AFA Autumn 2019

Autumn 110 www.afamag.com |  www.incollect.com WINTERTHUR PRIMER O n July 11, 1804, in Weehawken, New Jersey, Vice President Aaron Burr stood ten paces from former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Each grasped one of a pair of Wogdon & Barton pistols. In just a few moments a decades-long rivalry ended and two legacies were solidified; Alexander Hamilton, Founding Father, and Aaron Burr, the one who killed him. But how did they find themselves settling their differences in a duel? The Winterthur Museum exhibition, Hamilton & Burr: Who Wrote their Stories considers how a cast of characters shaped their relationship in life and the perspectives from which their legacies were written. Burr’s reputation began to crumble as a result of an unlikely alliance. The election of 1800 represented a breaking point in the early Republic. Events during the Adams’ administration greatly enhanced opposition between the Democratic-Republic ans and t he Federa l ist s. To secu re bot h t he Presidency and Vice-Presidency each party ran two candidates. Though the Democratic-Republicans won the majorit y of electora l votes t heir candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, tied. Burr was expected to cede the election to the party leader, Jefferson, but instead pursued the Presidency. Alexander Hamilton, co-leader of the Federalist Party, detested Jefferson, but thought he could be swayed to ma i nt a i n Hami lt on’s f i n a nc i a l structure. Meanwhile, recent personal and profe ssiona l maneuvers lef t mistrust between Burr and Hamilton, where friendship had once been. Hamilton & Burr Who Wrote Their Stories? by Rebecca Duffy Hamilton publicly claimed “Jefferson had pretentions to character.” Burr did not; his words helped sway the deadlocked House of Representatives. Jefferson was declared the President with Burr as Vice President. For Democratic-Republicans the election was a great victory. Commemorative objects adorned households during the campaign and after. A pair of mahogany card tables with églomisé panels reading “Jefferson Burr” were made as a particularly grandiose celebratory gesture (Figs. 1, 1a). 1 However, for Burr it represented the dissolution of his Fig. 1: Card table, 1800, New York, NY. Mahogany, Pine, Walnut, Satinwood, Glass, Gold foil, Paint. Eglomise panel is painted with an eagle holding a shield inscribed “Jefferson / Burr.” Winterthur Museum; Gift of Henry Francis du Pont (1961.0144).