ce-president was in charge of. In the spring of 1804, Burr decided to run for governor for the state of New York. During this edgy time high Federalists were planning the succession of New England and New York from the Union. Alexander Hamilton, secretary of treasury, made comments about Burr that he insisted made him lose the election. Burr then challenged Hamilton to a duel, which Hamilton accepted reluctantly. Unfortunately Hamilton, a magnificent man for our nation, was shot and killed by the vice president in New Jersey on Nov. 11, 1804. Due to the murder of Hamilton, Burr fled to the west in seek of gaining followers there. Jefferson was slow but successful in meeting this first real threat to the new American union. Aaron Burr was accused of making a treasonable effort to set up an independent government in the Southwest and his career laid in shambles.The War of 1812, a strange war, helped the U.S. finally feel free from Great Britain. In 1811, there was a strong anti-British mood in Congress. A group of militant representatives, some of them elected to Congress for the first time in the election of 1810, announced they would no longer tolerate national humiliations. They called for action, for resistance to Great Britain, for any course that promised to achieve respect for the U.S. and security for it's republican institutions. These aggressive nationalists, many of them from the South and West, have been labeled "War Hawks." The group included Henry Clay, a Kentucky congressman who served as Speaker of the House, and John C. Calhoun, a brilliant South Carolinian. The people felt that Britain's lingering dominance was threatening to their democracy. Britain was on the verge of forming peaceful relations at the time that the U.S. planned to wage war, for their own reasons. James Madison, President at the time, had reason to ask Congress to wage war. The War Hawks were putting pressure on him and at the same time hi...
