Product Description
In 1805 and 1806, Aaron Burr, former vice president of the newly formed American republic, traveled through the Trans-Appalachian West gathering support for a mysterious enterprise, for which he was arrested and tried for treason in 1807. This book explores the political and cultural forces that shaped how Americans made sense of the uncertain rumors and reports about Burr's intentions and movements, and examines what the resulting crisis reveals about their anxieties concerning the new nation's fragile union and uncertain republic.
Burr was said to have enticed some people with plans to liberate Spanish Mexico, others with promises of land in the Orleans Territory, still others with talk of building a new empire beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The Burr Conspiracy was a cause célèbre of the early republic―with Burr cast as the chief villain of the Founding Fathers―even as the evidence against him was vague and conflicting. Rather than trying to discover the real intentions of Burr or his accusers―Thomas Jefferson foremost among them―James E. Lewis Jr. looks at how differing understandings of the Burr Conspiracy were shaped by everything from partisan politics and biased newspapers to notions of honor and gentility.
Burr was said to have enticed some people with plans to liberate Spanish Mexico, others with promises of land in the Orleans Territory, still others with talk of building a new empire beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The Burr Conspiracy was a cause célèbre of the early republic―with Burr cast as the chief villain of the Founding Fathers―even as the evidence against him was vague and conflicting. Rather than trying to discover the real intentions of Burr or his accusers―Thomas Jefferson foremost among them―James E. Lewis Jr. looks at how differing understandings of the Burr Conspiracy were shaped by everything from partisan politics and biased newspapers to notions of honor and gentility.
Reviews/Praise
"Lewis contributes to the conversation with a wholly new analysis of the Burr conspiracy that focuses more on the reaction than on the event itself. . . . A meticulously researched, comprehensive analysis essential to early American scholarship."—Library Journal
"The Burr Conspiracy offers a dazzling portrait of the new nation in the grip of a profound existential crisis, and a mirror for our own critical times." —Peter S. Onuf, coauthor of Most Blessed of the Patriarchs
"An impressive piece of work. Lewis weaves together countless pieces of evidence to tell a tale that goes far beyond the Burr Conspiracy, exploring how Americans at the time made sense of the conspiracy and plumbing the larger implications." —Joanne B. Freeman, author of Affairs of Honor