On July 11, 1804, former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr faced off in the most infamous duel in American history. Burr fatally wounded Hamilton, who died the next day. Hamilton’s premature death transformed him from one of the last stalwarts of the fading Federalist Party to an American martyr, the namesake of towns across the country, and the face of the ten-dollar bill.
Written by Josh Wood, based on the excellent work by Joanne B. Freeman, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to the Civil War (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018) and Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic (Yale University Press, 2002). Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger.
