The Aaron Burr that Isenberg offers was a brave soldier in the campaign against Quebec in 1775, initially under the command of Benedict Arnold (of all people) and subsequently under the command of General Montgomery: also a brilliant defence lawyer as well as an adept politician whose magnetic personality and intelligence was seen as a threat to his political opponents a man who would not stoop to smear those who were willing to destroy his own reputation a feminist who engaged in the philosophical works of Mary Wollstonecraft and Jeremy Bentham, and in turn advocated for a more enlightened voting system and society. If in the end Aaron Burr was deemed not to be criminal in any of these actions, as was the case, then he certainly was colourful.īut Nancy Isenberg wishes to paint a different portrait of Aaron Burr in her book Fallen Founder. In the years that followed he was also put on trial by the Jefferson administration for treason, following his preparations in the west to invade Mexico with his own private army (which was accompanied by rumours that he intended to overthrow the government of the United States). As vice-president he shot and killed the nation’s first treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton, in a duel, then went on the run.

Burr’s life later became the inspiration for romantic writers and pornographers. In writing his biography there are certain facts Nancy Isenberg cannot ignore. Had he lived today it may well have been applied to America’s third vice-president, Aaron Burr. The term colourful personality is often used by journalists to describe prominent people they wish to imply are corrupt or criminal.

Nancy isenberg books