United State Vs Aaron Burr Essay

The American Supreme Court has been in place ever since the Judiciary Act of 1789. Since then, a number of important precedential cases have been tackled by the judges of the court. One of these aforementioned cases is that of 1807’s United State v. Aaron Burr, in which the fledgling court prosecuted Aaron Burr on account of treason.
Initially, Aaron Burr served as the vice president under Thomas Jefferson from 1801-1805. During Jefferson’s second term, Burr was replaced. Burr left his term as vice president with less than honorable and patriotic intentions; in an act of pure pettiness and self-interest, Burr sided with a group of radical Federalists and advocated the secession of New England and New York. Hamilton immediately informed Jefferson of Burr’s conspiracy which prompted Burr to challenge Hamilton to a (technically illegal) duel. The moment that Burr accidentally shot and killed Alexander Hamilton was the pivotal moment where Burr essentially committed political suicide and tarnished his reputation. Subsequent to this, he then set his
Aaron Burr is a notable case in America’s judicial history. One such reason is, as The American Pageant claims on page 215, “Burr’s insurrectionary brashness demonstrated that it was one thing for the United States to purchase large expanses of western territory but quite another for it to govern them effectively.” Plainly stated, this means that the United States could acquire as much land as they pleased, but actually ruling it was an entirely different matter. If Burr’s numerous insurrectional schemes had actually succeeded, the results could have been potentially catastrophic for the relatively new nation. Burr, however, never came to regret his actions. Upon hearing about the revolution in Texas four years later, Burr proclaimed to a friend “There! You see? I was right! I was only thirty years too soon. What was treason in me thirty years ago, is patriotism