Vice presidency of Aaron Burr

The vice presidency of Aaron Burr Jr. was the third vice presidency from 1801 to 1805 during Thomas Jefferson's first presidential term. Aaron Burr is mostly remembered for his personal and political conflict with Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton that culminated in the Burr–Hamilton duel where Burr killed Hamilton, and multiple trials for treason in what became known as the Burr conspiracy.

Burr was born to a prominent family in what was then the Province of New Jersey. After studying theology at Princeton University, he began his career as a lawyer before joining the Continental Army as an officer in the American Revolutionary War in 1775, returning practicing law in New York City, where he became a leading politician and helped form the new Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party, then represented New York United States Senate from 1791 to 1797. Burr ran as the Democratic-Republican vice presidential candidate in the 1800 election. An Electoral College tie between Burr and Thomas Jefferson resulted in the U.S. House of Representatives voting in Jefferson's favor, with Burr becoming Jefferson's vice president due to receiving the second-highest share of the votes. The debacle lead to the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which changed the vice presidency to run with the president rather than being awarded to the runner-up candidate. Although Burr maintained that he supported Jefferson, the president never trusted Burr, believing he sought to become president in 1800 instead.

Jefferson relegated Burr to the sidelines of the administration during his presidency. As it became clear that Jefferson would drop Burr from his ticket in the 1804 presidential election, Burr chose to run for the governorship of New York instead. He was backed by members of the Federalist Party and was under patronage of Tammany Hall in the 1804 New York gubernatorial election. Hamilton campaigned vigorously against Burr, causing him to lose the gubernatorial election to Morgan Lewis, a member longtime New York Governor George Clinton's Democratic-Republican who Hamilton endorsed. Burr then challenged Hamilton to a duel at dawn on July 11, 1804. In the duel, Burr shot Hamilton in the abdomen. Hamilton returned fire and hit a tree branch above and behind Burr's head. Hamilton was transported across the Hudson River for treatment in present-day Greenwich Village in New York City, where he died the following day, on July 12, 1804. This also marked the death of Burr's political career, as he was vilified for shooting Hamilton. Burr was indicted for dueling, but all charges against him were dropped. Burr became the first vice president to be dropped from a presidential ticket when George Clinton was selected as Jefferson's running mate in 1804.

After his vice presidency, Burr traveled west to the American frontier, seeking new economic and political opportunities. Jefferson maintained his distrust of Burr, whose secretive activities led to an 1807 arrest in Alabama on charges of treason. Burr was brought to trial more than once for what became known as the Burr conspiracy, an alleged plot to create an independent country led by Burr, but he was acquitted each time. Burr moved to Europe from 1808 to 1812 before returning to the United States, dying on September 14, 1836, at the age of 80.