The Bittersweet Relationship Between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr That You Never Knew

The musical “Hamilton” (2016) did a remarkable job in portraying the life journey and relationship of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. It was inspiring and it made studying the birth of a country lovable again. However, critics have often pointed out that the historical accuracy is not completely precise for entertainment (and rhythmic) sake. History has its eyes on you right?

People throughout time have often noted that the Hamilton-Burr relationship was a sour one. The ten-dollar bill figure Hamilton was the former First Secretary of State and is celebrated by his achievements, while Burr is portrayed as the villainous former Vice-President who killed him and to create an empire out of the newly formed United States. But in truth the rivals shared a deep appreciation for each other, as they risked their lives during the Revolutionary war. But ambition and greed were to come between them as lawyers and politicians thrown into the front line of running the country.

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr came from extraordinarily contrasting backgrounds. Hamilton was an orphan from one of the Caribbean colonies while Burr (also an orphan) was the grandson of America’s greatest and renowned preacher, Jonathan Edwards. Alexander and his brother James Hamilton struggled during their early teenage years to secure a once-in-a lifetime ticket to Boston to pursue an education to live comfortably. From there, they boarded a train to the exciting New York city. Contrary to the storyline in Hamilton, Burr and Hamilton did not meet in Princeton University to study together. They were pushed into the fray of the American Revolutionary war and met there.

The War

Between 1775 to 1783, the American Revolution raged on for the independence of the states (or colonies, as it was then called) that were preceded by the Great British Empire. King George III was fighting an expensive war with France and Spain over territories and maintaining control. This was the meeting ground of the two intelligent and ambitious young men with distinct yet similar purposes. Both men were leading figures in their respective revolutionary uprising groups. Hamilton saw the war as the platform to rechristen his immigrant status and introduce his name to a new, foreign world. Burr, on the other hand, shouldered an enormous expectation coming from his family’s devotion to a distinguished legacy.

Despite their incoming animosity, the pair started off incredibly well. For three days in September, 1776, Major Hamilton had been pinned down by surrounding British troops at Fort Bunker Hill, Lower Manhattan. With his troops dwindling to less than a hundred men, it was likely that Hamilton would soon be overrun. However, Colonel Burr, ignoring the commands of his superior, braved through enemy’s defenses in the thick of the night and brought reinforcements and valuable information about the British formations outside. It was said that Burr, with nothing but light clothes, carried a couple of cannons on his back along with a dozen of his men, dug a trench from Harlem up until the west side of the island fort to reach the dispirited Hamilton. With his aid, they were able to break through the British ranks and saved Hamilton and his company from most certainly death.

Nothing much was said about that rescue mission and thereafter, even with the numerous letters that were corresponded between the two. The musical Hamilton showed the rivalry begin with both protégé vying for George Washington’s favor. Washington was indeed a beloved and charismatic leader. Many accounts stated that his men would charge into the battlefield, knowing they would most likely perish, on his command. Everybody wanted to work for Washington. To be part of his inner circle meant promotion, fame, wealth, influence and the opportunity to die or serve the country with honor. In Ron Chernow’s Washington: A Life, Hamilton caught the attention of Washington when he crucially stole British artillery in New York during the early campaign of the war in 1776. He went on and played a key role in victories at the Battle of Princeton and Trenton which saw Washington promoting him to the decorated rank of Major General. On the other hand, Burr entered Washington’s aides-de-camps to replace a family member, his step-brother Matthias Ogden. Burr too had a successful campaign in Quebec where his valiant deed of rescuing General Montgomery’s body was the talk of the war. However, Washington rarely called Burr for missions and assigned him to administrative tasks. The few occasions where Burr was on the war-front saw him disobeying Washington’s instruction, much to the frustration of the General. Their falling out saw Burr’s resignation in the only year of his service in 1776, although health reasons were cited.

In truth, the Burr-Hamilton confrontation under Washington’s staff was pretty much non-existent as they were mostly assigned to different campaigns throughout the war. Furthermore, Hamilton played a historically inaccurate scene in the duel between General Lee and John Laurens in which Hamilton and Burr acted as their ‘seconds’ respectively. Hamilton indeed accompanied his friend Laurens, but a man named Edwards Evan was Lee’s witness and representative. Despite Burr’s numerous undisputed deeds of heroism and service in the war, he merely reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. Hence, Burr harbored a form of resentment towards Hamilton as a result of his successful close-knit relationship with Washington.

Dying is easy, living is harder. Hamilton and Burr as attorneys in law

After the war, Burr and Hamilton resumed their legal studies. Hamilton was able to bypass the 3-year internship requirements to take the bar with special waivers granted as a result of his service in Washington’s army for 4 years. Interestingly, both passed the bar exam together at Albany, New York in 1782. During the 1780’s, the New York Bar consisted of about only 40–50 attorneys at that time, and most of them resided around the Manhattan area. Hamilton grew in wealth and influence during this time, mostly representing upper-class society and insurance companies. Consequently, this led to a fierce rivalry between the two attorneys who rarely saw eyeball to eyeball. Historians said the pair were more often on opposing sides in a legal case, which most likely fuel their distaste for each other. Hamilton was a pompous and long-winded speaker. He had a virtuous sense of honor and justice and prided himself somewhat as a Socrates, bent on defending it. Very often, Hamilton would tire out his opposing counsels, judges and juries speaking for 3–4 hours on a single case. On the other hand, Burr was democratic, reserved and cool when delivering his speeches. Both were nonetheless seen as outstanding legal attorneys and the city was often divided when the pair came into contention.

