On This Day in History: July 11

The Hamilton-Burr Duel

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If it’s not animated or lacks Muppets, I’m not one for musicals. I’ll watch Muppet Christmas Carol every December 24. But know that this story of Alexander Hamilton’s death was written without any influence from Lin-Manuel Miranda.

--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: July 11, 1804--

Aaron Burr Jr. was third vice president of the United States, serving during the term of President Thomas Jefferson, a man who owned and raped enslaved people. During Burr’s fourth year as veep, he killed a man. And unlike what Trump said about blowing someone away on Fifth Avenue, there were consequences to his political career.

Alexander Hamilton was named a key Founding Father of the U.S. for his role in creating the country’s new government. He was first Secretary of the Treasury and authored President Washington’s economic policies. Anyway, Burr and Hamilton hated each other. In 1791 Burr beat Hamilton’s father-in-law in a senate race, and Hamilton was pissed, because Burr’s party was not his party and that’s how politics works.

And they went on hating each other.

Burr founded a bank in New York in 1799, breaking a banking monopoly of which Hamilton was part. Hamilton got more pissed at Burr. In 1800 Burr became VP and Hamilton didn’t like that either because he saw him as dangerous and corrupt. Hamilton was even more pissed. Jefferson didn’t like Burr either and was gonna punt him as veep, so Burr decided to run as governor of New York in 1804. Hamilton was all no fucking way and used his influence, trashing the shit out of him, to ensure Burr lost.

It was that smear campaign that led to the duel.

Burr was all “You say some shit about me?” and Hamilton went “Who me?” and Burr said, “You better take that shit back” and Hamilton didn’t wanna because he had already been disgraced by getting naked with someone he shouldn’t have and didn’t think his reputation could survive the additional shame of rescinding more than a decade of trash talk.

Rather than sacrifice his reputation, he atoned with his liver and spine.

That’s where Burr’s bullet hit him in the July 11, 1804 duel to satisfy matters of honor. Hamilton croaked the next day and Burr was charged with multiple crimes, prompting him to flee the jurisdiction. But the charges were quashed, and he returned to D.C. to complete his term as VP.

But people didn’t take kindly to the killing; Burr’s political career was as dead as Alexander Hamilton. And aside from a brief foray into treason, which is a whole ‘nother story, Burr spent the rest of his life in obscurity.

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