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The importance of ideology
Aaron Burr
What is the importance of political ideology
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Aaron Burr's Treason Trial
The early 1800’s were an unusual time in the history of the United States. A country in its infancy, growing, turbulent, and filled with intrigue where political and economic fortunes were made and lost overnight. While the country was founded on noble ideas---and no doubt these powerful ideas were taken seriously---how such ideas were to be put into practice created fertile ground for personal ambition and interest to be a stronger motivator than the “common good”. In fact, at times it appears that the ideas were little more than vehicles for the personal ambitions---and in the case of this story---the personal vendettas of powerful personalities.
Aaron Burr, brilliant, ambitious, and a great orator, was certainly larger than life. And his battles with Thomas Jefferson---no less a dramatic figure---lead finally to his trial for treason against the United States. This trial was the culmination of a personal political battle between two great figures where Jefferson would stop at nothing to destroy Burr…even if it meant abusing the principles that he himself help enshrine as the basis for the United States. This trial, and the preceding events, are the subject of this paper. Reviewing the facts illustrates that the trial was really more about a vendetta between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr than the law.
Aaron Burr was born in 1756 and was one of the rising stars of the new republic. A rising star many felt was sure to be the President of the young country and to be a distinguished one at that. Burr’s conflict with Jefferson began when they tied for the presidential election of 1800. The election then went to the House of Representatives where Burr rejected Federalist ove...
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Harrison 24. Bibliography
Abernathy, Thomas. The Burr Conspiracy. New York: Oxford University press, 1954.
Baker, Leonard. John Marshall: A Life in Law. New York: Macmillan publishing Co., 1974.
Bernie, Francis. Shout Treason: The Trial of Aaron Burr. New York: 1959.
Blennerhassett, Harmon. Harmon Blennerhassett’s Journal. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1988.
Harrison, Lowell. “The Aaron Burr Conspiracy”. American History Illustrated, June, 1978.
Hobson, Charles. The Great Chief Justice. New York: University Press of Kansas, 1996.
Jenkinson, Isaac. Jefferson And Burr. Richmond: M. Cullaton Printers, 1898.
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Smith, Jean. John Marshall; Definer of a Nation. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996.
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In Woody Holton's Forced Founders, that most revered segment of the revolutionary generation, the elitist gentry class of Virginia, comes across very much as a group of self-serving reactionaries, rather then the idealized revolutionaries of the great patriotic myth of popular history. He sets about disassembling a central portion of the myth created by earlier generations of Consensus historians, by asserting that rather then gallantly leading the charge for independence, Virginia's elitist gentry resorted to independence as their last and only means of saving their elite ruling status, their economic futures, and even their very lives many feared. While this is very much an example of revisionist history, Holton has not so much rewritten history, as he has provided the back story of the complexity and diversity of the Virginia colony on the eve of the American Revolution. For while the book's title may insinuate otherwise, lowly groups like slaves and Indians discussed here are afforded only the status of “founders” by pressing those traditionally thought of in this role to take the plunge for independence. Still the papers and correspondence of the iconic figureheads of the revolutionary generation like Washington, Jefferson, and Madison make up the bulk of primary sources.
...ke George Washington especially had veritable fortunes personally vested in the outcome. His work makes it apparent also that this was not a localized protest comprised of a mere handful of ardent participants from what was then the extreme fringe of American civilization, but rather the dissent was in fact a wide-spread crisis, which very much had the potential to be the undoing of the new nation. Slaughter reveals the extreme sectionalism which plagued the nation throughout its first century of existence was well established prior to the dawn of the nineteenth century. He asserts also that the precedent was set regarding the question of national versus state or local authority, which has continued in effect since.
In the book Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis, the author relates the stories of six crucial historic events that manage to capture the flavor and fervor of the revolutionary generation and its great leaders. While each chapter or story can be read separately and completely understood, they do relate to a broader common theme. One of Ellis' main purposes in writing the book was to illustrate the early stages and tribulations of the American government and its system through his use of well blended stories. The idea that a republican government of this nature was completely unprecedented is emphasized through out the book. Ellis discusses the unique problems that the revolutionary generation experienced as a result of governing under the new concept of a democracy. These problems included- the interpretation of constitutional powers, the regulation of governmental power through checks and balances, the first presidential elections, the surprising emergence of political parties, states rights vs. federal authority, and the issue of slavery in a otherwise free society. Ellis dives even deeper into the subject by exposing the readers to true insight of the major players of the founding generation. The book attempts to capture the ideals of the early revolutionary generation leaders and their conflicting political viewpoints. The personalities of Hamilton, Burr, Adams, Washington, Madison, and Jefferson are presented in great detail. Ellis exposes the reality of the internal and partisan conflict endured by each of these figures in relation to each other. Ellis emphasizes that despite these difficult hurdles, the young American nation survived its early stages because of its great collection of charismatic leaders and their ability to ...
