The Duel
One of the most interesting things that
happened while Thomas Jefferson was
President was the duel between
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in
1804.
First, as you already know, Alexander
Hamilton convinced his friend in the House of Representatives to vote
for Thomas Jefferson and not Aaron Burr. Thomas Jefferson won and
became President, Aaron Burr lost and became Vice President. Aaron
Burr got over it, though.
Then in 1804, the DemocraticRepublicans decided that they didn’t
want Aaron Burr to be Vice President
anymore, and they replaced him with
someone else. But whatever, Aaron
Burr got over that too, and decided to
try to get elected as the governor of
New York.
But Aaron Burr’s arch enemy, Alexander Hamilton, was there to stop
him again. Alexander Hamilton wrote articles for newspapers in New
York insulting Aaron Burr and saying that he wasn’t good enough to be
governor. Alexander Hamilton said that Aaron Burr was dangerous and
crazy. The people of New York believed Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron
Burr lost the election.
Aaron Burr, who was now
completely furious, challenged
Alexander Hamilton to a duel with
pistols. Alexander Hamilton agreed.
Alexander Hamilton decided before
the duel not to actually shoot
Aaron Burr, because he didn’t think
that Aaron Burr would actually
shoot him.
The two gentlemen met for the
duel in New Jersey, because it
was illegal to duel in New York
where Alexander Hamilton and
Aaron Burr lived. The two
gentlemen took their paces away
from other and turned around.
Alexander Hamilton raised his
pistol, but did not fire. Aaron Burr raised his pistol, and shot Alexander
Hamilton directly in the chest.
Alexander Hamilton, one of the most important American leaders, died
a few hours later.
People were furious at Aaron Burr for killing Alexander Hamilton.
Alexander Hamilton was a Patriot who had worked as George
Washington’s assistant during the Revolutionary War. Alexander
Hamilton helped create a strong economy in the United States,
something that we still benefit from today.
Aaron Burr was
arrested and charged
with murder by both
New York and New
Jersey. He was let out
of jail a few months
later, but he lived the
rest of his life alone,
hated by everyone.
The End
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