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The Hamilton-Burr Duel Explained
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- Опубликовано: 28 фев 2022
- Hey everyone! American History Geek here. I am a huge history fan, but I primarily focus on American history related content. Overall I produce commentary-style videos that discuss common questions, news, and explanations regarding historical events in United States history.
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The Hamilton family sure doesn't have much luck duelling.
Skill issue
@@josuebarboza9809HELP-
@@f0rk11 1vs 1 me bruh
@@f0rk11George eacker killed me just to show it
Haha…
Crazy to think that Aaron Burr was still the acting Vice President when this duel took place.
Only the first of two times the current Vice President shot someone
Vice president shooting someone and having no legal consequences.......that could never happen in modern times. Oh that remind me, I need to renew my hunting license and see if my buddy Dick is free this weekend 😮
YES. | But theirs was a true, personal rancour. What a waste of political talents.
Would vp Harris ever have a duel?
I believe anything. Trump just got indicted
As someone who sends a lot of strongly-worded letters for a living, it’s kinda insane to think that in the olden days, me and the other guy would end up having a duel
What it is you do for a living?
@@user-ci4fo5py2u construction law
You could have just said no to the duel or apologized for any judgments of character 😅 A duel would not be even an option if you ask me
@@claudiafernandes1150 honor was a thing.
@@claudiafernandes1150
Honor was not the motivation for Hamilton in accepting the challenge. I believe he felt- regardless of outcome- that the subsequent ruining of Burr’s career and thereby Burr’s elitist, ruling party dichotomy were more important than his own life.
Unfortunately this freedom sustaining altruism is lost on today’s political leadership. Even the current administration demonstrates a Burr-like mentality of centralized, class based power to the detriment of the freedom of even its own party’s constituency.
That doesn’t mean that - if martyr thinking truly enveloped Hamilton’s mind- Hamilton died in vain. Rather, it gives us an opportunity to learn from history and to ponder what freedom we have - and preserving that freedom- because of the many were so willing to give their lives for the cause of freedom.
It was refreshing to me to be reminded of Hamilton’s stalwart belief in our constitution to the point it manifested itself deeply: to the core of his personal life.
We could use some law and order these days.
Hamiltons story is so crazy, like straight out of a movie type thing
They should make a musical about it
@@kismemoriait might seem crazy what I’m boutta say
By the way, Jefferson had asked Burr to run as his Vice-President as the public viewed Jefferson as a coward as he ran off when the British came to Virginia and Burr was a Revolutionary War hero, who had been with Washington in the field and in extensive fighting for 5 years.
Jefferson was an insecure snake! Hamilton shot in the air. Meaning he missed. 😂😂
What the fuck are you taking about. Jefferson and bur ran AGAINST eachother. The rules were that the runner up of the election is VP
@@4gegtyreeyuyeddffvyton purpose stay humble
"...Death doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints
It takes and it takes and it takes.."
Very true and an fantastic play!
"...And we keep living anyway. We rise and we fall and we break, And we make our mistakes. And if there's a reason I'm still alive When everyone who loves me has died, I'm willing to wait for it."
---Leslie Odom Jr
Hamilton could've just apologized. One historian said that in his letters Burr was practically pleading Hamilton to apologize and restore Burr's public honor so that it wouldn't come to violence. Burr's entire career depended on Hamilton retracting his statements or at least publicly saying the reporter misinterpreted what he said, which would've allowed them both to save face. If Hamilton really opposed dueling on such high grounds, there were plenty of ways to avoid it.
He couldn't apologize because he did believe the things said about Burr
the problem was that hamilton a) didn't think he said the things burr accused him of saying and b) did think similar but less inflammatory things about burr. so he couldn't apologize because he'd have to admit he said something he didn't say and couldn't disclaim the thought entirely because he did think them.
Number 1, They challenge demands satisfaction, if they apologize no need for further action.
Hamilton's values made him feel he was protecting the public from Burr's indecisiveness.
