ld not join the United States, but would be left free to make plans with its Spanish neighbors. This incident is known as the Spanish Conspiracy and it only becomes more incriminating when it was discovered that Wilkinson was receiving $2,000 a year from the Spanish government. After this Wilkinson would join the army and after only eight years, become the ranking general. At this point the Spanish government was paying him $16,000 for his services. It may be that the corrupt Wilkinson was the only real traitor in this storybut he hadnt made Thomas Jefferson his personal enemy. Wilkinsons role in Burrs plan was to lead Burrs army of mercenaries against Mexico. In exchange, Burr would help Wilkinson become governor of the Louisiana territory (which he did) and compensate him with lands gained from Mexico. When Burrs plan was uncovered, and Wilkinson learned that President Jefferson had heard of the plot, he quickly wrote Jefferson a letter admitting everything hoping to gain indemnity in exchange for testifying against Burr. Jefferson first heard about Burrs plan on December 1st, 1805. But for a full year he did nothing. This has led many historians to believe that Jefferson may have been involved in a plot to actually frame Burr. It wasnt until Jefferson received a letter from the postmaster general on October 16th, 1806, (stating that Burrs plan was to split the country) that Jefferson made the announcement warning people to distance themselves from the conspiracy. Jefferson hoped that in making a moderate proclamation, and that by not mentioning Burr directly, that he could trap Burr in a more overt act of treason that could be better prosecuted. However by January 22nd, 1807, Jefferson felt that he had gathered suitable evidence to convict Burr and he delivered his message to congress accusing Burr of being the arch-conspirator in a Western plot. John Randolph, a congressman, was outraged after hearing Jeffersons pr...
