Vice President Aaron Burr and the Burr Conspiracy

Tremarqui and I'm Holly Fry. Aaron Burr was the third Vice President of the United States, but is probably more famous for his involvement in two of the most sensational events of his day. On the morning of July eighteen o four, when he was forty eight years old and vice President of the United States, Burr fatally shot Alexander Hamilton's with a fifty six caliber dueling pistol in a

duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton's as a founding father of the United States, a lawyer, scholar, economist, soldier, congressman, and he was the first U S Secretary of the Treasury. Three years after that life defining event, Burr was accused and acquitted of treason against the United States. So what exactly does that mean? When a vice president, or actually any United States citizen for that matter, is accused of treason.

There are a few things will need to be clear about as we kick this season off with an American revolutionist. It's just a little bit of vocabulary. Actually, espionage, sedition, insurrection, and treason. So espionage is an act of spying or using spies for obtaining secret information. Several people generally thought of as traders in the United States were actually tried

for espionage. For instance, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg you June nineteen fifty three, the Rosenbergs were executed for conspiracy to commit espionage under the US Espionage Act of nineteen seventeen in a plot to sell American atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. They were the first U S citizens to receive the death penalty in an espionage trial. Sedition refers to conspiring with others to incite rebellion against lawful authority.

Insurrection involves actual acts of organized effort that may or may not include violence against the state or its officers. Sedition and insurrection are distinct from treason, which is a violation of a citizen's allegiance to their country by betrayal or by aiding the country's enemies. There is a treason clause written into the United States Constitution, and it's the

only crime specifically defined within that document. It's found an Article three, section three, and it defines treason against the United States and its punishments. Treason against the United States, it says, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or on

confession in open court. Entitle eighteen, United States Code, Section one, and that's according to federal law. Today's traders quote, shall suffer death or shall be imprisoned not less than five years, and find under this title, but not less than ten thousand dollars, and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. Okay, now that that is all cleared up, It is the specific wording in the definition of treason in the Constitution that ultimately one Burr has acquittal.

We're going to get into that. It's a little bit early, but we're going to take a break for a word from our sponsors. So we can keep the story of Aaron Burr's life altogether. When we return, we'll get to know who Aaron Burgh was before he decided to levy war against the United States allegedly. Welcome back to criminallya Aaron Burr didn't get along with a lot of his peers, at least that's certainly how it seems. But it sounds like he was a great lawyer. Let's run through his accomplishments.

So Aaron Burr is actually Aaron Burg Jr. And he was born on February six, seventeen fifty six, in Newark, New Jersey. He was the son of Aaron Burr Sr. And Esther Edwards, a prominent New Jersey family. Burrow was just two years old and his sister four when their parents died, and the two were raised by a wealthy uncle, their mother's brother. At the age of sixteen, Aaron graduated from the College of New Jersey, which to a we know as Princeton University. He continued his education, studying law

at Litchfield Law School in Connecticut. He put his studies on hold and volunteered to fight in the American Revolutionary War, where he served with distinction under General Benedict Donald and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He resigned in seventeen seventy nine, citing ill hell, and then Burr went back to the law. In seventeen eighty two, he was admitted to the New York State Bar, and he opened what quickly became a bustling law practice in New York

City soon thereafter Benedictdonald. Of course he studied under of course, he served under Benedict Donald, and like Benedictdonald, and like George Washington, didn't get along. And then like Burn Washington get along. I'm like this all it's like complete circle here, Like she's all out enough. Yeah, the same people like each other, which is generally what happens. So Burr was busy. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in

seventeen eighty four and served one term. In seventeen eighty nine, he was appointed New York Attorney General by Governor George Clinton, a role he served in until seventeen. He was elected to the United States Senate that same year, beating General Philip Schuyler. This is notable because Skyler happened to not only be the incumbent, but he was also the father in law of Alexander Hamilton's. Hamilton's and Burr were definitely

not friends, but they certainly knew each other. Most stories of the two's relationship are not flattering for either party. Hamilton and Burr differed over a lot of things, but definitely politics. Hamilton's was a Federalist, while Burr was politically affiliated with the Democratic Republican Party, the party that opposed the centralizing policies of Hamilton's. Burr's win over Skylar fuel that long standing rivalry. Burr had hoped to secure the

vice presidency in seventeen but he was not elected. The following year, he failed to win re election to the Senate. He lost to Skylar, and he blamed that loss on Hamilton's for ruining his reputation. In the election of eighteen hundred, he was on the presidential ticket with Thomas Jefferson. Each man received the same number of electoral votes, a tie

in the electoral college. Under the electoral college procedures at that time, the electors cast their votes for both candidates without specifically indicating who should be president and who should

be vice president. It wasn't until eighteen o four, when the twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted, requiring electors to cast separate ballots for president and vice president, so that vote went to the House of Representatives to decide the outcome, where it was determined that Jefferson would be president with Burr as his vice president. Whether or not it had any influence, and there's no way to be sure, but it was foe Alexander Hamilton's who lobbied