“He could’ve just ruined the standing he built in the public to uplift someone else” is a wild statement Even if we ignore the fact that a disingenuous apology is not an apology, you’re saying that the easier route would’ve been to bring shame to value people held in his political opinions to stroke someone’s bruised ego
I remember this most famous American duel featured in the first commercial of the "Got Milk?" ad campaign from 1993. Who knew the Hamilton-Burr Duel would be used to sell milk 189 years later? 😂
The winner of this duel is forever etched in my brain because of that commercial.
"Awwon Baah!"
I remember that! 😂😂😂
“The Bullet.” lol
“Everything is legal in New Jersey”
Hamilton did write that he opposed dueling and did not intend to fire on Burr, but his letter was not released until after his death and there is no indication that Burr was aware of this. Hamilton’s behavior prior to the duel gave the impression that he did intend to harm Burr. He choose the better position and he put on his eyeglasses. He fired first and then Burr fired. Hamilton’s shot missed, but he gave no indication to Burr that he intended to miss. Burr followed the code of the time in returning fire on Hamilton. If Hamilton truly opposed the practice of dueling, he should have refused to participate. His conduct led to the duel as much as Burr’s did. As with many events, the witnesses to the duel gave differing accounts of the events at the dueling ground. I think Burr is too often condemned as the villain of this story.
Agreed. Hamilton could've just apologized. One historian said that in his letters Burr was practically pleading Hamilton to apologize and restore Burr's public honor so that it wouldn't come to violence. Burr's entire career depended on Hamilton retracting his statements or at least publicly saying the reporter misinterpreted what he said, which would've allowed them both to save face.
Hamilton had the worse position, not the better one. And if Hamilton did fire first, then we must condemn Hamilton’s as a deliberate liar. It is true that supposing Hamilton didn’t fire, burr couldn’t have known but given the contempt with which he treated Hamilton’s suggestion that he wouldn’t fire, there’s perhaps no reason to suppose that Burr wouldn’t have fired anyway. Also, the correspondence that led up to the duel does make burr look highly guilty, and in many ways, the aggressor. But Hamilton perhaps in some respects more in the wrong because unlike Burr, he knew duelling was immoral. To be honest, who you sympathise with depends largely on your interpretation of the letters and whether you believe Pendleton & Hamilton or Van Ness & Burr were telling the truth. He did prepare a statement that was prepared for the world to see that he wouldn’t fire, but he also told his wife and a few friends in private correspondence and conversations of this determination. One of his friends wrote a letter many years later saying that Hamilton told him he wouldn’t fire & the friend replied by saying ‘then you’ll go like a lamb to the slaughter’.
@@wanderinghistorianrr first claimed to be offended by something that Hamilton had supposedly said at a dinner months before, Hamilton actually gave him a pretty reasonable response and then Burr demanded that he apologise for everything he had said in twenty years of political rivalry which he must of known Hamilton couldn’t have done or that no political could have done. Following Hamilton’s death, the correspondence between the two parties was published and burr became even more unpopular. John Quincy Adams wrote to his wife saying that Burr’s attitude in his letters was rude and designed to provoke Hamilton & that Hamilton ought to have treated his demands with the contempt they deserved. Hamilton was hotheaded though and probably knew that Hamilton wouldn’t ignore him. Retracting everything he had said about Burr would have destroyed Hamilton’s career and it wouldn’t have saved Burr’s because loads of other people believed the same things about Burr that Hamilton did. Hamilton should not have gone to the field when he knew that duelling was wrong though.
*Burr
When you phrase it like that, hamilton's death seems almost like an assisted suicide
This is the Alexander version of the duel. In the Burr version, Hamilton's bullet struck the tree next to Burr about 15 feet above him due to Hamilton squeezing the set trigger too soon. The pictures depicting Hamilton shooting straight up are false. Also the animosity between Burr and Hamilton was due to each other's efforts at rival banking interests in New York City. Both Hamilton's and Burr's banks exist to this day.
Each witness at the dueling ground gave a differing account of these events. For whatever reason, the version that favors Hamilton is almost always presented as the correct one. Even many historians ignore the fact that other accounts exist, and only present the pro-Hamilton version.
No, the reasons were more complicated than that. Hamilton didn't like Burr's political methods, and even backed his arch-rival Jefferson against Burr for the presidency. Burr had these reasons to hate Hamilton, and for his part Hamilton considered Burr a lesser man, which he was.
