Ep. 23 | The Vice President Who Killed a Founding Father: The Hamilton-Burr Duel

On July 11, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel above the Hudson River. Hamilton died the next day. Burr fled murder charges. And America faced a question it had never encountered: What do you do when the sitting Vice President commits murder?For four months, Burr presided over the United States Senate while wanted for murder in two states. The Constitution had no mechanism to remove him. Congress didn't know what to do. President Jefferson stayed silent. It was a constitutional crisis solved by doing nothing.This episode explores the decades-long rivalry between Hamilton and Burr, the 1800 election that destroyed their relationship, the duel itself, and what happened afterward. We'll cover Burr's bizarre return to Washington, his treason trial, his exile, and how history remembered both men so differently.One duel. Two men. A constitutional crisis. And a murder that was never prosecuted.