Just after the verdict was read, Elma’s enraged sister pointed at Hamilton and cursed him, saying, “if thee dies a natural death, I shall think there is no justice in heaven!” It took a few years, but Hamilton’s death was anything but natural. Despite a veritable mountain of evidence, the young man was acquitted after only five minutes of jury deliberation. In what must have been a very awkward working relationship, the pair defended Levi Weeks, a well-heeled young man accused of murdering his working-class girlfriend, Elma Sands, and throwing her body down a well. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had previously worked together as lawyers.įour years before the duel, Hamilton and Burr worked together on one of the most sensational trials of the era.
MY WALLPAPER AND I ARE FIGHTING A DUEL TO THE DEATH SERIES
During the next months, the two wrote a series of incredibly polite-sounding, hateful letters. In April of 1804, the Albany Register ran an article that stated Hamilton, while at a political dinner, expressed a “ despicable opinion” of Burr. Burr was a Democratic-Republican, and Hamilton was a Federalist, but that was just the tip of their iceberg of ill will.įor over a decade, the two used the press and mutual acquaintances (other Founding Fathers) to hurl insults and accusations at one another. The two men had been foes since at least 1791, when Burr defeated Hamilton’s father-in-law for a Senate seat. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had a contentious history. Because New York had recently outlawed dueling as a legitimate way of settling grievances, aspiring duelists would simply row across the Hudson River. The duel went down in Weehawken, New Jersey, a spot that was frequently used for just such occasions. There’s a reason the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr took place in New Jersey. Both were accomplished lawyers and military men. Aaron Burr was, at the time of the duel-July 11, 1804-the third Vice President of the United States. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were large figures in early United States politics.Īlexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, and the guy behind the Federalist Papers. Here are nine facts about that fateful fight. Up until the premiere of the hit Broadway musical, it was the only thing many people knew about either man.
The duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr is perhaps the most famous duel in United States history.
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