On July 11, 1804, former TreasurySecretary 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 theten-dollar bill.

Written by Josh Wood, basedon 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 Affairsof Honor: National Politics in the New Republic (Yale University Press,2002). Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video productionby Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A transcript isavailable at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/july-2019-hamilton-burr-duel

This is a production of Origins: CurrentEvents in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department ofHistory at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at MiamiUniversity. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about ourvideos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events inHistorical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.