time of American history, over 200 people had been accused of witchcraft and put in jail. Twenty of these accused were executed; nineteen of them were found guilty and were put to death by hanging. One refused to plead guilty, so the villagers tortured him by pressing him with large stones until he died. The Salem Witch Trials was an infamous, scary time period in American history that exhibited the amount of fear people had of the devil and the supernatural; the people of this time period accused, arrested, and executed many innocent people because of this fear, and there are several theories as to why the trials happened (Brooks).
The Sedition Act essentially said that it was illegal to speak, write, or print any scandalous or malicious statements about the president. This law was seen as the most unconstitutional of the four laws passed in the Alien and Sedition Acts that were passed during the administration of President John Adams. These laws were ideally used to limit the power of any opposition to the Federalist party. In addition, Jefferson also had Congress repeal the Alien Acts which were a series of acts passed in preparation for the possibility of war with France. Jefferson also reduced the size of the military. With this reduction, Jefferson slashed the size of both the army and the navy but immediately had to rebuilt it due to the First Barbary War. He also wanted to reduce power of the Bank of US so he created state banks which would do that. Jefferson additionally removed the whiskey tax and significantly lowered or removed other taxes. The whiskey tax taxed all liquor made and sold in the US to combat the federal government's debt. This angered many farmers because they would lose money as less people will buy whiskey which is made from the corn they
It is rare for a victim of a hate crime to get the justice they deserve. During the 1950s, the establishment of Jim Crow Laws in the South were extremely fixated on racial disenfranchising African-Americans. Mississippi was no exception, in that they glorified the Old South more than any of their fellow southern states. Young and independent Emmett Louis Till went to Mississippi to visit some relatives over the summer. 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped, tormented, and murdered, after he reportedly flirted with a white woman who went by the name of Carolyn Bryant. The death of Emmett Till at the hands of his racially motivated killers, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, was brought to light in their confessions. Even with the undisputable incriminating
For three hours and a half in a courtroom at Boise, Ohio, Harry Orchard assembled in the witness chair at the Haywood trial and recounted a record of offenses, slaughter, and murder… the like of which no individual in the overcrowded courtroom had ever thought of. Not in the entire scope of "Bloody Gulch" literature will there be exposed anything that approaches an equivalent to the atrocious narrative so motionlessly, coolly, and composedly voiced by this audacious, disimpassioned man-slaughterer.
The debate of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 revealed bitter controversies on a number of issues. Most of the controversies had, however, arose even before these acts; as far back as the penning of the Constitution. The writers of the Constitution knew that as time proceeded, the needs and demands of the nation and of the people would change, leading to controversy. By not assigning specific powers to specific groups/parties, governments, they unintentionally created a vast problem in the years to come.