Holton, Woody. Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr struggled on many different fronts. Ultimately, Hamilton forced Burr out of the presidential seat by backing Thomas Jefferson, and for this, Burr had great revenge. Their clashes went on and off for many years until there came a time that Burr could not handle it any further. Already angry with Hamilton, Burr was looking for any way to display that anger. Eventually he found an article that has Hamilton recalling Burr as a “dangerous man”. Burr found
In his essay titled, “The Transformation of European Society”, Gary Nash argues how seventeenth and eighteenth century United States (U.S.) witnessed the birth of a distinct “democratic personality”. This personality had numerous effects on American society. Mr. Nash believed a society having democratic personalities exhibited the following qualities: individualization, competitiveness, and opportunity. Many factors led up to the creation of each of these traits. Americans wanted their own, distinct life, where they were not told how to act and what to think. Unfortunately, this was idealistic thinking. Reality was that they were swaying from the original goal of working towards the better of community, the Puritan way. Through the traits mentioned above in many ways could help society, they constantly went against it also. For example, many businesses, even parts of the government, were accused of being corrupt, and performing illegal acts in order to get ahead. U.S citizens were given so many options in life, many learned they could do better than what they were born to. The immense amount of land in the West led to many of these options. The land was cheap and unoccupied, meaning that it was relatively easy to gain success and achieve a higher social standing through the land. This was followed by the mindset of the “me” personality in much of American history. This also led to how competitiveness became ingrained into daily rational and overall life. A multitude of people were motivated to achieve more and become the vision of success that was driving their fellow man. Many of their visions were of owning land, and of being able to live a comfortable lifestyle. As Nash states, “living in a place where the ratio of people to ...
This is the beginning of the end for Burr in politics, though, when he decides to challenge Jefferson for the presidency due to Burr and Jefferson tying in the Electoral College vote. After 34 votes by Congress Burr lost, and he became shunned by the Democratic-Republican Party and the rest of the political world. Burr will only try to run for governor of New York after his term as Vice President was done. When he lost, he blamed his loss on Hamilton due to Hamilton’s political connections. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, and Hamilton accepted. In February of 1804, The duel occurs. Burr is unscathed in the duel, but Hamilton is mortally wounded. The aftermath of the duel ruined Burr’s career. He was shunned from every political circle, and he was replaced as Vice President in 1804. He then set his sights on making an empire in the west and Mexico (The Strange Legacy of Aaron Burr). According to David Stewart’s American Emperor: Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America, Burr worked with many people over the period of a few years to try and conquer the Western United States, which was the Appalachian Mountains and westward. He worked with the nation of Spain, who would make him the emperor over the territory if he gained the land. His attempts failed and he was put to trial by the United States’ government in one of the most famous cases to face the Supreme Court. He
Roark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.M. (2009). The american promise: A history of the united states (4th ed.), The New West and Free North 1840-1860, The slave south, 1820-1860, The house divided 1846-1861 (Vol. 1, pp. 279-354).
The interview at Weehawken set a very important precedent for the future of the United States. In July of 1804, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, two aristocratic and influential individuals, conducted a duel on a cliff in Weehawken, New Jersey. The duel was meant to solve the two men’s political differences, and to prove to the country which man’s views were correct, but ended up causing more problems than it fixed. Many long-term issues led up to the incident and would turn out to leave a powerful effect on the growth of the United States.
On the morning of July 11, 1804 in New Jersey, near the shore of the Hudson River, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had their famous duel, which the two agreed on after a series of events. Many things led to the infamous duel that morning. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had different upbringings. The former grew up on the island of Nevis, born of parents not in marriage. His mother was a prostitute and the father accused her of “whoring around”. At ten years old, his father left and at fourteen his mother died. He had to made a living in an economy rooted in slavery, developing his dark view of human nature. He was gifted in mathematics and finance, and became head clerk of a shipping company at fifteen. His energy and ambition sent him
However, the author 's interpretations of Jefferson 's decisions and their connection to modern politics are intriguing, to say the least. In 1774, Jefferson penned A Summary View of the Rights of British America and, later, in 1775, drafted the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (Ellis 32-44). According to Ellis, the documents act as proof that Jefferson was insensitive to the constitutional complexities a Revolution held as his interpretation of otherwise important matters revolved around his “pattern of juvenile romanticism” (38). Evidently, the American colonies’ desire for independence from the mother country was a momentous decision that affected all thirteen colonies. However, in Ellis’ arguments, Thomas Jefferson’s writing at the time showed either his failure to acknowledge the severity of the situation or his disregard of the same. Accordingly, as written in the American Sphinx, Jefferson’s mannerisms in the first Continental Congress and Virginia evokes the picture of an adolescent instead of the thirty-year-old man he was at the time (Ellis 38). It is no wonder Ellis observes Thomas Jefferson as a founding father who was not only “wildly idealistic” but also possessed “extraordinary naivete” while advocating the notions of a Jeffersonian utopia that unrestrained
After the American Revolution came to an end in 1783, the events that followed after are chronologically and thoroughly explained in Joseph J. Ellis’ novel. During Ellis’ novel, he argues the conflicts and disputations between the most prestigious men such as; Hamilton, Burr, Washington, Adams, Franklin and Madison. Greatly known as the Founding Fathers of the constitution, we can see through the main themes the tension risen when it came to political powers and views. Within the different stories presented, the idea conceptually gives the reader an easier understanding and more in depth analysis. Through these different stages, Ellis shows how America slowly shaped its self significantly by using several common themes as he stated.
Life in the 1800s has taken on an almost idealistic quality in the minds of many Americans. The images linked to this era of our history are, on the surface, pleasurable to recall: one room school houses; severe self-reliance; steam-powered railroads and individual freedom.
Kauffmann, Bruce G. “James Madison: Godfather of the Constitution.” Archiving Early America. Web. 15 October 2011.
Aaron Burr is considered a great villain of American history. He killed Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers, in cold blood, and attempted to create his own country in the middle of America. But is he really deserving of his cruel title?