The Columbus journal., 1910-07-20

July II, 1SO4-1O6 years ago tomor-
row-two men Of national reputation
faced each other, pistols in hands, ut
Weehawken ON the Jersey Shore
across from New York. Thu two men
were Alexander Hamilton and Aaron
Burr. Those present differ as to
which man fired the first shot. Ham.
iltons second was confident that Mr..
Hamilton did not fire first and that he
did not fire at Burr at ali. Burris sec.
ond was just rs confident that Hamil.
ton did fire the first shot and that he
fired at Burr. However that may
have been, Hamilton was mortally
wounded and died the next day at 2
o'clock in the afternoon.
Since that day Burr has horne .
weight of obloquy and calumny such
As has been heaped upon no other man,
and unlike many another man, in his
lifetime he never by voice or pen made
answer to charges made against him
nor presented either to friends or foes
any argument or evidence to refuse
them.
Only in recent years has it come to
he recognized that history has done
Aaron Burr u gross injustice and that
he has been the victim Of revengefGl
power aud of studied and persistent
duplic,ty. For an hundred years the
makers of school books have denoun.
ced him a. an assassin and murderer
and instilled into young minds pre-
judice which only research and study
in after years can efiectually remove.
1t is now settled that on the field of
Wsebawken, Burr only revenged cruel
wrongs inflicted upon him by Hamil-
ton in a period Of thirty years, accord
ing to the rules of q code Of honor
then recognized-a code which Hamil.
ton himself recognized and restorted
to on several occasions. Hamilton
was second to Laurens in his duel with
Gen. Charles Lee and wished to be .
principal. Hamilton challenged
Commodore Nicholson of the United
States Navy to fight him duel and
was only prevented because friends in.
tertercd. In 1897 Hamilton challen-
ged James Monroe to fight q duel.
Monroe invited Burr to act as bis sec.
Ond. Burr declined, but volunteered
to act as peacemaker. aud after much
difficulty reeonciled the parties and
prevented the duel. So that Hsmil.
ton was not forced into q practice
which vas at ali abhOrrent to him.
The Burr.Hamilton duel followed
the defeat Of Burr for governor Of
New York, which was brought about
by q coalition between Jefferson, Ham
ilton and Dewitt Clinton. Jefferson
not only prescribed every man who
dared be a friend of Burr, but turned
loose every place-man of the govern.
ment to calumniste him. Clinton
subsidized q portion Of the press to
manufacture and publish falsehoods
against him. Hamilton pursued q
course far more daDgerOus-he turned
loose the whole Federal party of the
state upon Burr. 1t was this and this
alone that defeated him. In any con-
test inside his own party Burr had
nothing to fear from either Jefferson
or Clinton, or both combined. At
Hamilton's suggestion the Federalists
put up no candidate. but supported
the Clinton faction in opposition to
Burr. In written statement of the
reasons why the Federalists should not
put up a candidate of their own,
Hamilton declared that Burr's election
as governor Of New York would Ger.
tainly be followed by bis election to
the presidency; that Burr "is more
adroit, able and daring chief man than
Jefferson" that he would, IF placed
at the head Of his party. not only re-
unite the scattered fragments of the
Democratic party" but would also
draw to it "a strong detachment from
the Federalists." He declared that "a
further effect of his elevation" will be
ito present to the confidence of New
England man already the man of the
Democratic leaders Of that country,
and towards whom the mass of the
people have no weak prediction"
thus declaring the great popularity of|
Burr with the leaders and the body of|
the people in those states.
New England was the stronghold Of
the Federal party, but Hamilton in.
sisted that If Burr were not defeated |