This Day in History: <br />Burr Slays Hamilton in a Duel July 11, 1804 Vice President Aaron Burr shot <br />leading Federalist Alexander <br />Hamilton in the stomach. <br />Hamilton died the next day. The "affair of honor" <br />was the culmination of <br />two decades of political and <br />personal rivalry between the two. They came from opposite <br />backgrounds. Burr from a <br />prestigious family and Hamilton <br />from relative obscurity. They matured into politics <br />in the new nation with opposing <br />visions of what kind of country <br />America should be. During the duel, conflicting <br />accounts reveal that Hamilton <br />either shot at Burr and missed <br />or deliberately fired into the air. While charged with Hamilton's murder, <br />Burr was immune from prosecution <br />because he held the office of vice president.
