BOOK REVIEW: ‘Dangerous Nation’: A Provocative, Revisionist Look at American
History – First of Two Volumes
Reviewed
ByDavid M. Kinchen Huntington News Network Book Critic
Hinton, WV (HNN) – At last, a historian has finally gotten it right.
Americans were “neoconservatives” from the start of the nation – nay, even
before the start. That is, if the word “neoconservative” is used to designate an
expansionist, righteous worldview that sees America as different from others.
Not only different: Better!
That’s my reading of Robert Kagan’s “Dangerous Nation: America’s Place in the
World from its Earliest Days to the Dawn of the 20th Century” (Knopf, $30, 527
pages, index, notes, bibliography), the first of two volumes that take a fresh –
often radically provocative – look at American history and foreign policy. I’m
eagerly awaiting the second volume which should be published in 2007.
Founding father Ben Franklin saw himself as both a loyal Briton and an American
citizen.....
I was surprised to find no mention of Aaron Burr in the book’s
index or in the book. There was a reference to James Wilkinson of Kentucky, the
corrupt, double-dealing commanding general of the U.S. Army at the time (1805-6)
and one of Burr’s most important co-conspirators in his alleged plot – for which
Burr was tried (and acquitted by Chief Justice John Marshall – a bitter foe of
Jefferson) for treason in 1807 – to separate the western part of the nation from
the eastern. Burr was an expansionist in the tradition that Kagan writes about,
some would say even celebrates, in “Dangerous Nation.” Burr attempted to do in
the early 1800s what the Americans who settled in the Mexican province of Texas
finally did in 1836 – carve out an independent country in lands held by the
Spanish.
Folks: I received this message from Roger Kennedy. I'm sure he'd
appreciate any and all responses. Regards, Antonio
-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Kennedy [mailto:roger@rkennedy.net]
Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2006 12:30 PM
To: antonioburr@prodigy.net
Subject: hello there ---
I couldn't find an email for Stewart Johnson, so I'm bothering you with
some
questions --- happily because I wanted in any case to thank you for your
kind words to Frances after my talk in the West Village
Some years ago I wrote the library at Rutgers to ask about Milton
Lomasks's
notes on Aaron Burr's Latin American associations after his return from
exile--- to my shame I've lost their response--- and wondered whether or
not
you or any other Burr Association folk have followed up on that chapter
in
his life --- or can redirect me to these leads ---do you happen to
have an
email address for Mary-Jo Kline?
The Latin American connection bears upon Aaron Columbus Burr's abortive
free-black colony in British Honduras -- there seems to have been an
article
on it in Civil War History magazine ....Do you have a view as to the
likelihood that Aaron Columbus Burr was a descendent of Aaron? And how
do
you feel about the black Burr's of Philadelphia? Is there any
scientifically
useful way of doing DNA tests on that matter?
Finally, on Amazon I noted what appears to be a privately-printed
speculation on the possibility of a code in the Aaron-Theodosia letters
from
Europe -- apparently it is tied to the considerably less likely
hypothesis
that Burr was a covert Tory (!) and that Trinity Church was a center for
Tory espionage --- that seems to be silly, but the code isn't -- do you
know
anybody who has thought much about a cipher in those letters?
Roger G. Kennedy, Director Emeritus,National Museum of American History
Former Director, National Park Service
33 Linnaean Street Cambridge, MA 02138-1511
617-491-7247
Wildfire and Americans: How to Save Lives, Property and Your Tax Dollars
Hill and Wang, 2006.
http://www.rkennedy.net/
This web site links to Tom Burr's photo gallery of the Duel
reenactment some 28 months ago. 11/27/06
By Bob Cupp
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW Pittsburgh Friday,
November 24, 2006
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
has recognized more than 2,000 historical sites by erecting
distinctive blue and gold metal markers along the state's roads
and highways....
THE LARIMER HOUSE: "Larimer's Mansion Farm -- This house, on the
'King's Highway' was built by Wm. & Ann Larimer, Sr., circa 1790. It was the
homestead of Gen. Wm. Larimer, Jr., one of the founders of Denver, Colorado.
