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Aaron Burr Hamilton Farewell Analysis

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The Duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr and Washington’s Farewell Address were integral events in the founding of America. One event brought about the end of an influential Founding Father’s life and the others career, and the other announced the end of the Father’s career. The “end” of these three men impacted how historians, students, and Americans view them today. Hamilton dies as a martyr, Burr lives as a traitor, Washington retires as a figurehead. The chapters in Founding Brothers detail the legacy left by these men. Chapter One of Founding Brothers details the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. The duel resulted from years, and years, and years of disagreements and slights between the two men, which culminated …show more content…

There is no clear narrative from either of the seconds, Van Ness said that Hamilton fired first at Burr, Pendelton said that Hamilton being hit by Burr caused him to pull his trigger as an involuntary reaction (Ellis, 28-29). Both seconds gave an account which would make their mentor look better, but the public ignored any attempts to humanize Burr and instead dubbed Hamilton the martyr. Chapter Four of Founding Brothers detailed the events surrounding President George Washington’s Farewell Address, published in newspapers in 1796 (Ellis, 121). Washington was reluctant to take the position of president when he was asked in 1789, as was evidenced by the fact that he had already retired in 1783 from the military (Ellis, 134). He thought about voluntarily giving up the presidency in 1792, but with advice from his cabinet officers, he agreed to a second term (Ellis, 149). At the end of his first term, Washington asked James Madison to draft a valedictory address, because his two most trusted cabinet members, Hamilton and Jefferson, were deeply involved in partisan disputes (Ellis, 149). However, at the end of the second term, Washington called upon Hamilton to draft his address (Ellis, 150). Hamilton had Washington’s writing voice down pat, from writing correspondence for him during the Revolutionary War, and his draft read much the same as it would had Washington himself written it (Ellis,

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He spent much of his time writing Washington 's critical letters, and composed numerous reports on the strategic reform and restructuring of the Continental Army. Hamilton was not satisfied with a desk job so Washington soon promoted him to lieutenant colonel of the continental army(Sanders, Burns, Ades 63). In 1781 he begged for some action on the battlefield with Washington 's permission, Hamilton led a victorious charge against the British in the Battle of Yorktown. The English’s surrender during this battle lead to two major negotiations in 1783: the Treaty of Paris between the United States and Great Britain, and two treaties signed at Versailles between France and Britain and Spain.

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The second act shows us Hamilton’s goals of taking control within the governmental system. Hamilton has several debates with multiple leads in government. Hamilton and Jefferson have multiple altercations within the government during the first planning stages of the government. Hamilton’s plan of The Compromise of 1790, is one result of a debate Hamilton had. John Adams, Aaron Burr and a few others had multiple encounters with

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It was a duel of integrity and both personal and political reputation. Although that day on the plains of

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Paragraph 3: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr are similar people but both live different lives. They both became orphans at a very young age. Alex was born on January 11, 1755 in Nevis. He was always energetic. Early on when Alex was young, James Hamilton Sr. left them.

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The Election of 1800 was a cacophony of compromisation, harsh rivals and vigorous demanding from politicians scattered all across the country. Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson constantly threw the States' majority vote back and forth from each other like a game of tennis- while John Adams was practically shoved out of voters' options, desperate to prevail the other candidates. When push came to shove, it was the supportive positions of Alexander Hamilton and James Bayard that had the most magnitude. Hamilton, the man Burr would later shoot and kill in a duel, sided with Jefferson due to providing a valid argument that Burr was "without scruple," and an "unprincipled...voluptuary" that would wreck havoc across the states, had he win the election.

