Aaron Burr Hamilton's Apology Analysis

Up until the evening of July 10, 1804, Alexander Hamilton was in the position of having to accept what would soon be the sealing of his fate. Throughout his life, Hamilton achieved major accomplishments for America, and also for himself. He is known for being a military hero in the Revolutionary War in which he also served as aide to George Washington, who later appointed him as the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton was also a Federalist leader and the paramount author of The Federalist papers which advocated a strong central government. On the opposite end of the spectrum was Aaron Burr, an Anti-Federalist best known for serving as 3rd Vice President under Thomas Jefferson from 1800-1804. After serving in the Continental Army,

Cooper's statement, should have ceased. But Burr continually badgered Hamilton for an answer. Hamilton even mentioned that in Burr's first letter to him, Burr had taken on a tone "unnecessarily peremptory and menacing, and in the second, positively offensive." This so-called 'negotiation' almost made Hamilton accept the challenge. It seemed as if Burr had an ulterior motive: to irritate Hamilton incessantly about the apology in order to get him to agree to the face-off. Hamilton's refusal seemed like the logical choice, but because he had made attacks on Burr's political life, he could not apologize. Burr's letters to Hamilton prior to their duel suggested he had enticed him, which meant the affair had been pushed over the line from one of settling a dispute to one of thought-out murder.
Philip Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton's eldest son, was killed three years before his father's notorious match with Aaron Burr. The senior Hamilton had always despised dueling, even more so after his son's death. The act of dueling was illegal throughout the north-eastern states. This unlawful affair of honor Hamilton would participate in violated his moral and religious beliefs against