Congress towards choosing President Jefferson. Jefferson did not trust Burr, and since the election, he had believed that Burr had engaged in secret meetings and dealings in an effort to secure the presidency for himself. He, meaning Jefferson and other party leaders often marginalized the vice president in his role Because of that belief, secret dealings or no secret dealings. Jefferson would continue to be a misery in Burr's life, and we could pretty safely say vice versa. They were

swift political enemies. But it was a dinner party that ultimately sparked the infamous Burr Hamilton's duel. Nearing the end of his term as vice president, Burr ran for the governorship of New York in February of eighteen o four, a New York Republican doctor, Charles D. Cooper, attended a dinner at which Alexander Hamilton's spoke at length and strongly against Burr. He had done that many times, but here's

the problem with this particular instance. Cooper then wrote a letter to Philip Schuyler in which he described how Hamilton's had insulted Aaron Burr, one of the New York gubernatorial candidates, at a private dinner. That letter was also published in the newspaper The Albany Register. So did Hamilton's intend for the things he said to be relayed in a published letter. Maybe maybe not. But it wasn't the first time Hamilton's

had spoken about Burr in the press. It was once printed in a New York newspaper that Hamilton's quote looked upon Burr to be a dangerous man and one who ought not to be trusted with the reigns of government. The letter hindered Burr's bid for New York governorship, or at least Burr felt that way, and he lost by a large margin to Morgan Lewis. It was when he confronted Hamilton's about his slanderous words that Burr challenged his

longtime rival to a duel. Duels at this point were illegal in both New York and New Jersey, but the penalties were way less severe in New Jersey, so they chose we Hawket. We Hawke in New Jersey is just over the Hudson River from New York City. Today, the Lincoln Tunnel, which is just about a mile and a half long, connects we hawk In with midtown Manhattan. There are conflicting accounts about what exactly happened during this duel, but the facts remained these. Each man fired one shot,

Burr was left unhurt, and Hamilton's fatally wounded. Died the next day. While Burr was indicted for murder in both the states of New York and New Jersey. He returned to Washington, d C. And resumed his VP duties presiding over the Senate. He finished his vice presidency safe from prosecution, and the indictments in this case never reached trial. First, political achievements are largely overshadowed by his duel with Hamilton's.

Many things really about for his life seemed to be overshadowed by that event, except maybe the treason In late November of eighteen o six, President Jefferson issued a proclamation stating that a traitorous conspiracy had been uncovered, so he didn't mention any names at that time. He called on quote, all persons whatsoever engaged or concerned in the same, to cease all further proceedings therein, as they will answer the contrary at their peril. In response, the House of Representatives

requested that Jefferson present evidence to support his claims. Instead. On January eighteen o seven, Jefferson pronounced Burr as guilty of treason, this time naming names, and he stated that Aaron Burr was a traitor whose quote guilt is placed beyond all question. Jefferson's public declaration of Burr's guilt before there had even been an arrest or indictment, was of

course controversial. In response, former President John Adams, for instance, wrote that even if Burr's quote guilt is as clear as the noonday sun, the first magistrate ought not to have pronounced it so before a jury had tried him. Here's how it began. After his rival's death and the

end of his vice presidency. First interest lay with the country's newly acquired territory and the land around the United States too, orders were disputed, and the land was perceived as being unsettled, though that ignored indigenous populations already living there. He believed, with a small but well armed military, he could take territory for himself, but burn knew he couldn't go it alone and brought in General James Wilkinson of the United States Army. Wilkinson and Burr had been friends

since serving in the Revolutionary War. Burr had also convinced President Jefferson to name his buddy as governor of the new Northern Louisiana. A few months after or his vice presidency ended, Burr traveled west on a reconnaissance mission of sorts,

