The Treason Trial of Aaron Burr: Law, Politics, and the Character Wars of the New Nation

Description

The Burr treason trial, one of the greatest criminal trials in American history, was significant for several reasons. The legal proceedings lasted seven months and featured some of the nation's best lawyers. It also pitted President Thomas Jefferson (who declared Burr guilty without the benefit of a trial and who masterminded the prosecution), Chief Justice John Marshall (who sat as a trial judge in the federal circuit court in Richmond), and former Vice President Aaron Burr (who was accused of planning to separate the western states from the Union) against each other. At issue, in addition to the life of Aaron Burr, were the rights of criminal defendants, the constitutional definition of treason, and the meaning of separation of powers in the Constitution. Capturing the sheer drama of the long trial, Kent Newmyer's book sheds new light on the chaotic process by which lawyers, judges, and politicians fashioned law for the new nation. Cover The Treason Trial of Aaron Burr CAMBRIDGE STUDIES ON THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chronology of the Conspiracy and Associated Trial Proceedings 1805 1806 1807 Prologue 1 Jefferson and Burr on the Road to Richmond The President as Judge and Jury: The Question Is Why? General Wilkinson Takes Charge The President as Prosecutor-in-Chief 2 Jefferson and Marshall Square Off Jefferson Takes a Stand The Marshall Court Defines Treason – Almost On to Richmond 3 Legal Theater in Richmond Let the “Sovereign People” Be Entertained – and Educated Burr as Master Strategist “A Piece of Epic Action” Burr’s Grand Juries: Some Early Lessons Theater as Legal Strategy The Grand Jurors Speak 4 Treason Law for America Twelve Men Good and True Fashioning Law to Fit the Facts Point Counterpoint Witnesses Testify About Intent Concerning the “War” on Blennerhassett’s Island John Wickham Struts His Stuff All Power to the Jury: Wirt to the Rescue 5 Judging the Judge Feasting with the “Traitor” The Great Subpoena Debate: Law or Politics or Both? The Decision that Freed Burr (Almost), Defined Treason, and Damned John Marshall in the Eyes of His Enemies Law and Politics in a Delicate Balance: The Chief Justice as “Examining Magistrate” Bashing Marshall Epilogue What the Trial Did Not Settle A Trial of Many Narratives Jefferson on Burr for the Record Burr as Icon and Anti-Hero Jefferson and Marshall on Law and Republican Liberty From Courtroom Chaos Some Sound Law for the New Nation Index