Here Wm. Henry Harrison (Old Tippecanoe) and Aaron Burr were entertained. --
Norwin Rotary Club Sponsor - 1976."...
When voters went to the polls this month, they registered not only a revulsion
with the Republican regime but also a profound -- almost un-American --
anxiety about the nation's future. They ousted incumbents who wanted to stay
the economic course, choosing instead Democratic challengers who questioned
free-trade orthodoxy. In the exit polling, a plurality said they believed that
life for the next generation of Americans would be worse than it is today.
...
For the Democrats who now run Congress, not to mention those planning to run
for president, the fact that the party's economic gurus have devised a policy
that they themselves believe isn't up to the challenge at hand can't be greatly
heartening. Happily, this is not the only project whose work the Democrats will
be able to access. This June, in response to the Hamilton Project's creation, a
group of some 50 liberal economists loosely affiliated with the Economic Policy
Institute (EPI) began work of their own. Their project, yet to be named (its
founders have resisted the temptation to call it the Aaron Burr Project), will
be unveiled in January....
Princeton's blacks had no easier time than those elsewhere in
the North
The history of slavery in Princeton reflects that of America as a whole.
In colonial New Jersey, slavery was accepted as a vital component of the
economy. Moral objections were futile, and early attempts at abolition were
met with strong resistance.
The abolition of slavery in New Jersey was not complete until the Civil War
(1861-1865). There were slaves in the Princeton area as late as 1859.
Slaves lived in Princeton among the earliest settlers. The borough's first
settler was an Englishman named Daniel Brinson. Among the possessions listed
in his will was an "Engen Gal," that is, an Indian woman. She may have been a
captive from King Philip's War who had been sold into slavery. Named for an
Indian chief, King Philip's War was a devastating conflict in New England that
proportionately killed more Americans than any other war. Indian slaves were
generally sold at half the price of Africans, although Brinson's "Engen Gal"
was valued very high at 30 pounds sterling. Brinson arrived in the Colonies in
1677, just as the war ended, and could have bought her at that time.
Princeton's early settlers were predominantly Quakers. The earliest
objections to slavery were raised by Quakers, yet their church was slow to
adopt the anti-slavery position. George Fox, the church's founder, morally
objected to slavery, as did William Penn. One of the earliest anti-slavery
movements in America was led by the Quaker surveyor George Keith. His division
line separating East and West Jersey was ratified in a 1687 Princeton meeting
— Province Line Road is a relic of this division.
Many Quakers, including some of Princeton's, owned slaves. Others strongly
resisted early attempts to abolish slavery. The early history is ambiguous. By
the mid-18th century the Quaker leadership was increasingly opposed to slavery
and finally banned their members from owning slaves. Prior to the Revolution,
Quakers led the nation in opposing slavery.
Daniel Brinson's widow, Frances, married a Quaker named John Horner. They
lived on property that is now the main campus of Princeton University. In his
will, Horner listed four "Negro slaves" and an Indian slave, probably the
Indian woman who had once belonged to Brinson. Frances Horner died in 1751 and
listed slaves "Kate, Jack and Little Ginny" in her will. Kate went to Horner's
son-in-law, Joseph Stout of Hopewell, and was freed after his death in 1764.
Another son-in-law of Frances Horner was also a slaveowner — James Leonard,
who gave Princeton its name.
Among Princeton's slaveowners was the Rev. John Witherspoon, who served as
president of The College of New Jersey (the future Princeton University) and
was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon brought two
Africans to the college with the intention of educating them as missionaries.
His intention to send them to Africa was interrupted by the Revolutionary War.
Several trustees were also slaveowners. Another college president who owned
slaves was Aaron Burr the Elder.
The promise of equality that accompanied the American Revolution gave hope
to Africans, many of whom fought as volunteers with the Continental Army or
with local militias. ......
Proposed response:
While the Elder owned slaves, it is
well known that his son Vice President Aaron Burr was considered the most
radical abolitionist of his time. Burr corresponded with Peggy, paying her
tuition to school. He boarded boats from Africa, filing legal documents to free
prisoners who could survive in America on their own.
