This afternoon, author David Stewart appeared at the National Archives to explain his thoughts about the enigmatic Burr, the central figure in his new book American Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America.
Stewart's book, which one critic described as "2 parts adventure story, 1 part courtroom thriller," picks up Burr's tale in 1805. By that point, the extraordinary soldier, lawyer, and political power was facing murder charges in both New Jersey and New York for the Hamilton duel and had learned that his rival Jefferson was not allowing him to run for vice-president, a position he had held since 1800.
Unsure of his fate, Burr did what so many men of his times did - he headed west. But he had an ulterior motive. He was planning to put together an army, liberate Mexico, and then form a separate Western nation from the Eastern states.
"He was a man of action, not a man of ideas," Stewart said. "People who knew him described him as mesmerizing. He was telling these (western) people they should rebel. He thought Jefferson was a pantywaist. He was desperate to leave his footprint on history. He was willing to do whatever he could get away with."
But Burr's plan failed. He relied on General Charles Wilkinson for support. Wilkinson turned out to be a triple agent, working for Jefferson, Spain, and Burr all at the same time. Key figures like Andrew Jackson, even though sympathetic to Burr's plan, declined to help. And, perhaps most damning of all, Burr was able to raise only 100 of the 1,500-man army he needed.
Finally, at the urging of Jefferson, Burr was arrested and charged with treason. The judge was to be no other than John Marshall, still recognized today as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Supreme Court Chief Justice in history. Wilkinson, at the time the head of the United States army, was expected to be the main prosecution witness.
"For it's time, this really was the trial of the Century," Stewart said. "You had a former vice-president accused of treason. And if he was found guilty, he would be hanged. Imagine what Fox News or CNN would do with something like that today."
Jefferson wanted a guilty plea and so had the trial moved to Virginia, where his power was the greatest. However, Justice Marshall was determined that Burr should receive a fair trial. And, in the end, Burr was exonerated. There would be no hanging. There were, however, several outcomes from the trial that have lasting impacts today, Stewart noted. Marshall's handling assured that "the courts would not get pushed around." The author explained that the trial also established such legal concepts as the limits of executive privilege and the rights of habeas corpus.
After the trial, Burr retired from public life, opting to quietly practice law in New York. Before he died at age 80, he saw the Spanish-held areas of both Florida and Texas brought under American control. "I was vindicated," Burr wrote. "I was only 30 years too soon. What was treason then is patriotism now."
Tales, Tidbits, and Traveling Tales
Much as it does today (think Clinton, Cain etc), Stewart's talk made it clear that sex also played a big role in early American politics. Take, for example, the famous Burr-Hamilton duel. Hamilton had long been critical of Burr. He had called him corrupt, dangerous, and power-mad. But, in a speech that provoked the deadly duel, Hamilton apparently crossed Burr's line when he claimed his adversary was "yet more despicable." Today, Stewart said, despicable is a relatively benign negative term, often associated with cartoon character Daffy Duck. Yet in Burr's time it connoted sexual perversion. So once Hamilton used "despicable," Burr felt he had no recourse as a gentleman but to issue the dueling request. Interestingly enough, Burr apparently was something of a ladies man. In fact, one friend summed it up this way: "I'm surprised Burr accomplished anything in view of all the time he spent chasing women."
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