Changes

Let's return to 1804.  Burr was then running for Governor of New York, which was one of the biggest and most powerful states.  By then, Hamilton was publishing a newspaper in New York (the ''New York Post''), which still exists and is still conservative today.  Hamilton ran stories to defeat Burr.  After Burr lost, he challenged Hamilton to a duel.  In those days, one man could challenge anyone to a duel to fight to the death, and the other man had to defend his honor by accepting the challenge and fighting.  Duels were illegal in New York, but Burr insisted that they fight in New Jersey, where the law was less clear.  Many of our future Presidents were challenged to duels and fought in them, including [[Andrew Jackson]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]].  It was considered dishonorable to decline a challenge to a duel, but 50 years later (perhaps after duels had lost their grip on society) [[Stonewall Jackson]] did refuse to duel a student who had a conflict with him at the [[Virginia Military Institute]].

Let's return to 1804.  Burr was then running for Governor of New York, which was one of the biggest and most powerful states.  By then, Hamilton was publishing a newspaper in New York (the ''New York Post''), which still exists and is still conservative today.  Hamilton ran stories to defeat Burr.  After Burr lost, he challenged Hamilton to a duel.  In those days, one man could challenge anyone to a duel to fight to the death, and the other man had to defend his honor by accepting the challenge and fighting.  Duels were illegal in New York, but Burr insisted that they fight in New Jersey, where the law was less clear.  Many of our future Presidents were challenged to duels and fought in them, including [[Andrew Jackson]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]].  It was considered dishonorable to decline a challenge to a duel, but 50 years later (perhaps after duels had lost their grip on society) [[Stonewall Jackson]] did refuse to duel a student who had a conflict with him at the [[Virginia Military Institute]].

In 1804, Hamilton had no real choice but to accept Burr's challenge to a duel, and they met at dawn in Weehawkin, New Jersey.  As was customary in duels, they walked twenty or so paces away from each other and then turned to shoot at each other.  This time only one of the men fired to kill his opponent.  Hamilton purposely did not try to kill Burr, feeling that it would be wrong to do so.  But Burr shot and killed Hamilton.  Burr then fled, having murdered one of the greatest [[Founding Fathers]] of all.

In 1804, Hamilton had no real choice but to accept Burr's challenge to a duel, and they met at dawn in Weehawkin, New Jersey.  As was customary in duels, they walked twenty or so paces away from each other and then turned to shoot at each other.  This time only one of the men fired to kill his opponent.  Hamilton purposely shot away from Burr, feeling that it would be wrong to kill another man.  But Burr shot and killed Hamilton.  Burr then fled, having murdered one of the greatest [[Founding Fathers]] of all.

Later, Burr was indicted for murder, and he moved west to avoid jail.  There, he and a military governor plotted to break Louisiana away from the United States.  The plan failed, but it left behind a deep division in the United States.

Later, Burr was indicted for murder, and he moved west to avoid jail.  There, he and a military governor plotted to break Louisiana away from the United States.  The plan failed, but it left behind a deep division in the United States.

Meanwhile, Jefferson had his hands full with foreign conflicts.  Pirates were harassing and looting American shipping off the coasts of the Northern African countries of Morocco, Algiers and Tunis, which had a large port city known as "Tripoli" (it is now the capital city of Libya).  When Tripoli demanded more payoffs to stop the pirating, Congress declared war against it in 1805, known as the First Barbary War (or the War with Tripoli).  This war was actually unsuccessful for the United States, ending with a payment of a huge ransom to free the release of 270 sailors captured by the enemy.  It was not until 1815 that brute force ended the harassment by the pirates of American shipping,<ref>http://www.indepthinfo.com/articles/tripoly-war.shtml</ref> although pirates continued to harass and even kill Americans on the High Seas ever since.  History books tend to give Jefferson preferential treatment and declare that he won the War with Tripoli.  This war did inspire the opening lyric in the Marines' hymn, "From the halls of Montezuma, to the ''shores of Tripoli''."<ref>"Montezuma" is a reference to the Mexican War and the Battle of Chapultepec.</ref>

Meanwhile, Jefferson had his hands full with foreign conflicts.  Pirates were harassing and looting American shipping off the coasts of the Northern African countries of Morocco, Algiers and Tunis, which had a large port city known as "Tripoli" (it is now the capital city of Libya).  When Tripoli demanded more payoffs to stop the pirating, Congress declared war against it in 1805, known as the First Barbary War (or the War with Tripoli).  This war was actually unsuccessful for the United States, ending with a payment of a huge ransom to free the release of 270 sailors captured by the enemy.  It was not until 1815 that brute force ended the harassment by the pirates of American shipping,<ref>http://www.indepthinfo.com/articles/tripoly-war.shtml</ref> although pirates continued to harass and even kill Americans on the High Seas ever since.  President Jefferson is given credit for winning this War with Tripoli.  This war did inspire the opening lyric in the Marines' hymn, "From the halls of Montezuma, to the ''shores of Tripoli''."<ref>"Montezuma" is a reference to the Mexican War and the Battle of Chapultepec.</ref>

In 1807, bigger troubled occurred between the United States and England.  The British Orders in Council forbade any trade by the United States with France unless the trade first touched English ports.  The British also added insult to injury.  In 1807, the "Chesapeake Affair" was a humiliating seizure by the British ship ''H.M.S. Leopard'' of an American ship named the ''Chesapeake'', in international waters where American shipping should have free travel.  The British forcibly boarded the ship looking for other British sailors on it.

In 1807, bigger troubled occurred between the United States and England.  The British Orders in Council forbade any trade by the United States with France unless the trade first touched English ports.  The British also added insult to injury.  In 1807, the "Chesapeake Affair" was a humiliating seizure by the British ship ''H.M.S. Leopard'' of an American ship named the ''Chesapeake'', in international waters where American shipping should have free travel.  The British forcibly boarded the ship looking for other British sailors on it.