Most importantly, Burr purchased the Bastrop tract in Louisiana. Cotton could
not be grown here. Escaped slaves were welcomed to farm their own small
property. When southern plantation owners realized that the west would not be a
market for them to sell their slaves, they were furious. The underground
railroad to the north would be short cut for freedom loving blacks who would
need only reach Bastrop. So exactly 200 years ago, they had their puppet in
office Jefferson seize Burr and put him on trial. Of course Burr resisted the
full might of the executive office and was found innocent. Princeton students:
Forget what your tenth grade teacher taught you about hating Burr. Visit the
AaronBurrAssociation.org
....In Boston, Neil Reynolds ’03 carved a niche for himself in
an organization called The Tribe, which has built a healthy fan base. He’s also
directing a two-person musical improv show called “Tiny Little Lungs” and acting
in “Code Duello: Hamilton & Burr,” wherein, as the show’s Web site advertises,
“Each night, Tribe mainstage players Neil Reynolds & Matt Tucker don the wigs
and waistcoats of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, improvising the lives of
our two angriest founding fathers.” ....Colby.edu
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Hey y'all:
I spent some time tonight to begin AARON BURR'S SOUTHERN
PILGRIMAGE 1806-1807.
Of course, most of my information will focus upon Burr's trip north after
his arrest on February 19, 1807, however, there are lots of people and
places from Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina
which figure in the story of Burr's Conspiracy.
Please take time to at least scroll over this stuff and pass it along to
anyone who might be interested in this story.
I was very excited tonight about finding the portrait of Nicholas Perkins,
the man who had Burr arrested , who delivered him to federal authorities
in Richmond and who collected the $2000 reward.
CHESTER, SOUTH CAROLINA
HAS THE AARON BURR ROCK!
"The Aaron Burr Rock, erected in 1938 by the Mary Adair Chapter of the
Daughters of the AmericanRevolution, is said to stand on the spot where
Aaron Burr, a Vice-President of the United States under Jefferson, on his
way to Richmond to face treason charges jumped from a carriage and asked
Chester citizens for assistance."
I also found where someone says that
the CHESTER COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM claims to have the bench on which
Burr slept at the Lewis Inn outside Chester!!!!
NEARBY HISTORY Burr begged, in vain, for help while
in Chester
He was en route to Virginia to stand trial for treason charge
LOUISE PETTUS
In 1938, the Mary Adair Chapter, D.A.R. placed an inscription on a
rough-hewn rock to commemorate a most unusual event in Chester's history.
The inscription on the rock that sits on the highest hill in downtown
Chester reads: "In 1806, Aaron Burr, when passing through Chester,
a prisoner, dismounted on this rock and appealed in vain to the citizens
for help."
The date 1806 is wrong. It was March 1807 when Aaron Burr, former vice
president of the United States, the youngest colonel of the Revolutionary
War, whose blue-blooded ancestors included the first president of
Princeton, was marched into town under arrest by the U.S. Army and charged
with high treason.
This was the second blot on Aaron Burr's otherwise satisfactory career.
While vice president, Burr challenged and killed Alexander Hamilton,
former secretary of the Treasury, in a duel. Dueling was legal in New
Jersey, but the act ruined any chances that Burr might become President
Jefferson's successor.
Burr made a Southern tour to Georgia, where dueling was more acceptable
and came up the coast to visit his beloved daughter, Theodosia Alston, and
her family at the Alston plantation (now Brookgreen Gardens, located
between Georgetown and Charleston). He then returned to Washington and
made a farewell speech to the U.S. Senate.
Burr next got involved in speculation in Western land. Spain gave him a
grant for 400,000 acres in Texas for $40,000 with $5,000 down. An
estimated 500 followers were ready to join Burr in what many thought was a
project to establish a new country. President Jefferson had Burr arrested
in Kentucky, but he was ably defended by Henry Clay and acquitted.
In February 1807, Burr was arrested in Mississippi Territory and charged
with treason. The Army guards wished to avoid the populous coastal areas
and especially the S.C. coast, where Burr was popular, so they marched him
through the backwoods destined for Richmond, Va., to be tried by the chief
justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall.
On horseback, the group reached the village of Chesterville. According to
records, there were two soldiers in front of Burr, two behind him and one
on each side.
