American Judiciary, Part 9: The Burr Conspiracy

The New Nation
Written By Tom Hand

In the presidential election of 1800, Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson tied for the most electoral votes, but Burr refused to stand aside for Jefferson. The House of Representatives ultimately selected Jefferson to be president and Burr vice president, but Burr’s decision to challenge Jefferson made him an arch enemy of the president and an outcast in the Democratic-Republican party. Upon leaving office in the spring 0f 1805, Burr was a ruined man, financially and politically, with his reputation in tatters. He attempted to rescue his fading fortunes by resurrecting a plan he had first envisioned a decade earlier to either invade Mexico or perhaps carve out a portion of the western United States and set up a government with Burr at its head.

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses the details behind the Burr Conspiracy and why it still matters today.  

 

Images courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, Tennessee State Library and Archives, New York Public Library, Wikimedia. 

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Tom Hand
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