A Fatal Friendship: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr - Softcover

Rogow, Arnold

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0809016214 ISBN 13: 9780809016211

Publisher: Hill and Wang, 1999

Synopsis

A dramatic reinterpretation of the duel that shocked America.

For almost two centuries, historians have struggled to explain the extraordinary duel that killed Alexander Hamilton, our first Secretary of the Treasury, and ended Vice President Aaron Burr's political career. In A Fatal Friendship, the distinguished political scientist Arnold A. Rogow demonstrates for the first time that the roots of the fatal encounter lay not in Burr's (admittedly flawed) political or private conduct but rather in Hamilton's conflicted history and character.

With his detailed archival research, his close (and unprecedented) examination of the friendship between the two heroic figures, and his bold, imaginative writing, Rogow changes forever our understanding of honor, politics, and friendship in the early American Republic.

About this title

Review

Aaron Burr has been villainized by historians ever since he killed Alexander Hamilton in 1804. In A Fatal Friendship, Arnold Rogow attempts to rehabilitate Aaron Burr by fully describing the context of the duel and the personal histories of the two men. All that is really known about the duel is that Vice President Aaron Burr challenged Hamilton because Hamilton had made disparaging remarks about him in a public place. No one knows what Hamilton said, and because Rogow is a very careful historian, he doesn't come to many firm conclusions here, but he does present some compelling arguments about the sources of enmity between the two men.

Hamilton may have resented Burr because they came from such different backgrounds--Hamilton was illegitimate and had to work his way up in the world, while Burr was born into money and high social status. Both men became lawyers and politicians, but while Hamilton cowrote The Federalist Papers and authored important legislation, Burr never achieved much political influence. Hamilton did much more to mold the United States in its early years than Burr did, so it is understandable that historians have portrayed him sympathetically. In this book, Rogow suggests that Hamilton may not have been above reproach. Both men had multiple extramarital affairs, so it is possible that the duel was over a woman. Hamilton may have accused Burr of having an incestuous relationship with his daughter Theo. The problem with this book is that there is not enough evidence to support any of these theories, and there probably never will be. However, Rogow is a capable historian and this book is worth reading for its re-evaluation of these pivotal characters in American history. --Jill Marquis

About the Author

Arnold A. Rogow has taught at Stanford University, the University of Iowa, and the City University of New York. He is the author of many books, including James Forrestal: A Study of Personality, Politics, and Policy. He lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hill and Wang
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0809016214
• ISBN 13: 9780809016211
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368