Today in HistoryâMay 22: Aaron Burrâs Treason Trial Begins
On this day in 1807, Aaron Burr went on trial for treason in what the press called âthe trial of the centuryâ (an ambitious label with 93 years left to go).
This was not the reason you thought youâd see Aaron Burr on trial, but the shadow cast by his duel with Alexander Hamilton was long. Hamilton died; Burr survived to become a political outcast, alienating both Pres. Thomas Jefferson (under whom heâd served as vice president) and his Democratic-Republican Party, and the Federalists, seeing as heâd killed their leader. By 1807 Burr had shot one Founding Father and thoroughly ticked off another, who just happened to be president.
Jefferson wanted Burr convicted of treason. Burr was accused of levying war against the United States and preparing military forces to seize Mexico, then a territory of Spain. There was already tension at that border, and Burr believed war between the U.S. and Spain was imminent. He hoped to conquer part of Mexico when the moment was right.
Over the previous two years, Burr quietlyâand then not-so-quietlyâinvestigated the possibility of insurrection, sounding out allies, financiers, and military officers willing to join him. But he made the mistake of not talking less: Two men he trusted reported him to Jefferson.
The proceedings opened shortly after noon on this day in Richmond, Virginia, with Chief Justice John Marshall presiding over a case that would become one of the first tests of the U.S. Constitutionâs treason clause.
Burrâs defense rested on a razor-thin definition of treason: There had to be an overt act of war witnessed by two people or a confession in court. Suspicion and conspiracy were not enough.
Chief Justice John Marshall was also Thomas Jeffersonâs second cousin. After this case, Jefferson tried and failed to have him impeached.
At one point, Burr demanded that Jefferson be summoned, along with private letters related to the case. Marshall decided that you were allowed to subpoena the president, but he couldnât compel the president to comply. (History, take note.)
Deliberation continued for months before Burr was acquitted, in a strict reading of the definition of treason that still echoes today.
Marshall instructed Burr to appear on charges in Ohio next, an order Burr ignored. He fled to Europe, where he tried to convince Napoleon to conquer Florida, suggesting he learned very little from all of this.
- 6,000+: Population of Richmond, Virginia, at the time of the trial
- 36 ballots: Rounds of voting it took to decide if Jefferson or Burr should be president
- 51: Burrâs age at the time of the trial
- 1897: The Blackwall Tunnel, connecting east and southeast London, opens
- 1919: Dendrochronology is introduced in archaeology
- 1993: The UN proclaims May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity
