Summary of Joseph J. Ellis's Founding Brothers

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The most concise version of the story might go like this: On the morning of July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were rowed across the Hudson River in separate boats to a secluded spot near Weehawken, New Jersey. There, in accord with the customs of the code duello, they exchanged pistol shots at ten paces. Hamilton was struck on his right side and died the following day.

#2 Hamilton and Burr were both boarding small boats to cross the Hudson River, and they were to meet at Weehawken. They were polar opposites in terms of appearance and behavior, and their genealogies created temperamental and stylistic contrasts.

#3 The duel was held on a narrow ledge at Weehawken, just above the water. Hamilton had chosen the weapons, a pair of highly decorated pistols owned by his wealthy brother-in-law, John Church.

#4 The duel was set up so that both men were armed with extremely powerful but extremely inaccurate weapons. If struck in a vital spot by the oversized ball, the chances of a serious or mortal injury were high.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822532014

IRB Media

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Insights on Joseph J. Ellis's Founding Brothers

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The most concise version of the story might go like this: On the morning of July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were rowed across the Hudson River in separate boats to a secluded spot near Weehawken, New Jersey. There, in accord with the customs of the code duello, they exchanged pistol shots at ten paces. Hamilton was struck on his right side and died the following day.

#2

Hamilton and Burr were both boarding small boats to cross the Hudson River, and they were to meet at Weehawken. They were polar opposites in terms of appearance and behavior, and their genealogies created temperamental and stylistic contrasts.

#3

The duel was held on a narrow ledge at Weehawken, just above the water. Hamilton had chosen the weapons, a pair of highly decorated pistols owned by his wealthy brother-in-law, John Church.

#4

The duel was set up so that both men were armed with extremely powerful but extremely inaccurate weapons. If struck in a vital spot by the oversized ball, the chances of a serious or mortal injury were high.

#5

Burr was surprised and regretful at the outcome of his shot. He insisted on going back and speaking to Hamilton, but Van Ness refused and took him back to New York. Hamilton died two days later, on July 12, 1804, surrounded by his family and friends.

#6

The media frenzy surrounding the duel was so intense that it turned public opinion against Burr. The overwhelming popular consensus was that Burr had murdered Hamilton in cold blood.

#7

The only two eyewitnesses to the duel, Pendleton and Van Ness, published a Joint Statement after the event claiming that both Burr and Hamilton had conducted themselves in accordance with the code duello, and that even though dueling was illegal, Burr and Hamilton had behaved according to the higher law of honor appropriate for proper gentlemen.

#8

The Hamiltonian version of the duel is that Burr fired first, and that Hamilton missed. Burr then delayed his shot for four or five seconds, waiting for the smoke to clear around Hamilton.

#9

The truth about the duel is that both sides constructed their explanations around self-serving and misguided assumptions. Hamilton did fire his weapon intentionally, but he aimed to miss Burr, sending his ball into the tree above and behind