Aaron Burr

:Alternate meaning: Rev. Aaron Burr, Sr.

Conspiracy and trial

After the expiration of his term as Vice President on March 4, 1805, broken in fortune and virtually an exile from New York and New Jersey, Burr fled to Philadelphia. There he met Jonathan Dayton, with whom he is alleged to have formed a conspiracy, the goal of which is still somewhat unclear. At its grandest, the plan may have been for Burr to make a massive new nation in the west, forged from conquered provinces of Mexico and territory west of the Appalachian Mountains. Burr was to have been the leader of this Southwestern republic. Burr's detractors claim that it was his dream to create a Latin American empire that could control much of the farms and commerce of North America. Had he suceeded, the United States could have fallen into a full-scale civil war.

Related Topics:
March 4 - 1805 - Philadelphia - Jonathan Dayton - Mexico - Appalachian Mountains - Latin American - North America - Civil war

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General James Wilkinson, a conspirator secretly in the pay of the Kingdom of Spain, had his own reasons for aiding the so-called Burr conspiracy. As territorial governor of Louisiana, he could have seized power for himself, as he had attempted in earlier plots in Kentucky. Burr enlisted Wilkinson and others to his plan in a reconnaissance mission to the West in April 1805.

Related Topics:
James Wilkinson - Spain - Louisiana - Kentucky - 1805

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Another member of the Burr conspiracy was the Anglo-Irish aristocrat Harman Blennerhassett. After marrying his niece, Blennerhassett had been forced out of Ireland. He came to live as a quasi-feudal lord, owning an island now bearing his name on the Ohio River. It was there that he met Burr and agreed to help finance the imperial ambitions of Burr's group.

Related Topics:
Burr conspiracy - Harman Blennerhassett - Ireland - Feudal - Ohio River

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Burr may have anticipated a war with Spain, a distinct possibility had someone other than Wilkinson commanded U.S. troops on the Louisiana border. In case of a war declaration, Andrew Jackson stood ready to help Colonel Burr, who had purchased land shares from the Bastrop Grant in Texas. His expedition of perhaps eighty men carried modest arms for hunting, and no war materiel ever came to light, even when Blennerhassett Island was seized by Ohio militia.

Related Topics:
Andrew Jackson - Bastrop Grant - Texas - Blennerhassett Island - Ohio - Militia

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After a near-incident with Spanish forces at Natchitoches, Wilkinson decided he could best serve his conflicting interests by betraying Burr's plans to President Jefferson — and his Spanish paymasters. Jefferson's passivity throughout most of 1806 remains baffling to this day, but he finally issued a proclamation for Burr's arrest. Burr read this in a newspaper in the Orleans Territory on January 10, 1807. He turned himself in to the Federal authorities, but soon jumped bail and fled for Spanish Florida; he was intercepted in Alabama on February 19, 1807.

Related Topics:
Natchitoches - 1806 - Orleans Territory - January 10 - 1807 - Bail - Spanish Florida - Alabama - February 19

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Burr's secret correspondence with Anthony Merry and the Marquis of Casa Yrujo, the British and Spanish ministers at Washington, was eventually revealed. It had been, it would seem, to secure money and to conceal his real designs, which were probably to overthrow Spanish power in the Southwest, and perhaps to found an imperial dynasty in Mexico. This seems to have been a misdemeanor, based on the Neutrality Act passed to block filibuster expeditions like those questionable enterprises of George Rogers Clark and William Blount. But Jefferson sought the highest charges against his former lieutenant, even though his informant Wilkinson was notoriously corrupt.

Related Topics:
Anthony Merry - Marquis of Casa Yrujo - Misdemeanor - Neutrality Act - Filibuster - George Rogers Clark - William Blount

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In 1807, on a charge of treason, Burr was brought to trial before the United States circuit court at Richmond, Virginia. His defense lawyers were John Wickham and Luther Martin. Burr was arraigned four times for treason before a grand jury; the fourth time, on May 22, sufficient evidence was found to indict him. His trial, presided over by Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall, began on August 3.

Related Topics:
Treason - Circuit court - Richmond, Virginia - John Wickham - Luther Martin - Grand jury - May 22 - Chief Justice of the United States - John Marshall - August 3

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Due to lack of the constitutionally-required two witnesses, Burr was acquitted on September 1, in spite of the fact that the full force of the political influence of the Jefferson administration had been thrown against him. Immediately afterwards, he was tried on a more appropriate misdemeanor charge, but was again acquitted on a technicality.

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