Aaron Burr, Sir | Teen Ink

Aaron Burr, Sir

March 23, 2017
By Camolover40 BRONZE, Mount Olive, Alabama
Camolover40 BRONZE, Mount Olive, Alabama
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
"We're all mad here." -Alice in Wonderland



                      “Excuse me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?” (Miranda et al. Hamilton: original Broadway cast recording. N.d.).  Depending on who is reading that, chances are, that if they got that reference, they know who this man is.  Others may not have even heard of this man.  Aaron Burr was actually quite an important figure in American history, for those who did not already know that.  For those who are Hamilton fans, there are many things that the musical doesn’t say about Burr too, like things such as, his childhood, or maybe his life after the duel that ultimately ended a certain person’s life.  Aaron Burr might have been a “villain in our history” (Miranda et al. Hamilton: original Broadway cast recording. N.d.), but he set some pretty good examples in some aspects, maybe some lessons to teach young children.  And no, there is no reference to teaching children to shoot their rivals there.  Aaron Burr was a smart, hardworking man, even though he was slightly mislead in some ways.


                       Aaron Burr was obviously quite clever at a very young age.  When he was only eleven years old, he applied for Princeton College (“An Aaron Burr Chronology” http://www.aaronburrassociation.org/chronology.htm).  Now, he was quite obviously a smart kid.  How many people out there have actually applied for college when they were eleven, much less Princeton, of all places?  Not many that is for sure.  Perhaps even none at all, besides Burr.  Aaron Burr also graduated the College of New Jersey when he was sixteen (“Aaron Burr.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television).  Yep.  Sixteen.  That is it.  Not eighteen, when most kids go to college.  No, sixteen is when he graduated college.  He was like a burning fire, starting off small, but quickly showing its true potential.  As seen above, Aaron Burr was an exceedingly smart child, and adult, for that matter.


                     Aaron Burr was also a very hardworking man.  He became the the third vice president of the United States of America ("Aaron Burr." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television).  Becoming a vice president takes a lot of effort and hard work.  Aaron Burr managed to do all of this only a few years after graduating.  Also, becoming a leader early on in America’s time must have been hard, especially since the nation was still very young.  The United States were probably trying to prevent another King trying to take over.  And for Hamilton fans, and people who love history, and pretty much anyone who knows anything about the United States’s past, yes, that was referring to King George the sixth.  Aaron Burr also became the commander of the Regiment (“Biography of Aaron Burr.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d.).   Moving up any ranks in the military is hard.    Someone has to work for it and earn it.  Aaron Burr moved up so that he became a commander.  Obviously, Aaron Burr was a very hard worker, on top of being exceedingly smart.  Just reread everything so far if there was a miscommunication.


                      Aaron Burr was an ambitious person, willing to take extreme circumstances to reach his goals.  He shot Hamilton in a challenged duel (Rand “Understanding the Burr-Hamilton Duel.” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p.).  Okay, no one currently alive personally knew Hamilton, but he seemed like a nice guy, from a musical fan’s perspective.  And then Burr shot him. Fatally.  On top of that, Aaron Burr shot him because he won a simple election (Rand “Understanding the Burr-Hamilton Duel.” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p.).  That seems a bit extreme.  Okay, so Hamilton “stole” one job from Burr.  So what?  That does not exactly give him the rights to call a duel and shoot the man!  Aaron Burr shot Hamilton for winning an election.  Knowing the consequences, he did it anyways.  If that is not mislead, then the world needs a dictionary.


                     Though Burr was mislead in some major things, he still sets a relatively good example.  He worked really hard for his ambitions.  He also was really smart and eager to learn at a very young age, on top of getting the tough stuff done early on in life.  These could be valuable examples for people to have a successful life.  Again, there is no way that that is referring to killing somebody because they messed up someone’s goals in something.  That would lead to events that many do not want to face.  Events that could mess up people’s stories, just like Burr.  That is not something anyone would want to happen, correct?  Assuming that no one wants all the good details in their life to be ignored by society after their death because of one bad thing.  Humanity has enough villain stories as it is, would anyone really want to add to the list?  More or less, what is being stated here is this: What story do people want others to read when they're long gone?  See, this is how Burr made the real example.  He shows how something can change everyone’s perspective on them.  Just one thing can make everyone see one person as a villain.


The author's comments:

 This was an essay I wrote about Aaron Burr. The musical Hamilton made me curious about this particular man, so I made an essay on him. I'm posting it here so that others will learn about him as well! Hope you like it! Enjoy!


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