you could call it, along with a visit to Wilkinson. Together, expecting or at least hoping war to break out between the United States and Spain over boundary disputes, Wilkinson and Burr planned an invasion of Mexico, which was part of the Spanish Empire, in order to establish their own independent government there. They may the record is inconclusive on this part. They may have also discussed a plan to incite a secessionist movement in the West planning for that group to

join Mexico. It's also been speculated that the plan could have been to provoke war with Spain to create an independent Mexico, or to perhaps separate the trans Alleghany region from the United States, or maybe just simply to see

there was a fortune to be made. Burt did try to raise a small army on the American frontier, and by the time he returned to washing To d C that November, he had numerous supporters, including former U. S Senator Jonathan Dayton and members of the Mexico Society, which was a group of New Orleans businessmen who favored annexation of Mexican land in the West. Burr assumed Wilkinson would be able to both control the land and a military force.

In August of eighteen o four, Burr contacted Britain's Minister to the United States, a man named Anthony Mary. He offered to help Britain take a piece of western territory from the United States. In return, Burr wanted money, and

he wanted a force to carry out this conquest. Mary was immediately in touch with his contacts in Britain, detailing that Burr had offered to quote, lend his assistant to His Majesty's government in any manner in which they may think fit to employ him, particularly in endeavoring to effect a separation of the western part of the United States from that which lies between the Atlantic and the Mountains.

He continued, quote. Mr Burr has mentioned to me that the inhabitants of Louisiana, the lands recently purchased from France, seemed determined to render themselves independent of the United States, and the execution of their design is only delayed by the difficulty of obtaining previously an assurance of protection and assistance from some foreign power. It is clear that Mr Burr means to endeavor to be the instrument for affecting such a connection. Making his move, Burr sent a coded

letter to Wilkinson outlining his next plan. I have at length obtained funds it included, and have actually commenced. The letter would become known as the Cipher Letter, and the document figured prominently at Burr's treason trial. Both the prosecution and the defense used the Cipher Letter to try and prove their case. Wilkinson, though believed that the plan was going to fail, and he betrayed Burr Rumors about Burr's plans had begun to circulate and had even been published

in newspapers. One Philadelphia paper speculated that Burr would soon be quote at the head of a revolutionary party. It also reported that he planned to quote engage in the reduction of Mexico with the aid of quote British ships and forces. The persistent rumors made President Jefferson increasingly suspicious, and then on October nine, Wilkinson sent a letter to Jefferson outlining the conspiracy. He did not name Burr, but stated that there was a quote deep, dark, wicked, and

widespread conspiracy afoot. In an interesting and somewhat twisty side note, it turns out that Wilkinson was in the pocket of the Spanish government for many years. It's that old when you accuse people of things, it's because you are doing it yourself. Ah. So we're going to take a break for a word from our sponsor now, and when we're back you will be talking about Burr's arrest, his indictment, and finally his trial. Welcome back to Criminalia. This is it,

the Burr conspiracy. So let's untangle what happened now. On the move Burr's first stop was Blenner Hasset's Island on the Ohio River, where he intended on rallying his forces. Harmon blenner Hasset, wealthy Irish aristocrat, and his wife Margaret, constructed their estate on the island in They allowed their island to become headquarters for Burr's military expedition or mission, or exploit, whatever we should be calling in at this point, since they had met him along the river during his

early trips west. On December nine, eighteen o six, authority struck their first blow against his plan. Ohio militiaman captured most of Burr's boats and supplies at a merry at a boatyard. Two days later, the militia rated blinder Hassett's Island, but most of the men had already left. The end though came at Bioupierre, just thirty miles outside of New Orleans, when Burr saw a headline in a New Orleans newspaper

announcing a reward for his capture. The paper also had printed in full a translation of the coded letter Burr had sent to Wilkinson. He surrendered to authorities at Biopierre and was arraigned before a Grand jury. He and his supporters insisted they had no intention of attacking US territory, and the jury failed to return an indictment, so he

went free. Next for Burr was traveled down the Mississippi River on nine long boats along with about sixty men, and that is when he learned that he might be assassinated if he went to New Orleans. While making his way deep into the Mississippi Territory, soldiers from Fort Stoddard, Louisiana Territory captured Burr, who was considered a fugitive at that point. They captured him on the morning of February nineteenth, eighteen o seven, on a muddy road near the hamlet

of Wakefield. On June seven, a grand jury indicted Burr for treason for levying war against the United States, an act which was said to have taken place on December tenth, eighteen o six, on Blenner Hassett's Island. Burr was also indicted for high misdemeanor for organizing a military expedition against Spain in Mexico in violation of the Neutrality Act of He was tried separately on the two charges. Despite the weakness of the evidence against him. His case went to trial,

and it began on August third, eighteen o seven. Had he been found guilty of treason, the penalty would be death. His trial, or the Burr Conspiracy, as it came to be known, was held in Richmond, Virginia. Why Virginia because the alleged overt act of treason had taken place on blinder Hassett Island, a small spot of land that was at the time part of Virginia. John Marshall, chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, sat as circuit judge.

