Everybody talks about how vicious politics and politicians are today. But are they? On this day in history, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton fought a duel in which Hamilton was mortally wounded in Weehawken, NJ. Politicians talk a good game nowadays, but just don’t have the courage of their convictions. I joke. I really don’t want our politicians shooting each other on the banks of the Hudson River early in the morning, unless it’s on pay-per-view. I joke again. Dueling is illegal. It was in 1804, too. You have to admit that it would be more exciting than the scripted, “sanitized for your protection” debates
or the lie and puffing filled advertisements we have now.

Burr and Hamilton were roughly the same age. Burr went to Princeton University. Hamilton attended Kings College (now Columbia University). If what you know about Alexander Hamilton and his history came from the musical, ugh. Read this.

Burr fought in the Revolutionary War against King George III and the British Army, for those of you educated in government schools today. He then went into New York politics. Alexander Hamilton started banks, founded the predecessor to the New York Post, was the Father of the Treasury and wrote major sections of The Federalist Papers. The bad blood between Burr and Hamilton goes back to these days. Burr was Thomas Jefferson’s Vice President and Jefferson never trusted him. He was not Jefferson’s Veep for his second term.

Hamilton “dissed” Burr a lot. A LOT. Burr wasn’t popular and thought he could raise his profile by dueling with Hamilton. Neither man was a stranger to dueling and Hamilton’s son had died three years prior in a duel. Burr calling Hamilton out and Hamilton accepting is just bizarre and there is no real explanation. Maybe both men were hotheads. Here is a description of the morning of the duel from Britannica:

To keep the duel secret, Burr and Hamilton left Manhattan from separate docks at 5:00 AM on July 11, 1804, and were each rowed by four men to New Jersey. Burr arrived at Weehawken first, at 6:30 AM; Hamilton landed some 30 minutes later. Both men were accompanied by their seconds (individuals who were responsible for the duel being conducted honorably). Hamilton’s second was Nathaniel Pendleton, a Revolutionary War veteran and Georgia district court judge, while Burr had William P. Van Ness, a New York City federal judge. In addition, Hamilton had also brought Dr. David Hosack, a professor of medicine and botany at Columbia College (now Columbia University). By lot, Hamilton picked the side from which he would fire. Though he had distinguished himself in the Continental Army and was Gen. George Washington’s most-trusted aide during the war, it was unlikely that Hamilton had shot a pistol since the Revolution. Burr too had been a Revolutionary War hero, but, whether or not he had been an able shot during the war, there was evidence that he had been practicing his pistol marksmanship at his Richmond Hill estate (on the edge of modern Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood) for some time in advance of the duel.

As he stood facing Burr, Hamilton aimed his pistol and then asked for a moment to put on spectacles. Hamilton, however, had already told confidants and made clear in valedictory letters that he intended to throw away his shot, possibly by purposefully shooting wide of Burr. The seconds offered conflicting accounts of who shot first and what happened, whether Hamilton missed on purpose or whether he shot wide as a result of involuntarily discharging his pistol after being hit by Burr. In any case, Hamilton missed. Burr did not. His shot hit Hamilton in the abdomen area above the right hip, fractured a rib, tore through his diaphragm and liver, and lodged in his spine.

I tend to believe that Hamilton shot into the air and Burr intentionally killed Hamilton because Burr was a douche. Here is an historical reenactment:

Hamilton died. Burr was charged, but never prosecuted for the duel that killed Alexander Hamilton. Burr was later charged with treason regarding the Louisiana Territories. He was acquitted.

We shouldn’t have our politicians dueling, but could we at least have steel cage death matches. At least then we would know that the politicians had the courage of their convictions. Know your history.

Featured Image: Angie Six/flickr.com/Creative Commons