The documentary tells the tales of the lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, both leading serendipitously parallel lives yet still incredibly different people, and their influence on the creation of American politics. Hamilton, a foreign-born Federalist notable for his fiery writings, and Burr, the Republican man known then as “America’s First Gentleman”, were originally close acquaintances, or perhaps more seeing as the terms of their relationship are not entirely known. However, over the years, there was a darker turn on their intertwined paths, leading to the now infamous Hamilton-Burr Duel (Duel: Hamilton vs. Burr). Under Washington’s presidency, in 1788, Hamilton becomes the Secretary of the Treasury, as Hamilton was born in the
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Jefferson’s main competitor was none other than John Adams, who had accused Hamilton of being a British sympathizer; Hamilton was so appalled by this, he immediately began writing a hefty fifty-four page letter which accused Adams of “unpresidential behavior”, among other things (Duel: Hamilton vs. Burr). The infamous duel now upon them, it was July 11th, 1804. The two men meet at a common dueling grounds in Weehawken, New Jersey; in fact, the ledge precariously held above the Hudson River was the same place in which Hamilton’s son was shot to death two years prior (Duel: Hamilton vs. Burr). Both Hamilton and Burr were armed with standard .56 caliber dueling pistols (PBS: People and Events), and were prepared for whatever would occur. Burr was left unscathed, but Hamilton had been fatally shot in the abdomen, left to slowly die after a painful thirty-one hour period (Duel: Hamilton vs. Burr).
However, it is said that Hamilton had gone into the battle with the intention to fire away from Burr, leading to his posthumous reputation as a martyr, and Burr to be faced with hideous animosity from the American public, and Burr’s potential to hold elective office again is entirely out of the question. Burr avoids trial, and even lives over thirty years after the duel (Duel: Hamilton vs.
Jefferson’s main competitor was none other than John Adams, who had accused Hamilton of being a British sympathizer; Hamilton was so appalled by this, he immediately began writing a hefty fifty-four page letter which accused Adams of “unpresidential behavior”, among other things (Duel: Hamilton vs. Burr). The infamous duel now upon them, it was July 11th, 1804. The two men meet at a common dueling grounds in Weehawken, New Jersey; in fact, the ledge precariously held above the Hudson River was the same place in which Hamilton’s son was shot to death two years prior (Duel: Hamilton vs. Burr). Both Hamilton and Burr were armed with standard .56 caliber dueling pistols (PBS: People and Events), and were prepared for whatever would occur. Burr was left unscathed, but Hamilton had been fatally shot in the abdomen, left to slowly die after a painful thirty-one hour period (Duel: Hamilton vs. Burr).
However, it is said that Hamilton had gone into the battle with the intention to fire away from Burr, leading to his posthumous reputation as a martyr, and Burr to be faced with hideous animosity from the American public, and Burr’s potential to hold elective office again is entirely out of the question. Burr avoids trial, and even lives over thirty years after the duel (Duel: Hamilton vs.