| Show ah rial of N ulf A cjohn marahall Mari hall i na V P burr nw ra AW acaron 1 1 B by ELMO SCOTT gatbon KB HUNDRED AND TWENTY aie years ago the eyes ot of the whole nation cation viere ere turned toward richmond va for there was vas taking place one of the most dramatic events in american Ili history storY what has been called the greatest criminal trial in american history and one ot of the notable trials in the annals of the law no less a person than aaron burr but lately vice president of the united states was on trial for his life and the charge against him was that ot of committing a crime which was a threat to the safety or of not just one person or a group of persons but to the safety of the whole nation the crime of high treason although burr was acquitted hy by what was substantially a scotch verdict of not proven my lord and historians are still doubtful as to whether or not the famous burr conspiracy was actually a treasonable scheme the name of aaron burr has come down in popular belief among our galaxy of scoundrels second only to benedict arnold whether or not he be has been assigned such euch a place justly or unjustly Is a matter over which again historians disagree t in the presidential election of ISOO burr and thomas jefferson the democratic republican candidates each received 73 electoral votes a tie which threw the election into the house of representatives which was strongly federalist after balloting tor for a week ten votes were cast for jefferson and four for burr and under the constitution as it stood then this made jefferson president and burr vice president because of political jobbery with the federalists burr lost whatever regard the leaders among the new party held for him then he became involved in a bitter struggle for supremacy in new kew york politics and because of the antagonism of jefferson all the patronage was thrown to burrs rivals the Clin cliftons tons and the living accordingly he accepted federalist support in the gubernatorial race of 1804 an alliance which was fought bl itterly bitterly by alexander hamilton the result was the defeat of burr who held hamilton chiefly responsible for his humiliation then followed the famous burr hamilton duel in which burrs pistols ended the great career of secretary of the treasury and made burr a political and social par pariah discredited in the east where he had bad been a leader burr turned to the west to recoup bin fortunes hoping to capitalize oo on the unrest among the westerners where talk of disunion was rife crossing the alleghenies be arrived at setta island in the ohio river where lived harman barman blennerhassett Blenner bassett hassett a wealthy irishman who had bad settled there in I 1 1798 mg to BIenner Blenner bassett burr proposed a wild scheme of raising an armed force in the old southwest driving the spaniards out of mexico and establishing a great southern confederacy composed of these conquered mexican possessions and the american territory west of the alleghenies where the sentiment for disunion seemed so strong Blenner bassett was enough impressed by burrs scheme to mortgage his bis vast possessions to furnish the necessary money they also hoped to gain the aid of great britain in carrying out their scheme and further to insure the success of the plan burr won the support of general wilkinson then governor of louisiana territory commander of the united states army and as two faced a villain as ag ever served the united states government throughout 1805 and 1806 burr developed his plot which became well known throughout the west wesl the federal authorities however seem to have been strangely blind to what was taking place until at last wilkinson betrayed the scheme to jefferson who on november 27 1803 issued a presidential proclamation calling for the arrest of all those involved wilkinson and the others to save their own skins deserted burr and in the modern parlance he was made the goat of the whole hole affair attempting to flee bee burr was waa arrested in alabama and brought back to virginia for trial on the charge of treason hla his case was wag tried in the united states clr cult court sitting at richmond and never per taps in american history has there been gathered together in a courtroom such a galaxy of notables as assembled in 0 o that little room in k Y JA A courtroom mceune at burrs tria I 1 FROM THE PAINTING by in the PAGE ANTof amerial COURTESY YALE university 4 wn fro mm NN AA lo 10 6 11 chomas jefferon Jef femon ph richmond john marshall chief justice of ahe he supreme court of the united states presided over the trial luther martin and edmund randolph were counsel for the llie accused and william wirt was counsel for the government the foreman of the grand jury which brought the indictment against burr was the waspish but brilliant john randolph of roanoke and not the least of the great figures in this case was burrs charming charm lna daughter theodosia Theod osla of tragic fame later although aaron burr was upon trial on th the q most serious charge which can be placed against the citizen of a country in reality lie he was little more than a pawn in nhat alint was at the time regarded as a test of strength between the republican president jefferson and the federalist chief justice marshall the trial lasted from march 27 to september 7 isoa and the full story of the legal maneuvers executed by the two clashing forces would require a book for the telling under the constitution treason against the united states consists only in lev ing war against them or in adhering to their enemies giving them aid and comfort and no person person may be conyl convicted eted of it unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or on confession in open court the crux of the whole case against burr nas BBS whether or not on a tain date december 10 burr had bad actually levied war against the united states by assembling an armed force on assetto island and on the day following had set in motion this same saine armed force in an expedition against the city of new orleans the prosecution produced a series of witnesses mainly servants of to prove this point then it announced its luten intention of introducing evidence to show burrs burr connection with the assemblage on the hereupon the defense sprang a surprise which turned the tide in burrs favor developing the fact act that on the night of december 10 burr had bad not been present at the island but had been miles away in kentucky they contended that under ander the constitution the assemblage on blen island could not dot be regarded as ab his net act even granting that be had bad advised it for said they advising war Is one thing but levying it Is quite another if ali alia s interpretation was correct then no overt act of levying war either within the jurisdiction of the court or stated in the indictment had been or could be shown against burr next chief justice marshall handed down an opinion accepting virtually the contention of burrs attroe attrue ys and when the prosecution was unable to produce two witnesses who ho had actually seen burr procure the assemblage on the Is land it allowed the case to so go to the jury shortly thereafter the following verdict was returned we ot of the jury say that aaron burr Is not proved to be guilty auder this indictment by any evidence submitted to us we therefore find him not guilty at the order of the chief justice this scotch verdict wits waa entered on the records of the court as a simple not guilty acquitted burr became an exile and an out cast the man who canie within one vote of be ing president or of the united states wandered about europe tor for four years borrowing small amounts attempting dubious promotions urging the french to seize louisiana in 1810 and finally returning to his own land with a false wig and whiskers shortly after his arrival he be encountered the breaking of the one tie that hold held him to the earth when iben his beloved theo cosla i who had bad stood by him when the whole world seemed to have turned against him took ship from the south to meet him bint in new york the ship on which bleb she sailed never reached port and what her fate was Is to this day an unsolved mystery one of the most moat tragic pictures in all american history Is that of the broken ille disgraced graced aaron burr a devoted father whatever else he may have been going down to the battery every day for years searching the horizon for the sail ball of a ship which never carm came the ship bringing hack back to him his long lost daughter and then as a abnal touch to an ill fated career was his unfortunate marriage to the famous madame jumel who divorced him on the day he died Q by western Now union |