So much for a scholarly , even handed, and objective reporting of events.
@@neilpemberton5523 Hamilton didn't just back Jefferson btw, he wrote what were basically smear pieces against Burr.
Hamilton was given to scurrilous attacks. John Adams got the brunt of some when he was President. I am not much if a Hamilton fan.
Interesting information, however, it left out one very important fact. In 1976 those pistols were discovered to have a concealed hair trigger. If Hamilton knew of and used this, it could offer another theory to his shot into the air. See Smithsonian Magazine, November 1976...
"The pistols that Hamilton provided had concealed hair triggers - what a modern target shooter would call a single-set trigger. Church had bought the pair in London. By using them, Hamilton could surreptitiously set his hair trigger without anyone's noticing. This would give Hamilton a theoretical advantage by allowing him to shoot very quickly with a tiny, half pound squeeze on the trigger. Burr's gun had the same trigger, but Burr probably didn't know it. He would fire with the ordinary 10 or 12 pound pull.
Although Hamilton owned a fine pair of correct English dueling pistols, he elected to borrow the trick pair from Church."
I can't believe they found boats big enough to hold those GIANT BALLS
About forty years ago they examined the dueling pistols , and they found that the one used by Hamilton had a hair-trigger, which might have caused an unintentional discharge when the pistol was raised.
Did you know that they were Hamilton's pistols, and that the trigger pull was adjustable on those dueling pistols
Who is "they"? This claim should have a source referenced.
Yes, they were Hamilton's pistols... He chose to use the very same ones that killed his son in a duel. Perhaps he did not intend to survive the event....as a means of absolving himself of his son's death (defending Alex's honor).
Truth be told, neither man was any good for the USA.
(There. I've said it!!)
ENOUGH OF BANKERS OPPRESSING AMERICAN TAXPAYERS!
No. Hamilton had a perfectly fine set of dueling pistols but chose to use his brother-in-law’s pistols which had a trick hair trigger only Hamilton knew how to work.
@@cecilecoonrod4146Most duelling pistols had hair trigger pistols and their existence on Hamilton’s pistols were well known. This weird conspiracy about the hair trigger pistols is a new invention..
The rivalry started much sooner than the election of 1800. When they would both start banks in the 1790's where Aaron Burr helped start the Bank of Manhattan (that would later become Chase the largest retail and investment bank in America) and Hamilton helped with founding the Bank of New York (that later became the Bank of New York Mellon, the largest merchant bank in America).
Good job i love American History and the duel of Hamilton and Burr is so deep and intense and so much history between them and ironies too just a great story loved it
Yes, it’s a very fascinating story! Especially considering that Hamilton and Burr were once close friends when they were younger, makes the duel all the more tragic.
Hamilton could have ended the duel with a simple apology. @@americanhistorygeek1926
How many of us know about this event from that old commercial, where the guy had his mouth full, so he couldn't answer the trivia question about this duel. He kept trying to say "Aaron Burr", and was in some kind of museum of the duel. It was a funny commercial. I can't be the only one who remembers it.
“I’m gonna get myself murdered out of spite” - Alexander Hamilton
Several years ago, I read a description of the Weehawken Dueling Ground. It was a choice location, hidden from the water below, from above by an overhang and from the side by undergrowth. The ground itself was only 60 feet long, approximately 6 feet wide.
The tradition of dueling remained very much alive into the 20th century down here in the South. My father holds the distinction of being the last man arrested for dueling in Georgia.
In 1973, my mother, oldest sister, and he, were living in a country neighborhood in middle Georgia where the houses were on 5 acre lots so that small farms and livestock could be held on the plots. My father had 2 German shepherds he had raised from puppies and they were treated like family and they often would watch over my sister, who was a baby at the time, like a litter mate. They had a large fenced in back yard and my parents would put them in the back yard when they would go to work where they had water, a back porch and food to keep themselves busy during the day. After several months a home was built next door and the father was from New York and held dispariging opinions of all his Southern neighbors and seemed to be quite vocal about it.
