|
1-020 The Fascinating Enigma of Aaron Burr - II
Vol. 1- No. 20
1995
Lead: In 1800, Aaron Burr was elected vice president of the United States on the Republican ticket with Thomas Jefferson. From that point on, their relationship fell apart. Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Jefferson suspected Burr had conspired with the president's political enemies and began to freeze Burr out of national politics. In 1804 Burr returned to New York to run for governor but was blocked by his old rival, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton heard rumors that Burr was plotting with New England interests to take New York out of the Union; partly as a result of Hamilton's opposition, Burr lost the election. Relations between the two finally reached the boiling point and Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. On the morning of July 11, 1804 Hamilton fired into the air but Burr took careful aim and killed the former Secretary of the Treasury. Fleeing New York and an indictment for murder, he headed into the southwest. In a series of conferences with General James Wilkinson, the commander of the United States Army, he laid the groundwork for what could have been an invasion of Mexico. The following year he floated down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers with a few armed men proceeded by a cloud of conflicting rumors. Some thought he planned to seize New Orleans and set up an empire in the Mississippi Valley. Others thought he was looking forward to a private invasion of Mexico. He told different people different stories. Whatever his plans, they did not succeed. Jefferson, who had become almost paranoid about Burr’s activities, had him arrested for treason. Wilkinson panicked, turned against his friend and became a witness for the prosecution. At the trial in Richmond, Virginia, Burr's fate was placed in the hands of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States, and John Randolph, both of whom were political enemies of Thomas Jefferson. The trial turned on the fact that no credible evidence was presented to justify charges of treason and Burr was acquitted. He spent several years in Europe and then returned to practice law in New York, but never again regained his political influence. The producer of A Moment In Time is Steve Clark. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts. Copyright 1995 by Educational Broadcast, Inc. Resources Burr, Aaron. Memoirs of Aaron Burr. New York: Harper and Brother, 1836-1837. Daniels, Jonathan. Ordeal of Ambition: Jefferson, Hamilton, Burr. Garden City, New York: Doubleday Publishing, 1970. Lomask, Milton. Aaron Burr. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux Publishing, Inc., 1979-1982.
|
