July 11th The Burr-Hamilton Duel

July 11th The Burr-Hamilton Duel July 11, 1804, brought the most famous duel in American history and the fatal shooting of one of the nation's founders. The duel between Vice President Aaron Burr and former treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton was the result of longstanding enmity. Politics and personal insults had driven the two men to detest each other. In 1804, when Burr ran for governor of New York, Hamilton attacked his character, denouncing him as an unprincipled adventurer. Burr lost the election and demanded satisfaction of Hamilton. In those times, that meant a duel. Hamilton felt he could not refuse Burr's challenge without appearing cowardly. It could not have been an easy decision; Hamilton's eldest son, Phillip, had been killed in a duel. Hamilton apparently made up his mind to throw away his first shot at Burr, even if it meant death. He was resolved to "live innocent" rather than "die guilty" of shedding another man's blood. Early on July 11, the two men faced each other on a dueling ground at Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton fired into the air, missing Burr on purpose. Burr leveled his pistol and shot Hamilton in the abdomen, the bullet passing through his enemy's liver and diaphragm. Hamilton knew the wound was mortal. His friends ferried him over the Hudson River to New York City, where he died after thirty hours of pain. His death was widely mourned, even by political opponents. He was the only one of the Founding Fathers to die a violent death. Burr was indicted for murder but not arrested. He fled New York, eventually returning to Washington, D.C., where he finished his term as vice president. The duel brought an end to his political career, and the shooting is still regarded as one of the saddest episodes in American political history   Carl Ray Louk "FRIENDSHIP NEVER ENDS" SG-1996 "LET LOVE LEAD THE WAY" SG-2000 "THE PHOENIX SHALL RISE" SD "EVEN A MAN WHO IS PURE IN HEART AND SAYS HIS PRAYERS BY NIGHT, MAY BECOME A WOLF WHEN THE WOLFBANE BLOOMS AND THE AUTUMN MOON IS BRIGHT." LT-1941 "FLESH OF MY FLESH; BLOOD OF MY BLOOD; KIN OF MY KIN WHEN SAY COME TO YOU, YOU SHALL CROSS LAND OR SEA TO DO MY BIDDING!" CVTD-1895 "FROM HELL'S HEART I STAB AT THEE, FOR HATE SAKE I SPIT MY LAST BREATH AT THEE" CA-1895  "I HAVE BEEN, AND ALWAYS SHALL BE YOUR FRIEND" Spock  "TRICK OR TREAT, TRICK OR TREAT CANDY IS DANDY BUT MURDER, OH MURDER, IS SO SWEET" CRL-2003  "EYE OF NEWT, AND TOE OF FROG, WOOL OF BAT, AND TONGUE OF DOG ADDER'S FORK, BLIND-WORM'S STING, LIZARD'S LEG, AND OWLET'S WING. FOR A CHARM OF POWERFUL TROUBLE, LIKE A HELL-BROTH BOIL AND BABBLE. DOUBLE, DOUBLE, TOIL AND TROUBLE, FIRE BURN, AND CALDRON BUBBLE" WS Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarlRayLouk Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarlRayLouk MySpace: www.myspace.com/carlraylouk Yahoo Group: Yahoo! Groups : LouksHauntedGraveyardhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/LouksHauntedGraveyard/ Yahoo Group: Yahoo! Groups : TheWorldAccordingtoCarlRayLouk http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheWorldAccordingtoCarlRayLouk/