Why Is The Burr Shot Hamilton Dueling Wrong

Deadly, dramatic, and featuring two well-known Founding fathers, the Burr-Hamilton duel is one of the most famous duels in history. Former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr met at a dueling ground in Weehawken, New Jersey on July 11, 1804. Hamilton shot high—perhaps deliberately, perhaps not. Burr shot Hamilton in his abdomen, pierced his liver, and lodged in his spine. He died the next day. The practice of dueling makes little sense from the distance of two centuries. What could drive two rational and intelligent men to willingly risk their lives in a deadly showdown that seemingly accomplished nothing? What caused a vice president to shoot and kill a Founding Father on the cliffs overlooking New York

The point of a political duel was to prove a man willing to die for his honor, not to shed blood. Thus many near-duels, called “affairs of honor”, were settled through negotiations: eleven of the sixteen affairs of honor in New York City were settled in this manner. Only five honor disputes resulted in a duel. The negotiation process before a duel could occur was highly ritualized. In the beginning of most affairs of honor, an offended man would write a carefully phrased letter to his attacker demanding an explanation. From that point on, the two men would communicate through letters delivered by friends, known as “seconds”, who tried to negotiate an apology that appeased everyone and dishonored no one. In many cases, the seconds were successful, and no duel occurred. Upon receiving Burr’s initial letter of indignation, Hamilton probably expected little more than a ritualized exchange of passive aggressive letters, particularly because before 1804, Hamilton had been involved in ten such honor disputes, none of which ended in duels. Sometimes, an insulted man felt so offended that only a life-threatening exchange of fire could repair the damage. In such cases, he would force his opponent to duel by demanding an apology so extreme that no honorable man could agree to it. Burr did so when his negotiations with Hamilton went sour and spawned new insults. Feeling profoundly dishonored and desperate for a chance to redeem his name, Burr demanded that Hamilton apologize for all of his insults throughout their fifteen-year rivalry. Predictably, Hamilton refused, Burr challenged him to a duel, Hamilton accepted the challenge, and their seconds began planning their pending “meeting” in