As they approached a tavern, Burr flung himself from his horse, mounted
the rock and shouted to the bystanders: "I'm Aaron Burr, under military
arrest, and claim the protection of the civil authorities."
Officers forced Burr to remount and marched on. About dark, the party got
to John Lewis' Tavern (the spot on S.C. 74 between Chester and
Rock Hill now called Lewis Turnout).
Officer Perkins (we don't know his first name), in charge of Burr, later
said that at Lewis' tavern, he found his famous prisoner, and the soldier
leading his horse, in a flood of tears. Presumably, Burr's usual great
self-assurance had vanished with the cold-shoulder treatment by the people
of Chesterville.
That night, Burr reportedly slept on a bench at the tavern.
The next day, the party moved on to Richmond for the trial. His
son-in-law, Joseph Alston, and daughter, Theodosia, were there to see
51-year-old Burr tried on the charge of conspiring to make himself emperor
of a large part of the Louisiana Purchase land and Texas.
Historians still debate whether Burr, who was originally arrested on a
misdemeanor charge, not treason, intended to create an empire for himself
or whether he was mounting a filibustering expedition against Spain.
The trial was a sensation. Political passions created a stormy setting.
Jefferson was summoned to testify but refused to do so. The law required
that there be two witnesses to the overt act of treason, and Marshall
construed the law narrowly. Only one creditable witness was found. The
jury found Burr "not guilty under the indictment by evidence submitted to
us."
After the trial, Burr sailed for England, but he returned to New York in
1812 at the same time that Joseph Alston was elected governor of South
Carolina. Theodosia Burr Alston sailed alone for New York to see her
father. She never arrived. The ship was lost at sea -- either the victim
of Cape Hatteras' treacherous currents or of pirates who were active in
the area off the Outer Banks at that time.
Usually, the monuments erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution
commemorate the deeds of Revolutionary War heroes.
And although Aaron Burr was a genuine hero of the Revolution, the Aaron
Burr rock inscription reminds us of one of the most interesting trials in
American history.
Wall St Journal:
....Politics are in Mr. Cuomo's DNA. His father, Mario, was New
York's governor from 1983 to 1995. Mr. Cuomo was married to Robert Kennedy's
daughter, Kerry, before getting divorced in 2003.
A graduate of Albany Law School, Mr. Cuomo worked in his
father's administration before a brief stint as a Manhattan assistant district
attorney. He later started a nonprofit that built housing for the homeless.
After serving as housing secretary in the Clinton administration, he ran
unsuccessfully for New York governor in 2002.
Some observers expect Mr. Cuomo could eventually run for the
U.S. Senate if Hillary Clinton (who was re-elected Tuesday) decides to run for
president. Wendy Katz, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cuomo, said: "Andrew has said he is
100% focused on serving New Yorkers as their next attorney general, and those
are his plans."
In addition to fighting Medicaid fraud and government
corruption, Mr. Cuomo says he plans to pursue civil-rights cases and push the
federal government to do more to strengthen environmental regulations.
He plans to focus on more-traditional consumer issues, the
mainstay of the office, which traces its roots back to Dutch colonial days in
the 1600s. Several early New York attorneys general parlayed the job to national
office, including Aaron Burr, who held the office in the late 1700s before
eventually becoming Thomas Jefferson's vice president (and, of course, killing
Alexander Hamilton in a duel). ....
.....It was said of Abraham Lincoln during his
initial bid for the presidency: "The idea that such a man as he should be the
president of a country such as this is a very ridiculous joke." The quote is
attributed to James Gordon Bennett, editor of the New York Herald. Another
writer of note, Henry Watterson, editor of the Louisville Courier Journal,
opined Lincoln's election was accidental and that the new president was
untutored, homely and awkward. All men in his cabinet regarded themselves
intellectually superior to Lincoln, he claimed.
Not even our sainted founding fathers were spared ridicule. In the recently
published book, "Infamous Scribblers," one such journalist was said to have
suggested the father of our country had drawn $5,000 more than he was due as
president. He likened him to Caesar, and Cromwell. Alexander Hamilton, the
financial wizard who devised a plan that rescued the new country from bankruptcy
was accused of consorting with a prostitute, which was not true.
