WEBVTT - The Backstory: Beyond the Hamilton duel: Aaron Burr’s rise and fall

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<v Speaker 1>All right. You know, as long as our country has

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<v Speaker 1>been around, there have been groups out there that wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to secede from the United States. Are you surprised? Right now?

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<v Speaker 1>There are at least a dozen states with active movements

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<v Speaker 1>looking to detach their state from the US and form

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<v Speaker 1>their own nation. But it almost happened, and the star

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<v Speaker 1>of the story was a guy more famous for another

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<v Speaker 1>political battle. I'm Patty Steele. Aaron Burr and his plan

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<v Speaker 1>to start his own empire. Next on the backstory, The

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<v Speaker 1>backstory is back. What do you know about Aaron Burr?

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<v Speaker 1>You probably are familiar with his run in with founding

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<v Speaker 1>father Alexander Hamilton. After some very public name calling, Burr,

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<v Speaker 1>than the vice president under Thomas Jefferson, challenged Hamilton to

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<v Speaker 1>a duel. Didn't end well for Hamilton, who died from

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<v Speaker 1>his wounds a day later, and it didn't end particularly

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<v Speaker 1>well for Burr, whose political career never recovered. But he

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<v Speaker 1>had a play. He wanted to carve out his own

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<v Speaker 1>empire in the West. Sounds like the plot of a

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<v Speaker 1>Netflix drama, doesn't it. Well, it really happened. It's the

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<v Speaker 1>story of how Burr went from political powerhouse to alleged trader,

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<v Speaker 1>though they were never able to prove that in court. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>it's seventeen fifty six. Aaron Burr is born into a

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<v Speaker 1>big deal New Jersey family. He's smart, charming, and ambitious.

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<v Speaker 1>His political career takes off. He's a senator by the

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<v Speaker 1>age of thirty five and vice president just ten years later.

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<v Speaker 1>But then along came that pesky eighteen oh four murderous

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<v Speaker 1>duel with Alexander Hamilton. His ego derailed his ambitions. So

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<v Speaker 1>what came next? The Burr Conspiracy. He knew that after

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<v Speaker 1>the duel his political career was toast. Hamilton's death made

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<v Speaker 1>him a pariah in Washington, and even Jefferson, his President,

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<v Speaker 1>turned his back on him. Burn needed a fresh start,

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<v Speaker 1>and he set his so on something ambitious, even a

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<v Speaker 1>little borderline delusional. Aaron Burr wanted to create his own

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<v Speaker 1>empire in the American West. So what was the plan. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>his vision involved carving out a new independent nation, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>including parts of the Louisiana territory and even parts of Mexico.

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<v Speaker 1>Insiders said he dreamed of being crowned emperor of this

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<v Speaker 1>new land. But maybe he just wanted to break off

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<v Speaker 1>a little chunk of the United States and rule it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a big dream and also wildly illegal. He had

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<v Speaker 1>co conspirators too, General James Wilkinson was a master schemer

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<v Speaker 1>with a talent for playing both sides, even working as

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<v Speaker 1>a paid agent for Spain while serving in the US military.

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<v Speaker 1>And Burr even chatted with Anthony Mary, the British Minister

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<v Speaker 1>to the US, telling him that Britain could regain power

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<v Speaker 1>in the Southwest by giving him arms and ammo for

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<v Speaker 1>his plan. Even offer to several Louisiana from the Union

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<v Speaker 1>if they gave him half a million bucks and put

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<v Speaker 1>a British fleet in the Gulf of Mexico. Mary told

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<v Speaker 1>him the powers in London had zero interest in supporting

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<v Speaker 1>an American secession. Finally, with the help of a very

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<v Speaker 1>very rich Irish immigrant, Byrd did put together an army

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<v Speaker 1>of settlers, adventurers, and disillusioned soldiers, promising them land and

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<v Speaker 1>power in the new Empire. He tried to sell his

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<v Speaker 1>plan as a way to defend American interests in the West,

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<v Speaker 1>but rumors started swirling about what he was really up to.

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<v Speaker 1>Stories were published that exposed his plans to build his

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<v Speaker 1>empire in the West. It wasn't completely clear what he

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<v Speaker 1>was trying to do. Was he planning to invade Spanish

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<v Speaker 1>held territory for the US or plotting to break off

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<v Speaker 1>that chunk of the country and declare independence. Word was.

