Omar Bennett
Aaron Burr was a United States senator, vice president, and a founding father. He is known for his complex character, having made many friends and enemies. Burr's legacy is peculiar, as he is considered a symbol of American infamy despite being a famous American hero during his lifetime. Burr's political career was destroyed, and he was tried on charges of treason, which he was acquitted of, and he died a debtor with few friends left. Burr is also known for his involvement with Alexander Hamilton, which culminated in a duel that resulted in Hamilton's death. Burr's role in changing the Constitution was through the passage of the 12th Amendment, which addressed the constitutional crisis created by the 1800 election.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | February 6, 1756 |
| Place of Birth | Newark, New Jersey |
| Parents | Aaron Burr Sr. and Esther Edwards Burr |
| Education | Theology and Law |
| Career | United States Senator, Vice President, Governor of New York |
| Contributions | Founding Father, Revolutionary War Hero, Impelled the passage of the 12th Amendment |
| Trials | Treason charges in 1807, Burr-Hamilton duel in 1804 |
| Acquittals | Treason charges in 1807 |
| Death | September 14, 1836 |
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What You'll Learn
Aaron Burr's role in changing the Constitution
Aaron Burr is often remembered for his role as Alexander Hamilton's rival, and for being a Founding Father of the United States. However, his role in changing the Constitution is also significant.
Burr, a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, was Thomas Jefferson's running mate in the 1800 election. At the time, the Constitution allowed presidential electors to cast two votes. The candidate with the most votes became President, and the second-place finisher was named Vice President. This was not an issue when George Washington was elected unanimously. However, in the 1796 election, bitter rivals John Adams and Thomas Jefferson finished first and second, respectively, resulting in Adams having his biggest opponent as his Vice President.
In the 1800 election, Jefferson and Burr each received 73 votes, resulting in a tie. The tie election was sent to the House, which was controlled by Adams's Federalist Party. Burr then made the controversial move of trying to take the election from his own running mate, Jefferson. This created a true constitutional crisis.
As a result of this crisis, the 12th Amendment was passed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by New Hampshire on June 15, 1804, as the 13th state to approve its text. The 12th Amendment changed the process of voting, requiring electors to cast distinct ballots for President and Vice-President, and to make separate lists of the persons voted for each office, with the respective number of votes.
Thus, Burr's actions in the 1800 election inadvertently contributed to the passage of the 12th Amendment, which clarified and improved the voting process for President and Vice-President, preventing similar crises from occurring in the future.
In addition to his role in changing the Constitution, Burr also had a notable political career. He served as a United States Senator, and as Vice President under Thomas Jefferson. However, he was not selected as Jefferson's running mate in 1804 after the ratification of the 12th Amendment. Burr's political ambitions and activities, particularly his travels to the American frontier, led to accusations of treason and plots to create an independent country. He was arrested in Alabama in 1807 and put on trial, but was eventually acquitted.
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Burr's trial and the Constitution's treason clause
Aaron Burr was a former vice president and American politician who was arrested in Alabama in 1807 on charges of treason. The treasonous plot, known as the Burr conspiracy, was allegedly planned during and after his term as vice president. The Burr conspiracy was an alleged plot to create an independent country led by Burr.
Burr's landmark treason trial was one of the earliest tests of the Constitution's Treason Clause. The Treason Clause, as worded in Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution, states:
> "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of theperson attainted."
The trial was presided over by Chief Justice John Marshall, who ruled that Burr could only be convicted of treason if there was testimony from two witnesses that he had committed an overt act of treason. This was in line with the Treason Clause's requirement of testimony from two witnesses to the same overt act. Marshall told the jury that they had to focus on whether there was evidence of an act of war against the United States on Blennerhassett's Island, as claimed by the government. However, Burr was found to be 100 miles away from the island, and there was no credible evidence or testimony to support the accusation. As a result, Burr was acquitted of the treason charges.
Burr's trial set a significant precedent by suggesting that the president, like all citizens, was subject to the law. The trial also highlighted the careful wording of the Treason Clause, which limited the charge of treason to the most serious of crimes.
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Burr's legacy as a Founding Father
Aaron Burr is sometimes considered a Founding Father of the United States, though this characterisation is unusual. He was a prominent American politician, lawyer, and businessman, who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 during Thomas Jefferson's first presidential term.
Burr's character has been described as complex, and he made both many friends and many powerful enemies. He was said to have a habit of placing self-interest above the good of the whole, which put him at odds with other Founding Fathers such as Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton. This characterisation, as well as his involvement in the duel and conspiracy, likely contributed to his legacy as a controversial Founding Father.
However, Burr also had a significant impact on the Constitution. He directly helped to change the Constitution by impelling the passage of the 12th Amendment after the constitutional crisis created by the 1800 election. The original Constitution allowed presidential electors to cast two votes, which resulted in bitter rivals John Adams and Thomas Jefferson finishing as President and Vice President, respectively, in the 1796 election. The 12th Amendment addressed this issue by requiring electors to cast distinct ballots for President and Vice-President, and it remains relevant today.
