I Know He's Family, But...

The descendants of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr are going to reenact the famous duel on its July 11th bicentennial. Unlike Airdog, I think it's a neat idea. (I have a cousin-in-law who's a historical reenactor, so I have a soft spot for this kind of stuff.)

I blog on this story because the linked-to article contains this passage, which I found amusing, in an I-must-get-indignantly-irate-and-blog-about-this-right-now kind of way:

Antonio Burr, a psychologist from New York, maintains his ancestor was the victim, attacked personally, not politically, by Hamilton, who refused to apologize.

I know it's hard to think objectively about members of one's family, but after 200 years I would have hoped the Burrs would have gained some perspective. Hamilton was a jerk, yes, but he wrote the things he did about Burr because they were true. Burr and Hamilton dueled because they had been bitter political rivals for almost 30 years, ever since they'd been young officers serving on Washington's general staff. Hamilton hated Burr because he believed (correctly) that Burr an unprincipled cad who would betray the Republic to satisfy his ambition. Burr hated Hamilton because he believed (correctly) that Hamilton hated him and was determined to block his attempts at political advancement. The New York gubernatorial election of 1804 was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

Aaron Burr is one of the few indisputable villains of American history. In an age whose principal men were idealists sincerely devoted to the service of their country, he was a cynical operator, without principle, acting only to advance his own ambition. In the election of 1800, he allied himself with he opposition party to try to steal the election from his own running mate. After the duel, Burr conspired with General James Wilkinson, governor of the new Louisiana territory, to invade Mexico and set up a "republic" with himself at the head. The conspiracy fizzled and Burr was tried for treason and acquitted (for insufficient evidence). He then went into exile (I like the Congressional Biographical Directory's euphemistic "went abroad in 1808") where he continued to lobby the princes of Europe to support his Mexican adventure. It's emblematic of Burr's opportunism that he petitioned both Napoleon and George III for help.

The only thing that can be said in praise of Burr is that he was a brilliant intellect. He is alone among the Founders in his entirely deserving reprobation. Even Benedict Arnold ranks higher in my estimation: before he betrayed the Republic, he was her greatest general; he won the Battle of Saratoga, without which victory there would have been no Republic to betray. I know not everyone feels as strongly about this as I do, but it's ridiculous for anyone, even a lateral great-great-etc-grandson, to believe that Burr was a "victim" who shot Hamilton because the latter was a big meanie who hurt his feelings. Burr was a bad dude for whom shooting his principal political rival was only one small part of a career of villainy.