Well my dad ignored the jerk for the most part until he brought 2 horses and built a paddock for them directly against the back yard fence, even failed to build his own fence and simply tied his horses fence into ours. With the neighbor doing this and putting his horses directly against the fence where the dogs were kept during the day caused issues when the horses would kick at the dogs through the fence and then the dogs would bark at the horses. The first time this happened, the neighbor came over screaming at my dad and mom and cussed quite heavily towards my mother, my father being the well brought up Southern gentleman, took issue with this and it almost came to blows. Luckily it didn't and the neighbor seems to calm down for a few days until my dad came home to find one of his German Shepherds dead with a shotgun blast in his back yard. To say he was pissed would be an understatement.
My father was always one to hold his temper and in the 41 years I knew him, can only ever recall seeing him lose his temper on 3 occasions, and all 3 times were over something to do with his family. Well, my father walked next door and the Yankee neighbor answered and he politely asked if he knew how his dog and been killed, the neighbor blew up and him and screamed that he had killed his "damned dog" for barking at his horse. The fact the man's life didn't end there still amazes me to this day knowing my father. Well, dad calmed asked him to choose the weapons for a duel and offered guns, knives, or fist, but either way, the neighbor was going to pay for killing his dog. The neighbor demanded guns and told him he would be in the street in 5 minutes.
Dad calmly walked back into his house, grabbed his 9mm Luger pistol and began to walk outside when he heard the neighbors car start. The neighbor had closed the door, watched dad walk into his house, then grabbed his wife and daughter and threw them in the car and squalled tires leaving.
About 15 minutes later the local sheriff's deputy shows up and asks dad what happened, when he told him he had challenged the neighbor to a duel and that he had accepted and to use guns, the deputy arrested dad.
So there dad was, sitting in jail for about 30 minutes when the sheriff sees him and stops and asks why he was there. It turns out that my dad and the sheriff were aqauintances through both church and the local gun club (dad had been a competition shooter for several years at this point) and dad explained what had happened. This infuriated the sheriff because he trained hunting dogs and loved dogs in general. He let dad out on the spot and walked him up to the office to be released, the neighbor was in the lobby and began getting upset about my dad seeming to be released after he had gotten him arrested. The sherif was next to dad and asked if this was the neighbor, to which dad said yes. Well the sheriff turns around and arrests the neighbor on the spot and throws his butt in jail with charges of cruelty to animals, destruction of private property and a couple of other charges.
Dad walked free and the neighbor ended up moving out of the neighborhood and dad found out that after his jail term and probation was up, he went back up north.
Your father showed great restraint. Not sure I could control my temper in that situation.
The day I found one of my German Shepherds shot by my neighbor, (Keep in mind I'm a veteran and I do what I say) about one in the morning I would have blocked the doors on the house and burned the house. It is VERY,VERY hard to prove arson, and the bastard would not be killing anyone else's dogs.
@@kenlaursen6435 Yeah, the whole family is still amazed that he held his temper so well, I inherited his temper and I still have yet to master it as well as he did that day. He had every intention of killing the guy and would have if he hadn't ran like he did.
Nice!
My granddad was from the south, too, Kentucky.
Lucky for your neighbor, if he had so much as even approached my Granddaddy with cussing words, those missing teeth would not be cussing anymore. :)
Definitely.
Why go to the duel if you weren't truly going to participate? Insane.
Good question. It had to do with how they viewed honor at that time. Often, just showing up for the duel was enough to satisfy the protection of one's personal honor, and the duel would end without shots being fired, or they would be fired into the air intentionally missing the target.
He didn’t give away his shot
My mental picture of this duel is Lin and Leslie. I can no longer see them as they were.
The main thing to remember about the duel is to always have some milk on hand. You never know when you'll be called upon to discuss it right after having had a peanut butter sandwich.
Bwahahahah!
Fascinating, truly fascinating! I can't wait to hear more from you!
Just saw the play "Hamilton" here in Norfolk and I'm so glad to see the video of quality you have presented Thanks so much and best to real history!
Yeeeears ago, i read a magazine article on the guns; they had a like hair trigger of some sort, unknown to the duellists, thus the missed shot
How likely is it that:
- The pistols had a 'trick' hair trigger, which was engaged by pushing the trigger forward before pulling it back to fire the pistol.
