Aaron Burr spent a lifetime in the military, in law, and in politics, but is definitely most remembered for the Hamilton duel. That is sort of a cruel fate for someone who gave so much time in support of his country, but it might have ended up that way because of how Burr held himself while serving his country. So let’s talk more politics. We all know Hamilton as the main guy when it came to the Federalist Party. A strong central government is what Hamilton wanted. A very strong central government. But what did Burr stand for?

Even before there were political parties in the United States, the politicians who formed this country held very strong political beliefs. In New York, where both Hamilton and Burr lived, the political beliefs broke for either Hamilton or Governor Clinton. Hamilton, as we should all know was for a strong central government. Clinton believed that New York was fine on its own. Burr accepted the position of attorney general of New York, under Clinton, even after campaigning for the Federalists. To a man like Hamilton, who had strong ideas and stuck to them, this switch was a sign of weakness. He believed Burr lacked strength of character. This belief may have been true, as Burr seemed to go towards any political party which looked the best for him at that time.