The defense attorneys included Edmund Randolph and Luther Martin, both former delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Jefferson himself led the prosecution from the White House, or micro managed it, it would seem. Attorneys George Hay and William Wirt, who would go on to become the longest serving Attorney General in

United States history, rounded out the prosecution. At one point during the proceedings, Martin denounced President Jefferson for behaving like quote a king of Great Britain and for unleashing quote the dogs of war the hell hounds of persecution against an innocent man for personal reasons. Jefferson responded by insinuating that Martin was a co conspirator of Burr and should be prosecuted for quote miss prision that would be concealment of treason. At least he was not on the prosecution side.

The National Endowment for the Humanities has a great description of work engaged in the courtroom. They referred to his scathing portrayal of Burr as the serpent in the garden of Republican virtue as the quote rhetorical high point in the trial. The prosecution lined up more than one hundred and forty witnesses. Jefferson had sent prosecutors blank pardons quote to be filled up at your discretion should any of

the other offenders be willing to testify against Fur. But after several testified to Burr's quote evil intention, Burr's lawyers objected to any witnesses who weren't offering any evidence regarding actual overt acts of treason. Chief Justice Marshall ruled in favor, arguing that only witnesses who could tell defy about an overt act of levying war could take the stand. He instructed the jury that it had to confine its decision to testimony that an act of war against the United

States had been conducted on Blenner has Its Island. We quote no testimony relative to the conduct or declarations of the prisoner elsewhere and subsequent to the transaction on Blenner Hasset's Island can be admitted because such testimony, being in its nature merely corroborative and incompetent to prove the overt act in itself. Is it relevant until there be proof

of the overt act by two witnesses. This opinion does not comprehend the proof by two witnesses that the meeting on Blenner has Its Island was procured by the prisoner. Here's what happened on that day. On Blenner Hassets Island. There had been an uneventful but armed standoff between some of Burr's men and the Virginia State militia. On December tenth, eighteen o six. Party of Burr's supporters had assembled with supplies and a few boats. The men were armed, but

reportedly they had mostly hunting rifles, not military muskets. They spent time on target practice, and they prepared ammunition for the rifles. The island was the one and only location where the government claimed that Burr was planning that overt act of treason, but he wasn't even there that day. Burr was a hundred miles away from events on Blinder Hassett's Island on December tenth, and that was damaging testimony

for the prosecution. Chief Justice Marshall issued a subpoena to President Jefferson to deliver documents that Burr had requested to prepare his defense, including War Department orders and copies of the letter and other paper sent to Jefferson by General James Wilkinson. Jefferson supplied only a small number of letters to the court, and he never acknowledged the subpoena or

the second one that he received later that summer. As to the overt acts, Jefferson wrote, We're not the bundle of letters of information in Attorney General Caesar Rodney's hands. The letters and facts published in local newspapers, Burr's flight, and the universal belief or rumor of his guilt probable ground for presuming overt acts to have taken place. Jefferson didn't like Burr. Are the rumors not enough? But he

did not get along with Marshall either. Marshall took a nationalist view of the Constitution, and he focused on strong central government. Jefferson was an a grarian. Jefferson also believed the Chief Justice stole a seat on the Supreme Court through lame duck appointments. So let's just say there was friction here absolutely whether he had or had not plotted to take United States in Spanish territories in Louisiana and