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<v Speaker 1>He met with a Spanish diplomat and told him his

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<v Speaker 1>ultimate goal was to march on one Washington and take over.

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<v Speaker 1>Unfortunately for Burr, like the British, the Spanish didn't want

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<v Speaker 1>to get involved in his grand plan. But then it

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<v Speaker 1>turned out that General James Wilkinson thought the plot was doomed,

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<v Speaker 1>and he flipped sides. He sent a letter to President

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<v Speaker 1>Jefferson warning him about Burr's plot, while Jefferson thought the

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<v Speaker 1>accusations were politically motivated. Charges were brought against Burr, although

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<v Speaker 1>a grand jury refused to indicte But by the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of eighteen oh six, Jefferson in his cabinet took a

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<v Speaker 1>serious look and Burr's plan unraveled. Almost overnight. Wilkinson turned

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<v Speaker 1>on him completely, sending Jefferson a heavily doctored letter between

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<v Speaker 1>himself and Burr that outlined his plans but made Wilkinson

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<v Speaker 1>look innocent. He was brought to trial in one of

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<v Speaker 1>the most sensational events of the early eighteen hundreds. The

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<v Speaker 1>prosecution had to prove that Burr had committed an overt

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<v Speaker 1>act of treason. But here's the catch. His troops never

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<v Speaker 1>carried any military action because they were caught before they

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<v Speaker 1>were able to. During the trial, Burr was charming, eloquent,

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<v Speaker 1>and completely confident in his ability to sway the jury.

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<v Speaker 1>He'd been a Revolutionary War hero and an ex vice president,

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<v Speaker 1>plus he had amazing lawyers. The government's case fell apart

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<v Speaker 1>when the defense uncovered the doctoring of the most damning

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<v Speaker 1>letter between Wilkinson and Burr. The defense painted Wilkinson as

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<v Speaker 1>the real villain. He had rewritten the letter in his

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<v Speaker 1>own handwriting that dummy, so Burr managed to deny having

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<v Speaker 1>written it at all. The chief justice in the case

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<v Speaker 1>had set a high bar for what constituted treason, insisting

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<v Speaker 1>the prosecution had to prove an overt act of war

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<v Speaker 1>against the US. Burr, again, hero of the Revolutionary War,

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<v Speaker 1>was trusted over a guy who had doctored evidence. The

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<v Speaker 1>jury found Burd not guilty, and he walked free, but

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<v Speaker 1>his reputation was completely shattered. The trial was a media circus,

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<v Speaker 1>like a modern day celebrity scandal, and he was done.

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<v Speaker 1>After the trial, Burr's life took a nosedive. He fled

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<v Speaker 1>to Europe, where he spent years trying to drum up

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<v Speaker 1>support for many other schemes, even trying to convince Napoleon

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<v Speaker 1>to help him invade Mexico, but no dice there. Eventually

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<v Speaker 1>he came back to America at the age of seventy seven.

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<v Speaker 1>He married a much younger, wealthy widow, but she divorced

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<v Speaker 1>him after a few years because he started losing her

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<v Speaker 1>money in bad land deals. He finally died in a

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<v Speaker 1>boarding house on Staten Island at the age of eighty,

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<v Speaker 1>never becoming the Emperor he dreamed of being. Aaron. Burr's

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<v Speaker 1>ambition and ego brought him a lot of early success,

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<v Speaker 1>but his inability to play by the rules torpedoed all

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<v Speaker 1>of it. Hope you like the backstory with Patty Steele.

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<v Speaker 1>I would love it if you'd subscribe or follow for

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<v Speaker 1>to DM me if you have a story you'd like

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<v Speaker 1>me to cover. On Facebook, of course it's Patty Steele

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<v Speaker 1>and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The

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<v Speaker 1>Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group,

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<v Speaker 1>and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our

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<v Speaker 1>writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

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<v Speaker 1>Feel free to reach out to me with comments and

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<v Speaker 1>even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and

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<v Speaker 1>on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the

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<v Speaker 1>Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't

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<v Speaker 1>know you needed to know.