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Feb. 25, 2024

VPOTUS 003.1 - Aaron Burr Part One

VPOTUS 003.1 - Aaron Burr Part One

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

For the first Vice President whose life we are covering from start to end, Aaron Burr brings quite the tale to tell. From personal tragedy early in life to a meteoric rise in politics, from distinguished instances of military service to a romantic relationship with a married woman, there is much to discuss leading up to the constitutional crisis that was the Election of 1800. Sources used for this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.

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. 1802], 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