Princeton University Press
The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis
Key Metrics
- James E Lewis
- Princeton University Press
- Paperback
- 9780691191553
- 8.9 X 5.7 X 1.9 inches
- 2.05 pounds
- History > United States - 19th Century
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
A panoramic look at the early American republic through the lens of the Burr Conspiracy
In 1805 and 1806, Aaron Burr traveled through the Trans-Appalachian West gathering support for a mysterious enterprise, for which he was arrested and tried for treason in 1807. This book explores the political and cultural forces that shaped how Americans made sense of the rumors and reports about Burr's intentions and movements, and examines what the resulting crisis reveals about Americans' anxieties concerning the new nation's fragile union. The Burr Conspiracy was a cause c�l�bre of the early republic--with Burr cast as the chief villain of the Founding Fathers. He was said to have enticed some people with plans to liberate Spanish Mexico, others with promises of land in the Orleans Territory, still others with talk of building a new empire beyond the Appalachians. James E. Lewis Jr. looks at how differing understandings of the conspiracy were influenced by everything from biased newspapers to notions of honor and gentility, providing a multifaceted portrait of the republic at a time when it was far from clear how long it would last.
Author Bio
James E. Lewis, Jr., is an associate professor of history at Kalamazoo College. He has published three books on the diplomatic history of the early American republic: The American Union and the Problem of Neighborhood: The United States and the Collapse of the Spanish Empire, 1783-1829 (University of North Carolina Press, 1998); John Quincy Adams: Policymaker for the Union (SR Books, 2001); and The Louisiana Purchase: Jefferson’s Noble Bargain? (Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 2003).
He also served as a consultant and writer for the Black Hawk War section of "Lincoln/Net," a website of the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project at Northern Illinois University. He is currently completing a book on the Aaron Burr conspiracy.
- Education
Ph.D., History, University of Virginia, 1994
M.A., History, The American University, 1988
B.A., Government and Foreign Affairs, College of William and Mary, 1986
Source: Britannica.com and Princeton University Press
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