Mexico to establish an independent republic. He was acquitted for lack of evidence, a verdict many historians attribute to Marshall's strict instructions to the jury to take strict and narrow interpretation of the Constitution's treason clause. Burr's team spent three days arguing this very thing, that to be guilty of treason, the accused must have committed an overt act in a war, testified to by two witnesses and committed within the district

of the trial. Because Burr's actions did not meet that definition, he had to be acquitted. The jury found him quote not guilty by the evidence presented. Separately, Burr was also acquitted on his high misdemeanor charge. Jefferson, in frustration and anger at that verdict, wanted the House of representatives to bring an impeachment charge against Chief Justice Marshall Jefferson, though did not get his way on that one. After his acquittal, Burr was not guilty, but found he had lost in

the court of public opinion. He was burned in effigy. With resources drained, Burr left the United States to live as an expat in Europe, but not permanently. He did return to the United States and in eighteen twelve resumed practicing law in New York City. In his final years, he did suffer multiple strokes that left him partially paralyzed, and he died on September four, eighteen thirty six, at the age of eighty, while in the care of a

cousin at Port Richmond, Staten Island in New York. So this season, out of the treasonists in the traders, what shall we call our goldtail station, I'm calling this the perfect e poor. I just felt alliterative, and I like that word. Sometimes the word is Wednesday, and it's true Maine to our theme of people not trusting one another.

So we are living in very interesting and troubling times, and I think we keep talking about many news things and even just when people are chatting amongst themselves around social It's like unprecedented the things we're going through some of them. Yes, but listen, when you read this story or you hear this story, it's like, oh well, actually, um, a lot of these things were going on from the beginning of our country's existence. Exactly. It's a little bit

hard to escape from the news and the show. Yes, I couldn't help but think about that a lot. As I was preparing his first perfecty poor, I wanted to do something that was reminiscent of drinks that may have been consumed around this time. We've talked about before how like a hard cider would be very popular during that time, often with another spirit added. So I made a little cocktail called the same as it ever was. Hopefully you still have some hard cider from the last time we

did it, which is not that long ago. It has an interesting flavor, and I'll tell you what happened when I made it. You might laugh at me, and that's fine. You were going to take one ounce of dark rum. I did a dark spice drum for this delicious one ounce of orgea, or you could use another almond syrup if you have that on hand. Five ounces of apple cider.

I made sure that the dark rum and the orga were combined together completely before pouring that hard cider over it, because the hard cider has some bubbling nous to it. And then I hit it with just a dash or two of angister a bitters. And this is one of those drinks that I sipped it and went, was this a horrible mistake? And then I stirred it a little bit, went is this a horrible mistake? And then I took a third sip and went, it is not a horrible

mistake at all. Now I just got good. I needed to stir it a little bit more and combine it, because if you just let it sit on top of each other sometimes that's a fun way to experience a drink. This is not one of those you want to combine them. I would like to think that along the way. Aaron Burr was like, is this a horrible mistake? I'm doing it.

I love a little almond flavor. The thing that's interesting is that the cider and the dark rum have so much flavor of their own that they bring to the party that the or ja, uh, you don't get that almond flavor initially like. It took a couple of SIPs before my tongue was like, that's almond and it's delicious, and then it was very yummy. That is the same as an because that's how I'm feeling today. This is a very easy one to make a mock tail out of.

Instead of dark rum, We're going to do that thing we do where we sub out a tea. I would do a tea with some spice to it. I would do like a tea that's intended to make chai here, and then do that with a non alcoholic apple cider, especially as sparkling. Use your or you can still do the bidders if you are a person that doesn't even do bidders because you want no drops of alcohol at all. Since it has a tiny minuscule amount in it, you can skip those. It's fine. It's still to be really interesting,

I think in very yummy. It's what's interesting is that it's not too sweet at all. I tend to like a sweet drink, but I know not everyone does. If you do like a sweet drink, or you a horror sweet drink, the easy fix to make here is to dial that orga amount up or down When I first did it, I only put in a half ounce. That was not enough for my palette, and it just was a little too Something wasn't working in terms of the balance, so I added a little bit more and that's how

we landed here. But if you would like it even sweeter, you could put more in. It also depends on the sweetness of the apple cider you're using. Summer much much sweeter than others, especially once you get into hard cider. They have very different flavor profiles. Brand to brand. You can calibrate based on that. So yes, same as it ever was. I hope we all have some sense of hope that our country has gotten through a lot of weird times before and hopefully we will manage this again.

It's hard to see that at some moments, but that's my hope. If this story gives you any rent of hope whatsoever, I will consider in a wild runaway success and you can enjoy a little sip of a cocktail while you condum plate. We are so excited to be talking about trees in this season, and we hope you will join us again next week because we have more wild tales of behavior. Criminalia is a production of Shonda

land Audio in partnership with I heart Radio. For more podcasts from Shonda land Audio, please visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.