Sculpture Court, The Tang Wing for American Democracy
Experience the fateful duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr with these two life-size sculptures in our sculpture court.
In 1804, Alexander Hamilton found himself in Weehawken, NJ, looking down the barrel of a dueling pistol aimed at him by Aaron Burr. Crowley’s life-size sculptures capture the critical moment. The event was the culmination of an “affair of honor,” a highly ritualized war of words between two men seeking to protect their personal and political reputations. Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, and Burr, the sitting Vice President, were frequently at odds. During Burr’s 1804 campaign for governor of New York, Hamilton actively denounced Burr. Blaming Hamilton for the campaign loss, Burr challenged the honor-bound Hamilton to a duel. Skirting the New York ban, the two men rowed across the Hudson River to Weehawken, New Jersey, where dueling was prosecuted less aggressively. Hamilton is purported to have intentionally missed Burr. Burr returned fire, mortally wounding Hamilton, who died the following day.
The original letters exchanged between Hamilton and Burr leading up to the duel are part of the collections of the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library at The New York Historical.
Commissioned for The New York Historical by Richard Gilder, Lewis Lehrman, and Roger Hertog
Exhibitions at The New York Historical are made possible by the Saunders Trust for American History, the Evelyn & Seymour Neuman Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.
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