Member-only story
Some Myths About Aaron Burr You Might Believe If You’ve Only Seen Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Hamilton’ Musical
The facts are quite different
When you hear the name “Aaron Burr,” it’s likely that the first thing that comes to mind is “that guy who shot Alexander Hamilton.” This is certainly accurate, and their duel has been crystalized in the current popular imagination by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway musical Hamilton. But as with most historical figures (as with each one of us non-famous people), Burr’s life cannot be reduced to a simple phrases or a couple catchy showtunes.
Recent events have proven the danger of allowing revisionist history to take hold in any area; Vladimir Putin’s revisionist narrative about Ukraine’s history and the ongoing denial by some of the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the United States are two glaring examples. Just as we need to be vigilant about our current history, we need to guard the true facts of history from even centuries ago as well. There are several myths about Aaron Burr that need correcting if we are to have a historically accurate view of the former Vice President of the United States (I addressed some of the myths in the Hamilton musical itself in the piece below).
