Burr Conspiracy

right now, i'm studying for an early u.s. history CLEP test.
and i've got to say, it's amazing what you can come across in a history book. even if you've studied the general topics many times before, you can still find something new and interesting.
for example, i just learned about this thing called the "burr conspiracy". Here's what it is.

Once upon a time, there was a man named Aaron Burr.
Now, Aaron Burr had a very special dream. he dreamed that some day, he'd be the president of the united states. so he jumped into the race for the presidency along with several other people,
but Aaron Burr did not win. instead, he tied for first with Thomas Jefferson. and so the house of representatives had to decide who would win.
it was a very, very, very close decision for them. but in the end, Alexander Hamilton, Burr's archenemy, broke the tie within the house of representatives and made Jefferson the president. So Aaron had to settle for being vice president.

Four years later, Aaron Burr was no longer the vice president. Since he'd given up trying to be president, he figured he'd try running for govenor of new york.
But yet again, Alexander Hamilton stood in his way. Alexander ran against him and ended up winning that election.
This was the final straw.

Aaron challenged Alexander to a duel. and finally, finally, Aaron Burr won something.
but now, he was on the run for the murder of Alexander Hamilton.
So Aaron Burr decided to do something crazy. after all, he had nothing to lose; and, frankly, had pretty much lost it (mentally).

Aaron decided to chase after his dream for power once more. He decided that if he couldnt rule all of america, then he'd rule part of it. He devised a wild plan to capture part of the new southwestern US territories and claim them for his own as a totally new country. This plan involved everything from military force, to help from Spain and England, to possibly even kidnapping president Jefferson.

but help from spain and england never came, and news of his conspiracy got out. he ended up being tried for treason before the supreme court. the only reason he escaped punishment was because the chief justice didn't like Thomas Jefferson (who tried to influence and prejudice the trial) and so he let Aaron go because of a loop hole in the treason laws.

man, who knew history could be so interesting. i feel like this could make a pretty good movie someday :)
and now, back to studying.