- Hamilton knew of the trick and set the hair trigger, which caused him to fire prematurely.
- Burr did not know of the trick.
It’s not a trick. Pistols and rifles of this era typically had set triggers. Some had two triggers, some had only one trigger. To engage the set function on this type of pistol , the trigger was moved forward. It would seem to me that both men new how to operate these pistols. They were very common. That shot fired into the air is certainly interesting. I am of the opinion it was intentional. If Burr chose to shoot him, that was his privilege. This was after all a duel.
Its called a "single set trigger". Puah it forward to set it enabling the hammer to be then cocked. I have an early flint longrifle with the same set up. Once set and cocked it becomes a hair trigger. Mine went off before I was completely aimed more than once hunting squirrels!
Everything Burr did in this situation is exactly how any gentleman of the time would have behaved. Hamilton, on the other hand, did everything he could to force Burr to challenge. When told afterward that Hamilton had said he would throw away his shot Burr's reaction was "Contemptible, if true."
Wrong.
Boooooo
I mean you only have to read the correspondence between Burr and Hamilton before the duel for this to be easily disproved. And the fact that Burr said it was contemptible that Hamilton didn’t want him dead or injured says more about him than it does Hamilton..
Have you been to Blennerhasset Island? It is the historical home of Harmon Blennerhasset, who collaborated with Burr to start a new country. The island is in the middle of the Ohio River, outside of Parkersburg WV. It would make an excellent addition to your series
Great stuff! Thanks for all your work.
I like this video. The duel was also touched on in "Founding Brothers" by Joseph J. Ellis.
Thanks so much, that's pretty cool, I'll have to give it a read!
@@americanhistorygeek1926 An extraordinary work is Gore Vidal's ' Burr '.
Have some old letters and alimony receipts signed by Burr to one of my ancestors
That's pretty cool!!
The pistols used in this dual are still around.
read about this duel and I never learned any of this; The intrigue and background and build up to the duel. Very well done. Just sub'd.
“They wont teach you this in your classes, but look it up hamilton was wearing his glasses”
Is that so?
If Burr realized Hamilton shot first and into the air, then Burr deliberately killed Hamilton. Also, have read several accounts that Hamilton shot high and above Burr hitting a tree. Supposedly, this was seen to be an accurate description upon inspection of the tree.
Yes, there’s pretty much no question that Burr intended to kill Hamilton, the question lies in whether he thought Hamilton was trying to kill him or not. It’s very likely by all accounts that Burr believed Hamilton wanted him dead, so when he took his shot he thought it was justified for him to kill Hamilton (since he thought Hamilton was aiming to shoot him). It’s all very complicated though, hard to understand someone’s thought process sometimes.
@@americanhistorygeek1926 according to a report, a study was conducted by the Smithsonian institute that inspected Hamilton’s pistol and found that it had been modified to hair trigger and that is a form of cheating. In conclusion, the theory is that the pistol went off too soon and that’s why he fired high…
its actually theorized that burr *thought* alex would shoot him so he shot alex so alex wouldnt shoot him
What if burr thought that he was trying to make the branch fall on him???
@@americanhistorygeek1926 burr talked himself into it creep and coward
Thank you for the concise, easy-to-understand facts of the event
Informative and entertaining. Thank you.
Thanks for the video! Would you be willing to cover the trail of tears? I dig your style and how you put the video together.
Thanks so much for your support, we will be covering that topic very soon, stay tuned! 😃
A heck of a way to get your portrait on a ten dollar bill....
In 1976 in celebration of this countries foundings, Hamilton's guns were taken from Chase Manhattan Bank and examined . They were not duelling pistols because they had sights. Upon excaming the pistol that Hamilton used they found a set trigger. This type of trigger made the pistol more accurate. The pistol Burr use did not have a set trigger. This gave an unknown advantage to Hamilton. If Hamilton had won the duel, it really would have been murder. There are those, and I am one of them, being really familiar with this kind of trigger set up, that thinks Hamilton's shot in error. That he triggered the gun to soon, missing Burr.. It does seem that this part gets ignored a lot. Hamilton was far from the saint some would like us to believe.
