Aaron Burr After His Duel with Alexander Hamilton

After Vice President Aaron Burr shot and killed the Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Burr's political career was finished. That did not mean that he was done with politics, however. Having no prospects of electoral success, Burr sought to forcibly remove land from Mexico and/or the United States and set up his own country in the West. The story of that conspiracy is as strange and interesting as his duel with Hamilton.

After his duel with Hamilton, Burr was charged with murder. Although he was eventually acquitted of these charges, he fled to Philadelphia to escape them. Later, he leased 40,000 in Texas from the Spanish with public plans of moving there. What his private plans where, however, have been the source of speculation among historians for years. Some believe that he actually wanted to remove all of the Louisiana Purchase from the United States. While the United States had bought the territory, the sale had not been officially ratified by Congress. Burr apparently recruited men and the support of several influential persons including James Wilkinson (the governor of Louisiana who promised US troops), Anthony Merry (the British diplomate who gave Burr $1500), and Harman Blennerhassett (a wealthy Irish immigrant who offered financing). Word of the conspiracy leaked out before Burr took any serious action, so when Burr arrived in New Orleans, Wilkinson, fearing that the conspiracy was doomed, betrayed Burr by telling President Jefferson.