The first mystery murder case in New York (the People vs. Levi Weeks, 1799)

This led to the unlikely dream partnership of Hamilton and Burr as co-counsels for the defence of one Levi Weeks, who was charged for the murder of Gulielma “Elma” Sands. The case summary is as follows: Weeks had been courting Elma months before her disappearance on the night of December 22, 1799. Her cousin Catherine Sands also testified that Elma had said that she and Weeks were secretly married before leaving that night. 14 days later, her body was found and recovered in the Manhattan Well, with the muff that she wore as an indication of her. Weeks comes from a prominent and wealthy family, hence retaining three of New York’s best attorneys: Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton and Henry Livingstone.

The State’s argument was based on the fact that Elma had left her cousin’s house to meet with Levi that night. There were further suggestions that she was pregnant, and that Weeks did not want the child, but it was later disproved by medical evidence. The defense was able to produce Week’s alibi that he was with his brother Ezra that night, along with several other witnesses. Burr and Hamilton also introduced the modern termed defense of “reasonable doubt”, that the State’s case was entirely circumstantial and not conclusively. The defense was so well constructed, that the jury took only five minutes in deliberation, before acquitting Weeks of his charges.

Politics and Family do not go hand in hand

Conjunctively with their legal careers, both Hamilton and Burr were pushed into the new era of America’s politics. Hamilton joined the Conventionalist Convention and wrote the Federalists Papers, a series of essays aimed to defend the Constitution. As a public figure and war veteran, Hamilton was exceedingly popular within the Federalist Party in the 1789 national election. Endorsing Washington, who was unanimously elected to be the first president of America, Hamilton was named the First Secretary of Treasury. Meanwhile, Burr helped form the Jeffersonian (Thomas Jefferson) Democratic-Republican Party. He later on served in the New York State assembly and became its state general attorney.

As a major player in his party, Burr rallied and stole the New York seat in 1791 from the incumbent Phillip Schuyler, Hamilton’s father-in-law. This outraged Hamilton, who married into New York’s most influential families, and wanted to defend its honor. The relationship they had, despite its awkward nature, caught Hamilton off guard, and he didn’t know that Burr had it in him to openly campaign against his family.

Another incident which reduced the timer of a ticking bomb, was when Burr initiated a duel with John Barker Church, Hamilton’s sister-in-law, Angelica Schulyer’s husband. Everyone knew of Hamilton’s fond (and flirtatious) relationship with Angelica. Despite dueling being an illegal practice, nobody interfered whenever two men challenged each other to the death. Church had accused Burr of bribery during the 1791 election which made him New York’s senator. At the duel, both men fired their pistols but missed dramatically, leading to Church apologizing afterwards for accusing without solid evidence.

The election of 1800

Aaron Burr unsuccessfully ran for election again in 1796, where he came fourth behind John Adams, his leader, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Picknney. Adams’s Federalist’s Party won marginally, largely due to the influence Washington left behind. But that did not dampen Burr’s spirits and ambition to rise to the top. On the contrary, it gave him a confidence boost, knowing that the next election will most likely fall into the Democratic Party’s hands. By this time, Hamilton was already out of the political picture. He self-destructed his public image by exposing his own affair with Maria Reynolds in the Reynold’s Pamphlet. In addition to publicly dissing John Adams, the only key figure in his party, he has a bad history with the Democratic Party, which includes Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Therefore, with Hamilton out of the way, the election of the new century was considered the peak of Burr’s political career. He was considered the modern politician. During that time, someone else was expected to endorse or recommend a nominated candidate, but Burr literally campaigned door to door for the presidency.

In that election, Burr and Jefferson came to a tie of 73 votes, which left the determination of the election in the hands of the House of Representative. Of course, everyone looked to dear old Hamilton’s non-biased opinion. It was expected that Hamilton would endorse a friend, rather than a foe. Everyone knew of Hamilton’s acrimonious relationship with Jefferson, who did not fight in the war, and openly opposed Hamilton’s 1 government policy.

However, the unthinkable happened, and Hamilton’s choice was Jefferson in a series of publications, which basically undermined Burr’s capabilities and beliefs as a candidate. He called Jefferson as “a lesser evil of the two men”. Hamilton calls Burr the true American catiline, who was historically a Roman senator who tried to overthrow the entire Roman state. Essentially, calling some a catiline means that he cannot be trusted. Soon after, Hamilton reclaimed the New York state seat from Burr, and endorsed the vote for Jefferson.

Burr was shocked and in disarray after the public humiliation. He felt that at every period of his life, Alexander Hamilton was there, one step ahead and speaking/writing his honest, prolonged opinion as if he is the smartest in the room.

The boiling pot had tipped over, and Burr sent Alexander a letter challenging a duel. On June 27, 1804, Burr shot Hamilton right below his ribs, and he died a couple of hours later, surrounded by his family. Burr was forced to leave the state, and abandon his position as Vice President for his life.

Later on, Burr remarked “the world was large enough for Hamilton and me”, which seemed to suggest that they could both be successful had they not been friends (or enemies) in the first place. Whether he had any remorse of killing his oldest friend, will never be known. Well, his subsequent actions later on in his life included a plot to conquer the United States, with his own army and establish an empire in his name. Although Hamilton is widely considered as one of the best musicals in America’s theatrical history (it won 11 Tony awards and multiple others), it is fairly accurate in depicting the relationship of the two main characters.