Dueling – The battle between Alexander Hamilton and Arron Burr

Dueling – The battle between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr • Very good lawyer in New York City in the 1780s • Master of Politics who looked out for his own self interests • Originally would be a Republican and follow Jefferson’s lead.

Alexander Hamilton • Washington’s right hand man during the American Revolution • Poor and fatherless childhood • Showed great potential for education and would come to the U.S. to get an education • Studied law – defended many loyalists who had lost land in the Revolution • Helped to write the Constitution and get it ratified. • Created our nations monetary policy allowing it to survive the early years.

The Cause • Fight over political power • Hamilton published papers critical of Aaron Burr’s policies and political position • Burr feared Hamilton would take his political power. – Both men desired to be president – Neither would be

• Burr would challenge Hamilton because of an article that gave a “despicable opinion” of him.

Dueling Rules • Duels could be fought with swords or pistols • A duel would happen after an offense – public slander, false accusations, or physical assault. • Each person would identify their “second” – Pick the place for equal advantage to both (during Burr and Hamilton's time a place where it was legal) – Make sure that the weapons were equally matched

• Duels took place at dawn to take advantage of poor light • The duel could be fought to a number of conclusions. – To first blood, in which case the duel would be ended as soon as one man was wounded, even if the wound was minor. – Until one man was so severely wounded as to be physically unable to continue the duel. – To the death, in which case there would be no satisfaction until one party was mortally wounded. – In the case of pistol duels, each party would fire one shot. If neither man was hit and if the challenger stated that he was satisfied, the duel would be declared over. A pistol duel could continue until one man was wounded or killed, but to have more than three exchanges of fire was considered barbaric and, if no hits were achieved, somewhat ridiculous.

• In a pistol duel the duelers would be put back to back and then would march away from each other a set number of paces. – Based on the offense = more offensive the closer the duelers would be.

New York City July 1804 Scene 1: Town Gossip

House of Aaron Burr or House of Alexander Hamilton Scene 2: Exchange of Words

Weehawken, NJ

Scene 3: The Duel