I have driven past the monument to the duel but in watching this video I think I will make a conscious effort to go to the monument and really take in the atmosphere/environment and historical significance of the hallowed grounds.
❤. Thank you for this historic review.
This was most excellent!
Excellent Film. Thank you. Joe
Very well done video!
Thank You for a most informative video
Excellent video!
Great Video, Thank you
Great video.....much thanks.
I can never think of Burr without thinking of Gore Vidal's novel, Burr. But I actually think Burr was right about what a butt Hamilton was.
Thank you for making this video!
Of course, thanks for watching!!
Thanks for the content
Excellent!
Hamilton was a bully of sorts. There parts of his politics that I agree and parts I don't, but he despised by many in his day.
Just came from The Daily Belleinger. Looking forward to watching your content.
That’s awesome to hear, thanks so much Richard!
It wasn’t just that Hamilton thought Burr was despicable, he made comments to someone when he was drunk that Burr had an unnaturally close relationship with his daughter, if you catch my drift. When that comment got back to Burr, he asked Hamilton to clarify and/or retract. Hamilton wouldn’t and thus the dual. Hamilton knew he would lose so he wrote the letter about firing in the air to make Burr look bad after the fact. Read Gore Vidal’s novel Burr.
Gore Vidal said that he made up the claim that Hamilton suggested that Burr and his daughter had an unusually close relationship. The letters of the time clearly show that Burr wanted Hamilton to apologise not for the claim that Burr was despicable, because Hamilton didn’t say that, but for someone else’s claim that Hamilton had uttered a despicable opinion about him, Hamilton said that he couldn’t reply because he couldn’t be held responsible for how a third party (some doctor) interpreted his words but that if Burr would specify a specific insult Hamilton would respond with whether he had said it or not. One of the reasons that Burr was so unpopular in the aftermath of the duel was because he had initiated a fight on very vague and petty grounds.
Is there a primary source on this? I don’t mind hearsay, as long as the person who you hear say it is Hamilton
I remember taking my first oath as a police officer: most of the oath had to do with promise not to duel, act as second in a duel, officiate at a duel, watch a duel, ad infinitum. That was in 1988. Good gravy, was that outdated?
Take a look at the foot noted and large historical bibliography of Burr by Gore Vidal. Not the fairy tale Broadway play adaption.
We have an Aaron Burr Inn he in town. Supposedly hid out after fleeing NJ
While Gore Vidal's book on Burr is historical fiction, and not an actual biography, it has very good, well-researched history in it and I DO like the book very much. It is interesting that Vidal puts forth the assertion the real reason for the duel was that Hamilton was the source of rumors intended to damage Burr politically, rumors that Burr had an incestuous relationship with his daughter Theodosia.
Theodosia Burr Alston was a very intelligent, capable young woman, very close to her father, and regularly served as hostess for the widowed Burr's social gatherings from about age 14. At around age 18, Theodosia married the future Governor of South Carolina , Joseph Alston. Theodosia was very devoted to her father, and although she had two brothers, she was always the main support for Burr during his many troubles before and after the duel. After Burr's trial for treason, he self-exiled to Europe for about 4 years, and it was Theodosia who managed his American business affairs and who raised and sent him money. Burr returned to the U.S. in July, 1812, but Theodosia was too ill at home in SC to meet him. She was recovered enough to leave in late Dec 1812 to go meet her father, but the ship she was on was lost at sea with all hands sometime after Jan 1, 1813. Theodosia was 29 years old.
In my opinion, a daughter displaying such loyal devotion to her father, even as an adult wife and mother, could never have been abused by that father, so the incest rumors were vicious lies. Hamilton's spreading of such lies about Burr and his daughter, in an attempt to smear Burr, was despicable. If Gore's assertions are correct, then I can see why Burr would hate Hamilton enough to kill him. Trying to smear a man with lies is part of the political game, but for such lies to also publicly hurt a man's daughter is the act of a truly despicable man, and Hamilton's character appears to have been that despicable. And such despicable lies got Hamilton killed by Burr.