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The campaign for the Constitution was a long one and during it Hamilton, along with John Jay and James Madison, took up the pseudonym “Publius” and wrote essays to newspapers across the nation, encouraging the public to vote in favor of ratifying the Constitution. In all, there were eighty-five essays that came to be known as “The Federalist Papers.” John Jay wrote two, Madison wrote thirty-two, and Hamilton wrote all of the remaining fifty-one. The most well known essay of the collection was Federalist No. 84, written by Hamilton, which first proposed the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution in ensure the rights of the states were honored (Foner Web; Witten Web; Hamilton Print). After the Constitution was ratified in 1787 and George Washington was elected as President in 1789, Hamilton was appointed as his Secretary of the Treasury, making him the first to hold the position.

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A little less than 30 years, the Election of 1800 went to a deadlock between Thomas Jefferson who was running for president, and Aaron Burr who was running for vice president, at this point it meant that the house of representatives had to vote for who would be the new President. Even then the house of representatives went to a tie, but Alexander still needed to vote. Hamilton didn’t support either side, but because he hated Burr more than he hated Jefferson he decided to vote for Jefferson, making him the president instead of Burr. This heated relationship worsened even farther when Hamilton criticized Burr at a dinner Party. Letters were exchanged between the men and it led to Burr being challenged to a

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After a fiercely fought revolution, the newly independent American nation struggled to establish a concrete government amidst an influx of opposing ideologies. Loosely tied together by the Articles of Confederation, the thirteen sovereign states were far from united. As growing schisms in American society became apparent, an array of esteemed, prominent American men united in 1787 to form the basis of the United States government: the Constitution. Among the most eminent members of this convention were Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. These men, held to an almost godly stature, defined the future of the nation; but were their intentions as honest as they seemed?

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(166). His explanation alone is an illustration of the sacredness of honor and the lengths politicians took to preserve their own. Alexander Hamilton was an embodiment of the ambiguities of honor - which left politicians feeling “conflicted and guilt ridden, unable to reconcile the competing demands of honor, politics and morality.”

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Elieth Serrano-Ortega HIS 166 (86287) Essay #3 due October 29, 2015 What were competing visions for the new American Republic, as expressed by Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson? In the 1790s, a two-party system emerged rapidly. The division reflected significant disagreement over the makeup of the new nation, how powerful it wanted to be and how it should perform relations with foreign countries. Thomas Jefferson stood at the helm of one of these parties, and Alexander Hamilton stood up front in the other party.

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This is conveyed by Washington’s correspondence with Hamilton. Hamilton began his decline when Washington died. Freed of the tempered restraining influence of Washington, Hamilton’s judgment faltered. At this point, the book became almost unbearably sad. Hamilton engaged in a number of political feuds with Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and others that clouded his perspective.

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The Life of Aaron Burr People say that Aaron Burr was a villain in the history of the American Revolution. He was wrongly perceived this way because of a smear campaign created by his political enemies. He may have killed Alexander Hamilton, but he made many contributions to the United States, most of which go unnoticed by America’s citizens. People of today have repeated these distortions, making Burr appear as the classic bad guy of American history. In reality, Aaron Burr was a particularly interesting man who faced a great number of challenges throughout his life, but still managed to accomplish many feats; both in the army and his career.

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The Founding Fathers feared that if the federal government were to fall apart, it would cause civil war. As you could tell from “The Generation”, these leaders were not sure that the Union would survive. Hamilton and Burr’s battle is the result of this

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“Hamilton’s background would always set him apart and give him an outlook on life and politics the other Founding Fathers did not share”(Gordon,50). Hamilton helped shape Washington’s foreign policy. Hamilton advised Washington on the Neutrality Proclamation, which declared that America would not become entangled in affairs but be friendly with both

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Because of many of his radical views, he gained a lot of opposition in both the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties, and was forced to resign, yet still remained popular, with a greatly valued opinion (Brookhiser). Hamilton then lost his firstborn son (Phillip) in a duel when Phillip challenged George Eacker to uphold his father’s honor. And yet Hamilton refused to remain quiet and openly opposed Aaron Burr in the election of 1800, and worked against Burr again when the Vice President ran for New York governorship. In an attempt to heal his wounded pride, Aaron Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, and the discredited Alexander Hamilton died the day after. (Foner).

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