Happy Birthday, Aaron Burr!

Aaron Burr was born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 6, 1756. In many ways his career paralleled that of his rival Alexander Hamilton. They both served in the Continental Army, became lawyers and practiced in Albany and New York City, and had rising political careers in the 1790s. Burr suffered a defeat in his bid for the presidency in 1800 and his bid for governor of New York in 1804, for which he blamed Hamilton. Their rivalry ended in the infamous 1804 duel. What became of Burr in the aftermath of the duel in which he fatally wounded Hamilton?

On July 20, 1804, nine days after the duel, Burr wrote a cryptic letter to his son-in-law, Joseph Alston. In a time of uncertainty, Burr was weighing his options. Both a grand jury in New Jersey and the coroner’s jury in New York City were considering charges against him, and "the result will determine my movements," Burr wrote. Burr enclosed with his brief letter a mysterious message to Charles Biddle, written in cipher. The message is most likely regarding Burr’s plot with General James Wilkinson to form a separate country in the western part of the United States.