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March 3, 2024

VPOTUS 003.2 - Aaron Burr Part Two

VPOTUS 003.2 - Aaron Burr Part Two

Tenure of Office: March 4, 1801 - March 4, 1805

Burr may only have served one term as Vice President, but as we discuss in this episode, it was a turbulent four years filled with political intrigue, power struggles, and a rather infamous duel. The drama would not end when Burr left office, however, as his post-vice presidency years had conspiracies and exile in store for him. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.

Content Note: There is discussion of sexuality throughout this episode.

Sources used for both parts of the Aaron Burr episode:

  • Burr, Aaron. “To Thomas Jefferson, 23 December 1800,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-32-02-0239. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 32, 1 June 1800 – 16 February 1801, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005, pp. 342–343.] [Last Accessed: 24 Dec 2023]
  • Burr, Aaron. “To Alexander Hamilton, 18 June 1804,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-26-02-0001-0203-0001. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 26, 1 May 1802 – 23 October 1804, Additional Documents 1774–1799, Addenda and Errata, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979, pp. 242–243.] [Last Accessed: 24 Dec 2023]
  • “Burr, Aaron 1756-1836.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/B001133. [Last Accessed: 24 Dec 2023]
  • Cunningham, Noble E, Jr. “Election of 1800.” History of American Presidential Elections 1789-1968, Volume I. Arthur M Schlesinger, Jr, ed. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. 101-134.
  • Gallatin, Albert. “To Thomas Jefferson, 14 September 1801,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-35-02-0222. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 35, 1 August–30 November 1801, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008, pp. 284–289.] [Last Accessed: 24 Dec 2023]
  • Gutzman, Kevin R C. The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2022.
  • Isenberg, Nancy. Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr. New York: Penguin, 2007.
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To Aaron Burr, 15 December 1800,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-32-02-0208. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 32, 1 June 1800 – 16 February 1801, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005, pp. 306–307.] [Last Accessed: 24 Dec 2023]
  • Jefferson, Thomas. “To George Clinton, 17 May 1801,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-34-02-0099. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 34, 1 May–31 July 1801, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007, pp. 127–128.] [Last Accessed: 24 Dec 2023]
  • Kline, Mary-Jo. “Aaron Burr (1756-1836).” A Biographical Dictionary: Vice Presidents, Updated Edition. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001 [1998]. pp. 23-31.
  • Lewis, James E, Jr. The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis. Princeton, NJ and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2017.
  • Lomask, Milton. Aaron Burr: The Years from Princeton to Vice President, 1756-1805. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979.
  • Lomask, Milton. Aaron Burr: The Conspiracy and Years of Exile, 1805-1836. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1982.
  • Smith, Page. “Election of 1796.” History of American Presidential Elections, 1789-1968, Volume I. Arthur M Schlesinger, Jr, ed. New York: Chelsea House Publishers and McGraw-Hill Book Co, 1971. pp 59-98.
  • Stewart, David O. American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.

Featured Image: "Aaron Burr" by John Vanderlyn [c. 1803], courtesy of Wikipedia

Intro and Outro Music: "Four Ruffles and Flourishes and Hail Columbia," as performed by the United States Navy Band and courtesy of Wikipedia