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Social Studies 5: Burr vs. Hamilton, a deadly rivalry 153 Views


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With a name like Burr, we're not too surprised he ended up being a stone-cold killer. Today's video is all about the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.

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Transcript

00:04

[Coop and Dino singing]

00:13

The Founding Fathers of the United States were some pretty smart guys. [Founding fathers in a room]

00:17

But sometimes, they were just plain dumb.

00:19

Take, for example, how they would occasionally duel one another with actual guns to settle disputes. [Men using guns in a dual]

00:25

In general, this is rarely the best solution.

00:27

…Unless it's a high stakes game of laser tag, or something…

00:29

One of the most famous duels is the Burr-Hamilton duel, fought by two prominent American politicians–

00:35

–former secretary of the treasure Alexander Hamilton, and sitting vice president Aaron Burr.

00:39

But before get to the duel itself, let's rewind a bit and figure out who these two were and [A couple watching the Burr-Hamilton duel]

00:44

why this duel happened at all.

00:45

Alexander Hamilton was a Federalist, while Aaron Burr was a Democratic-Republican–

00:50

–those were the two major parties at the time.

00:52

We wonder which one had the better cake… [People playing pin the tail on the donkey]

00:54

Anyway, the Federalist Party wanted the federal government to be the central power controlling

00:58

the country, while the Democratic-Republican party believed in the “common man” and

01:02

preferred more local governments.

01:04

But that alone wasn't what caused the start of their feud. It all began when Burr picked [Burr bouncing a basketball]

01:09

Hamilton last for a game of basketball.

01:11

…Just kidding.

01:12

It actually began when Burr won a Senate seat over Hamilton's powerful father-in-law. [Philip walking off sadly]

01:17

The two also clashed over the 1800 Presidential

01:20

election where Hamilton supported Jefferson over Burr.

01:23

And as we all know, Jefferson won. However, because Burr received the second-most

01:28

votes, he became Vice-President. And in 1804, when Burr ran for governor of New York, [Burr on stage speaking]

01:33

the permanent-grudge-holding-Hamilton worked hard to defeat Burr's candidacy there as well.

01:38

Even later on, Hamilton trash-talked Burr at a dinner party,

01:41

ultimately leaving Burr no choice but to challenge Hamilton to a duel, [Glove strikes Hamilton across the face]

01:45

while hoping to help his political career in the process.

01:48

Which brings us to July 11, 1804 in Weehawken, New Jersey – the day of the duel.

01:53

After a tense stand-off, both men shot Hamilton missed...

01:57

...and Burr didn't. He killed Hamilton, which meant he was the winner of the duel. [Burr shoots Hamilton]

02:02

And remember how Burr thought winning the duel would help his political career?

02:06

Yeah, think again, Aaron…

02:07

He was arrested and charged with murder. [Burr in a prison cell]

02:09

Which really shouldn't have been all too surprising to him.

02:12

Y'know…because he just murdered someone.

02:14

Seriously. Stick to laser tag next time, guys. [Burr playing laser tag behind bars]

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