Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr by Isenberg Nancy

Author:Isenberg, Nancy [Isenberg, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Biography, Politics
ISBN: 9780670063529
Amazon: 0670063525
Goodreads: 244625
Publisher: Viking Adult
Published: 2007-05-10T07:00:00+00:00

HAD “TURNED HIMSELF WHOLLY TOWARD MEXICO”

Burr’s fascination with the West began long before his duel with Hamilton. He had probably thought about the tremendous possibilities of this territory as early as the 1780s, when he first befriended Augustine Prevost, who had acquired land in Louisiana long before it became part of the United States. In 1803, he had contemplated a trip to New Orleans, discussing the details of it with his boyhood friend Jonathan Dayton, by then a U.S. senator. New Orleans and its environs was alluring to the investor, open to land speculation. Burr saw a chance to recoup his flagging finances.32

But now, after leaving office, he had a grander project in mind: In the event of a war with Spain, he would lead a filibuster into Spanish territory. A filibuster was an invasion by a private army without government sanction. There was a loophole for such would-be adventurers: the laws of neutrality, which made filibustering criminal, did not apply during a time of war. He also knew that it was accepted practice for Americans to engage in personal diplomacy, so appeals for foreign assistance were not illegal.33

Burr was not alone in viewing filibustering as a necessary means for territorial expansion. Like many American filibusterers before and after him, he used the language of liberty and national pride to justify conquest. In 1775, Richard Montgomery had invaded Canada uninvited, spearheading an offensive inspired by the Revolutionary desire to liberate Canadians from their English colonial oppressors. Other attempts to incite rebellion in Canada were tried by American citizens in 1796 and 1800.34

The lure of Spanish lands was just as strong. Long before Burr set his sights on Mexico, the Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark united with the French to invade the Spanish-held territory of Louisiana, while Thomas Jefferson, then secretary of state, conveniently looked the other way, unconcerned, he claimed, with “what insurrections should be excited.” In 1797, Republican senator William Blount attempted something similar, turning this time to the British as potential allies in ousting the Spanish. And Alexander Hamilton was so enamored with the plan of Francisco de Miranda, who dreamed of liberating South America from Spanish rule, that in 1798, he imagined himself as the conquering hero leading U.S. forces into Mexico.35

But for Burr, the above precedents were not enough. His plan required the existence of certain political and military conditions, whereby the United States would be drawn into a war along its southwestern border. He observed such tensions brewing during his vice presidency.

In 1801, Spain had ceded control of the Mississippi and New Orleans to France. Though the strategic port of New Orleans was still administered by the Spanish, Jefferson feared it would momentarily come within Napoleon’s grasp. Rumors of massive numbers of French troops arriving in Louisiana heightened his concern. The next year, the Spanish confirmed his fears, refusing to allow Americans to deposit goods at New Orleans. There was no doubt that Jefferson was willing to go to war to secure this crucial commercial hub at the southern end of the Mississippi.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.