USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -On July 11, 1804, in one of the most famous duels in American history, Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shoots his long-time political antagonist Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, a leading Federalist and the chief architect of America’s political economy, died the following day.

Detailed explanation-2: -The two men had long been political rivals, but the immediate cause of the duel was disparaging remarks Hamilton had allegedly made about Burr at a dinner.

Detailed explanation-3: -The duel was the culmination of a bitter rivalry that had developed between both men, who had become high-profile politicians in post-colonial America. In the duel, Burr fatally shot Hamilton in the abdomen, while Hamilton fired into a tree branch above and behind Burr’s head.

Detailed explanation-4: -However, other sources say that he thought that Hamilton had brought his death upon himself and did not feel remorse for killing him. There are also accounts of Burr seeming to retain his anger toward Hamilton even many years after the duel, again suggesting a lack of remorse.

Detailed explanation-5: -In some accounts, Hamilton shot first and missed, followed by Burr’s deadly shot. One theory, stated in a 1976 Smithsonian magazine article, is that Hamilton’s pistol had a hair trigger that let him get off the first shot. But Burr claimed in his autobiography that he supplied the pistols and not Hamilton.