Elsa Ruiz
The New-York Historical Society
(photo by Alan Barnett)
(Above) Entrance to the Museum’s “Alexander Hamilton: Lineage and Legacy” exhibit.
(Left) Mourning ring containing a braided lock of Hamilton’s hair.
impropriety. Fearing that his career would
be irreparably tarnished, in 1797 he published another report, this time a 95-page
confession pamphlet about the affair. Hamilton quickly realized that his decision was
a mistake and attempted to retract the
pamphlets. However, Burr and Hamilton’s
other rivals reprinted the confession and
distributed it for free. Despite the humiliation the fiasco caused Hamilton’s family,
his career survived the first major public sex
scandal in American history.
Although Hamilton and Burr were
long-time acquaintances (they studied
law together and were both officers in
Washington’s army), their political differences exacerbated frictions that existed
between them. Tensions between the
two men escalated after the difficult and
muddy Presidential election of 1800. Burr
and Thomas Jefferson tied in the election,
but ultimately Burr lost, in part because
Hamilton advised his political party, the
Federalists, to back Jefferson. This, in conjunction with other political disputes, led
Burr to challenge Hamilton to a duel in
1804, which Hamilton accepted.
Near the water in Weehawken, New
Jersey, a location remote enough that they
could duel without being detected, the
men Y[Y