To end everything we have to come back to politics. It’s a must. A must. So the duel is over, Hamilton is shot and dies the next day. What happens to Burr? What happens to the Federalist Party? Let’s deal with them one by one. One by one.

Aaron Burr was charged with murder in both New Jersey and New York. He ran down to the South and actually finished out his term as vice president. It is said that his farewell speech to Congress touched many and even changed many minds about Burr. However, the duel and death of Hamilton ruined Burr’s political career. Newspapers went to battle again, after the duel, with pro Federalist papers calling Burr a murderer. Public opinion, despite defense by Van Ness, swung against Burr and his political career was finished. It was finished. Later Burr was accused of treason for attempting to carve out part of the Louisiana Territory to secede from the United States. He could not get enough support for the move and was never convicted of treason. Late in life he actually returned to the duel site. Even as an old man he became energized when speaking of Hamilton.

As for the Federalist Party, it became less and less prominent in politics after Hamilton’s death. With the death of Washington and Hamilton, the party seemed aimless and leaderless. It is ironic that Hamilton took the duel in part to save himself as the leader of the Federalist Party, while the party’s fall after his death proves that he was always the anchor. Always the anchor.

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.

Oh yes, let’s talk politics. I knew when I woke up this morning that we would talk politics, could smell it in the air. The duel, yes it’s about honor and all that, like Alistair said, but let’s dig deeper. “Peel the onion a bit,” as they say. Underneath honor is… can you guess? I’ll give you a hint, starts with “P” and ends in “olitics.” Ha ha. Hamilton took the duel because of politics. That’s right. Politics to Hamilton was also about greatness. Both greatness of the country and his greatness. Now, that doesn’t sound as bad as it seems. Many great leaders need to have a large desire for greatness. As long as that desire is not bigger than their commitment to what matters, it is okay. Hamilton had this great desire, keeping the title of “General” in private life and living in his big house The Grange, but he also did what he truly believed to be right politically.

By July 11, 1804, Alexander Hamilton was in serious decline politically. The Federalist Party, which Hamilton founded, had been in serious trouble since the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Presidential Election of 1800. President John Adams lost due to a number of factors, one of them being a split in the Federalist Party. That split was helped along by Hamilton. We’ll get into that later. So here is Alexander Hamilton, his political career, once great, now in decline. He is working like crazy as a lawyer, he is falling out of favor with the Federalist Party, and his party is falling out of favor with the country. His political rival, Thomas Jefferson, is now President of the United States with Aaron Burr as his Vice President. Part of the reason he cannot turn the duel down is because he thought it would hurt him even more politically. He didn’t think he could afford that. So he dueled.

Just so you know, Hamilton and Jefferson were both in George Washington’s cabinet. Jefferson being the Secretary of State and Hamilton being the Secretary of the Treasury. Washington considered himself unattached to any political party, but he mostly sided with Hamilton’s Federalist policies like the national bank. Jefferson opposed these policies. George Washington went on to become a hero of the Federalist Party, while Thomas Jefferson became a foe and founded the Jeffersonian Republican Party. The Federalists believed in a strong central government, while the Jeffersonian Republicans wanted a less powerful central government and more state’s rights.