Burr: The Rivalry Between Burr And Hamilton

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Burr's father was a Presbyterian minister and the president of the College of New Jersey. After the loss of both of his parents, Burr and his sister went to live with their wealthy uncle.

In 1769, at the age of 13, Burr enrolled at the College of New Jersey.

After graduating from the College of New Jersey, Burr began attending Litchfield Law School in Connecticut. His studies were soon put on hold because of the Revolutionary War.

Burr joined Benedict Arnold's men in their expedition to Quebec. By the spring of 1776, Burr had achieved the rank of major, and was appointed to serve under George Washington at his home in New York.

The next year, Burr went back to studying law. In 1782, he became a licensed attorney. After opening a successful
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In 1783, Theodosia gave birth to the couple's only child, a little girl. Burr and Theodosia would remain happily married until her death in 1794. Later, in 1812, Burr would experience a tragic loss of his daughter, who was killed in a shipwreck.

In 1791, Burr beat General Philip Schuyler, Alexander Hamilton's father-in-law, to be in the U.S. Senate. This was the start of the rivalry between Burr and Hamilton. After six years in the Senate, Burr lost the re-election to Schuyler. Burr blamed Hamilton for ruining his reputation and turning voters against him.

In 1800, Burr ran for the U.S. presidency with Thomas Jefferson. Because they each received the same amount of electoral votes, members of the House of Representatives were left to determine the winner. When the House met to discuss the election, Burr's rival, Hamilton, expressed his support for Jefferson. In the end, Jefferson became the president and Burr became vice president. Burr was angry believing that Hamilton had changed the vote in Jefferson's
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Again, he blamed Hamilton for doing something bad to his reputation and eager to defend the morning of July 11, 1804. The duel ended when Burr shot Hamilton to death. The public was outraged. Burr fled New York and New Jersey but eventually went back to Washington, DC where he completed his term safe from prosecution. The indictments in the case never reached

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