Some years back, in a Hamilton bio I recall reading the theory that his death amounted to the equivalent of what today is known as an "assisted suicide", though the term wasn't used in the book.
According to that scenario he didn't aim at Burr, but fired his gun in the air as an attempt at self-atonement over his infidelity committed against his wife Eliza. He made no such admission that we know of in his last moments, but, then, much of the lore surrounding the duel is in dispute, with eyewitnesses having different versions as to whether it was Hamilton or Burr who fired the first shot.
I also recall learning in history class that Hamilton did leave a letter to his wife explaining that he was going to get himself shot because he felt guilty for cheating on her. I’m glad you commented about this because I think that’s a long lost fact that people forgot over the years.
Although I could be mistaken, I also thought I was told in the letter to his wife that he didn’t load his gun. So I don’t recall if the story goes that he had a blank or if he acted as if he was attempting to shoot and didn’t.
Just wondering why Hamilton would accept the challenge of Burr to duel , if he knew he would not try to kill Burr . Therefore he agreed to knowingly take part in getting himself killed . Does that make sense ? No , it doesn't . Which is why he did not intentionally
shoot to miss .
Some historians and a few psychologists say that Hamilton suffered from a "dual personality".
ummmm. Burr didnt run for vice president. both Burr and Jefferson. back then 1st place was President, runner up got VP.. just clearing that up
I believe there was an agreement that burr would become vice president. But when they tied, burr changed his mind and decided to shoot for the presidency.
What a waste
Your illiterate posting has cleared nothing up.
Did you watch the video, Or go straight to your comment?
@@sblack48 no
Vidal's account is perhaps more accurate than this one, which makes Hamilton appear almost saintly. Hamilton was in fact involved in almost ten duels or challenges at least, including one with future president, Monroe...
So interesting - before the Musical - I had never heard of this guy, but since, we have visited New York and Trinity church to pay our respects to them all.
*Gore Vidal's best historical novel, "Burr," covers this event in history--and a great deal more surrounding the early days of the USA. I highly recommend it to anyone who is prepared not to accept everything in it as "gospel"--as Vidal himself always cautioned the reading public that his historical novels were just that: novels.*
There are a ton of aspects of American history which are under-explored and under-taught imho... there's a whole swath of eras during and after reconstruction which can be explored, and also specific events or pieces of legislation, such as the Smoot-Hawley tariff, which led to significant events afterwards.
OMG I had no idea that Hamilton was a true story
If you've come here to comment how much of an idiot I am, I just want to say I'm sorry; I had to.
Can the fact, that the choice of pistol of Hamilton be the reason he missed? It is understood Hamilton hit a tree. His choice was a hair trigger device in the pistol he fired. By pushing the trigger forward the trigger became a hair trigger.
He knew how to duel, and how to use a pistol.
Hamiton ownd the Pistol set used.. so he was familier with them. also the hair trigger was a feature on the pistols, and both choose to not use the hair trigger..
If only decades later brooks had possessed the balls to follow through with his duel at Niagara Falls.
Hell of a story, I hadn’t realized that Alexander had refused to kill Aaron, and died anyway.
Hamilton's brother in law was a professional duelist. When the pistol set was auctioned off in the 1990s, the gunsmith restorer found a hidden switch built in the trigger mechanism. This switched the trigger pull from the normal 5 pound pull, to a hair trigger. Whether Hamilton knew about it and fired high accidentally prematurely, or not will never be known.
This was the duel that outlawed duels!
Technically dueling was illegal at the time but after this duel, if you were every caught even being involved in one you went to prison.
Maybe we need to bring this back.
look him in the eyes aim no higher summon all the courage you require..
you are a godsend and have helped me with my history essay so much thank you
That's awesome to hear, thank you so much!
You know I thought the musical exaggerated when they said the election came done to Hamilton
im not even american but im here after Hamilton and was just a bit curios what really happened lmao
It seems stupid to charge men who willingly participate in a duel with murder. This is akin to charging a MMA fighter with assault.
TY for the very informative video. I do have a request about the WW2 conflicts between Truman and McArthur and the aftermath of Asian Communism.
Nice job.
Thanks so much, I'm happy that you enjoyed the video!!
The Play the "Fox and the Eagle" covered some of it. Burr wanted later to create another Nation West of the Appalachian Mountains.. Didn't go well .. the dueling Pistols were on display in Canton, Ohio due to Dr.Hamilton of the same family. Note; I had to load the Stage prop Blank Pistols used on stage.. our Father wrote the Play..
It’s weird to think the crossed over to Jersey in boats, not a short ride. The length of the GWB.
Good video.
I didn’t know Aaron Burr was such a great singer
FR
Play about them was not accurate in details.
That commercial was hysterical. The guy was calling in to a radio quiz game, to answer a question about this duel. The caller was very excited, he was an Aaron Burr fan, and had the answer. However, he was munching on a peanut butter sandwich, his mouth got all gummed up, and he reached for his milk bottle to get a drink and break up the peanut butter logjam. Sadly, their was only a single drop of milk remaining…..thus…..Got Milk?
One last fight for great rivals
Please note: the right hand pistol, the one on top is A: left handed, very unusual for the time, B: has been fitted with a percussion nipple and hammer. This was not yet invented at the time of the Hamilton- Burr duel.
About 40 years ago I saw an article about the duel in a gun magazine, noting the percussion lock, and wrote to the editors about it. They replied that one of the pistols was later converted to percussion, the other one remained flintlock. But this is the first time I noticed one being left-handed. I do wonder which one was used by each man.
Came here after watching Suits Season 7. Interesting story.
I was born July 12, 1948 in Jersey City NJ then lived at 26 49th street in Weehawken about a quarter block from the palisades, a short way from the dueling ground. After moving to Hillsdale NJ when I was three, we visited grandparents still living on 49th street virtually every Sunday. On the way home to Hillsdale after each visit, I got to see the beautiful NYC skyline at night. Thank you for this great history lesson!
Wait... Aaron Burr isn't black?
Thank you for clarifying a topic that had been a question unanswered for me. New Sub!
They need to bring back dueling. It would be better to watch than judge Judy.
Well, it's a good thing Alec Baldwin wasn't one of the reenactors!
My understanding is that the pistols provided had a hidden feature, a small button that changed the trigger into a hair trigger, thus giving a huge advantage to the dueler who knew this secret. Hamilton knew this, put on his glasses to better see and engage this trigger enhancement and to take better aim. Hamilton raised his pistol, but accidentally fired before taking aim because he was not used to the hair extremely light trigger. An easy mistake and I’ve done it myself with my rifle’s set trigger. In this case it caused Hamilton to waste his shot and possibly caused his death, rather than Burr’s.
source needed
@@Redsoxking Yes, but i read it long ago and have o copy now, neither does it interest me so much. I accept the story as plausible because when the stakes are that high as they are in dueling among wealthy men, a way will always be found to cheat and gain some advantage. I bet you can find the story somewhere on the web. I remember that it was in a firearms related website or magazine. Good luck.
1. Hamilton told his second that he wouldn’t set the hair trigger on the first round.
2. Burr had engaged in more duels than Hamilton and would have known that it had a hair trigger - they were extremely common on duelling pistols.
3. The fact that the guns had hair trigger in them was stated at the time of the event and was never commented on by anyone because it was not considered a point of any importance.
@@megthomas580 Hi Meg. This is quite interesting. Can you give a reference for this information. I would like to learn more about the issue. Thanks.
All I have to say is it's too bad this didn't happen *before* Hamilton got Congress to pass and Washington to sign the Whiskey Tax. All of this was done to profit Hamilton's banker friends who had bought up Continental Congress debt instruments at pennies on the dollar. The instruments should have been collected, the bankers paid back the price they gave for those instruments, and the balance returned to the original creditors - in other words the farmers, craftsmen, and merchants who had provided goods and services for the Revolution. Instead, Washington became the first president to violate the Constitution, literally almost before the ink was dry.
Nice!
ruclips.net/video/IulSv5o6_T8/видео.html
Thank you!
This establishing a precedent good to this day for all politicians : Plausible Deniability...
“Let me tell you what I wish I know
When I was young and dreamed of glory
You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story”
George Washington, Hamilton musical
Interesting