V. B. Reed

An excellent compilation of original source documents for Burr's life and treason trial. It is not a book in the traditional sense where an author makes a case for one side or the other, but rather a collection of documents to be used by college students to force them to use the material to draw their own conclusions. As such, it offers contrasting views on almost every aspect of Burr's life, from his personality and ethics to his trustworthiness as well as the traits of his accusers, Hamilton, Jefferson and Wilkinson. With extensive excerpts from private letters (including the Burr-Hamilton letters that resulted in their duel), leading newspapers, and the court transcript. My own take? Burr was involved in SOMETHING though it did not get far enough to justify the claim of treason, in part because he trusted Gen. Wilkinson, the commander of U.S. troops in New Orleans, who he did not realize was being bribed by the Spanish. So Wilkinson hyped Burr's alleged crime, touted how he resisted it, and then got praised by both Jefferson and the Spanish, though they turned down his demand for more money.… (mehr)