Since Hamilton! the musical odyssey of rap, hiphop and history on Broadway, Americans have a whole new perspective on the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton. However, the man who killed Hamilton in a duel in 1804 is less well known.
This Sunday Dordt College professor of history Dr. Scott Culpepper will delve into the life Aaron Burr. Culpepper says Burr was a man of many talents; he was a soldier, a lawyer and a vice president under Thomas Jefferson. But his ruthless ambition was almost his undoing.
Burr and Hamilton were political rivals and had engaged in an intense spate of mudslinging, which eventually lead to the fatal duel. Culpepper says Burr’s contemporaries saw him as callous for his attitude toward Hamiliton’s family after the duel.
That was Dordt College History Professor Dr. Scott Culpepper. He will present,"Who Was Aaron Burr, Sir?: America's Dark Founder and His Controversial Legacy" this Sunday at The Betty Strong Encounter Center in Sioux City at 2 p.m.. Admission is free; a reception will follow. For Siouxland Public Radio, I’m Mary Hartnett.