Burr also founded the Manhattan Company in 1799, which was the first bank for people who did not already have a lot of money. He served in the Continental Army as an officer in the American Revolutionary War and later became a leading politician in New York City, helping to form the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party.
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Burr's relationship with Thomas Jefferson
Aaron Burr, a former vice president, and Thomas Jefferson had a complex relationship, to say the least. The two were once running mates, with Jefferson as the presidential candidate and Burr as his intended vice president. However, the 1800 election resulted in a tie between them, creating a constitutional crisis. This was because, at the time, electors could cast two votes, and the candidate with the most votes became president while the second-place finisher was named vice president.
After the tie, the election went to the House, which was controlled by the opposing Federalist Party. Burr then made the controversial decision to try to take the election from Jefferson, his own running mate. Eventually, after multiple ballots and backstage politicking, the House awarded the presidency to Jefferson, and Burr became his vice president, as per the constitutional procedure. However, this created a rift in their relationship, and Jefferson did not select Burr as his running mate in 1804 after the ratification of the 12th Amendment, which changed the voting procedure.
Burr, a gifted lawyer and charismatic politician, had delivered New York's decisive electoral votes to Jefferson in 1800. However, Jefferson and his party hated and distrusted Burr for not withdrawing his name from the 1800 election, which resulted in a tie. After the 1800 election, Burr's future in Jefferson's party was essentially over, and he was relegated to the sidelines of the administration during his vice presidency.
Burr's relationship with Jefferson further deteriorated when he killed Alexander Hamilton, a prominent figure in the Federalist Party, in a duel in 1804. This made him persona non grata with the Federalists and polite society in general. In 1805 and 1806, Burr's activities in the west led Jefferson to believe that he was plotting to separate the western states from the union and launch a military attack against Spain in Mexico. Jefferson himself was convinced of Burr's treachery and publicly pronounced him guilty of treason in 1807, leading to Burr's arrest and trial. Despite being acquitted of treason, Burr's relationship with Jefferson was irreparably damaged, and he was rejected by his own party, the Democratic-Republicans.
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Burr's duel with Alexander Hamilton
Aaron Burr was the third vice president of the US at the time of his duel with Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury. The duel took place in Weehawken, New Jersey, at dawn on July 11, 1804, and resulted in Hamilton's death. It was the culmination of a bitter rivalry that had developed between the two high-profile politicians over the years.
Hamilton and Burr had clashed repeatedly in the political arena, with Hamilton being a Federalist and Burr a Republican. Their acrimonious relationship dated back to 1791 when Burr defeated Hamilton’s father-in-law, General Philip John Schuyler, for a seat in the US Senate. The conflict escalated during the 1800 presidential election, when Hamilton's manoeuvring in the US House of Representatives played a role in Thomas Jefferson's victory over Burr. As a result of this election, Jefferson became president, and Burr became his vice president. However, Jefferson dropped Burr from his ticket in the 1804 election, leading Burr to run for the governorship of New York instead. Hamilton campaigned vigorously against Burr, causing him to lose the election to Morgan Lewis, a Clintonian Democratic-Republican endorsed by Hamilton.
The immediate cause of the duel was allegedly disparaging remarks made by Hamilton about Burr at a dinner party. Charles D. Cooper, who attended the dinner, wrote a letter to Philip Schuyler referencing a "despicable opinion" Hamilton had expressed about Burr. The letter was published in a New York newspaper, the "Albany Register". Hoping that a duel victory could revive his flagging political career, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton, however, wanted to avoid the duel, knowing that his political career would be over if he admitted to the substantially true charge or refused to duel. Nevertheless, he accepted Burr's challenge, and the two men agreed to meet at Weehawken, a secluded spot above the Hudson River that had become a popular duelling ground.
On the morning of July 11, 1804, Burr and Hamilton left Manhattan from separate docks and were rowed by four men each to New Jersey. They met on the duelling grounds, and after drawing lots to determine the firing side, Burr shot Hamilton in the abdomen. Hamilton returned fire, hitting a tree branch above and behind Burr's head. Hamilton was transported across the Hudson River for treatment but died the following day, on July 12, 1804.
The duel shocked the nation and ended Burr's political career, as he was vilified for shooting Hamilton. He was indicted for murder but never prosecuted. Hamilton's death also permanently weakened the Federalist Party, which he had founded in 1789.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Aaron Burr did not sign the Constitution.
The Founding Fathers signed the Constitution. Aaron Burr is not considered a Founding Father, although he was a hero of the Revolutionary War, a senator, and vice president.
Aaron Burr helped change the Constitution by impelling the passage of the 12th Amendment after the constitutional crisis created by the 1800 election.
The 12th Amendment was passed to address the issue of presidential electors casting two votes, with the candidate receiving the most votes becoming President and the second-place finisher named Vice President.
Aaron Burr was Thomas Jefferson's intended running mate in the 1800 election. However, due to a lack of coordination, both Jefferson and Burr received 73 votes, resulting in a tie. This led to a constitutional crisis, with Burr controversially attempting to take the election from Jefferson.
