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Is it time for an Aaron Burr bust to join Hamilton's?
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy Jul 11, 2009 08:46pm |
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| Category | Commentary |
| Author | Agustin C. Torres |
| Media | - |
| News Date | Saturday, July 11, 2009 06:10:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | In what is now Weehawken, on the Heights of Weehawk, there was a famous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Today is the 205th anniversary of that shoot-out when Hamilton got the worst of it.
Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner said the township is not doing anything special today to recall the duel.
"We marked the 200th anniversary of that event in 2004," he said: "Some other mayor, in about 95 years, can mark its 300th anniversary."
Turner said he has been busy celebrating the township's 150th anniversary to be concerned about two guys who could be considered founding fathers of this country, had both fought heroically in the American Revolution, and held high offices in the new nation's government. They were political enemies and did not like each other.
Hamilton was a Federalist who became secretary of the treasury and Burr was a Republican who became vice president to Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton repeatedly wrote scathing articles about Burr and at a dinner party in New York City Burr challenged Hamilton after the latter refused to take back derogatory comments.
The duel on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River was on an outcrop of the Palisades, below where the Hamilton bust is now located on Weehawken's Hamilton Avenue, off of Boulevard East. Hamilton was mortally wounded and died in Manhattan. With Hamilton's death, the Federalists evaporated.
Burr was tried in New York and New Jersey and beat the charges. In 1807, Burr was once charged with treason charges for violating the Neutrality Act. He had an interest in helping Mexico end its colonial status with Spain. Burr beat back this charge as well. He eventually exiled himself to life in Europe. |
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