War of Two: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Duel that Stunned the Nation

This lecture explores the longstanding conflict between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr whose infamous duel left the Founding Father dead and turned a sitting Vice President into a fugitive. Sedgwick suggests that Hamilton saw Burr not merely as a personal rival but as a threat to the nation. Burr would prove that fear justified after Hamilton’s death when, haunted by the legacy of his longtime adversary, he embarked on an imperial scheme to break the Union apart.
John Sedgwick is a journalist, novelist, memoirist, and biographer who has written or cowritten numerous books and many articles. He lives with his wife, the Time columnist Rana Foroohar, and her two children in Brooklyn.