Later, any disaffection with Hamilton was fatally settled in a dual with Aaron
Burr. Hamilton is memorialized with the respect of knowledgeable Americans. Burr
has no such honor.
Latter-day political targets have included Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, always
golfing; Jimmy Carter, always arranging the pool schedule; Richard Nixon, always
trying to convince the public he was honest; Bill Clinton, trying to convince us
he did not have sex with that woman; and George Bush, always the butt of
television comics who found in him a nightly joke or two.
Our system of government, of course, leaves much to be criticized, but through
it all it finally redeems itself when it turns out to be wrong and tries, often
successfully, to do good for the people it serves.
Seems a shame we can't learn to discuss issues meaningfully before elections
rather than turning this vital function of a democracy into a monstrous manure
pile.
Dean Krenz is a former publisher of The Journal.
Saturday Nov 4, - Stuart has reminded us that Roger Kennedy will
be giving a speech in NYC Nov 14.
One of
the more frequently visited sites in Princeton Cemetery is the grave of Aaron
Burr, whose gravestone was stolen several years ago, and later recovered in
Sussex County.
Unidentified sounds disturb the silence of night. The curtains begin to sway
as a cold draft breezes across the room. Could it be the work of a spirit
from another world?
George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and some of the most
recognizable figures of American history may have returned to some of their
former haunts.
Only those lucky (or unlucky) enough to encounter their ghostly forms can
say for sure. Find out where to encounter the presence of a character from
America's past … and we're not talking history books here.
I found the site for that restaurant. Looks to be a nice one. They have put
some of the history of the place on the Web page. The owners did some
excavations and found some interesting Revolutionary War connections. Waletta
Bald Head Island
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061025/NEWS/610250305/-1/State
Bald Head Island remains accessible only by watercraft, and travel on the
island is limited to electric carts.
The exclusivity of Bald Head Island has long been its attraction. For
centuries it was known as a haven for pirates like Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard,
who favored its hard-to-navigate nooks and crannies and its lush maritime
forests.
The island is also home, some believe, to the mysterious disappearance of
Theodosia Burr Alston in 1812. Theodosia was the daughter of Aaron Burr, the
third vice president of the United States, and wife of Joseph Alston, South
Carolina's governor.
In late December, she boarded a small pilot ship, The Patriot, in South
Carolina, bound for New York to visit her father.
But she and The Patriot never made it to New York; the ship was found
drifting off Nags Head in the early part of 1813 without passengers or crew.
There are many accounts as to the fate of Theodosia. Both the Outer Banks and
Bald Head Island stake claim as her final resting place.
It is believed by some that The
Patriot was pillaged by pirates while off the coast of Nags Head.
Bald Head Island legend contends, however, that the ship foundered on the
shoals of the Cape Fear region and pirates raided the distressed ship, killing
everyone aboard except Theodosia, who was taken captive for ransom. The tide
took the ransacked ship out to sea, to later arrive at Nags Head.
Based on information in Touring the Backroads of North Carolina's Lower Coast,
by Daniel W. Barefoot, the latter story has more credibility. Two men executed
in Norfolk confessed that they were with a band of Bald Head Island pirates
who raided The Patriot, and they witnessed Theodosia's subsequent death.
But the exact details of her demise are not known. Some say she died in
captivity or was murdered. Others say she committed suicide, and the three
pirates assigned to her watch were beheaded for their incompetence.
Regardless of how she died, her spirit is said to manifest along Bald Head
Island's shore, still frantically searching for a way to escape. Alternate
reports say the three headless pirates can be seen chasing behind her. In more
recent times, the dejected ghost is said to be dressed in a flowing
emerald-green gown.
Larry Pace, a historic tour director at Smith Island Museum of History, began
the Bald Head Island Haunted Historic Tour three years ago, which includes the
tale of Theodosia.
He describes the tour as a "vehicle" to tell the region's ghost stories and
legends passed down to him. He also said the tour "got some of the island
residents out and involved."
"It's important to keep the history alive, and to keep the interest level, and
the truth behind the stories. These stories lead people to a genuine interest
in history," Pace said.
Ultimately, he said, the idea of conducting such a tour is to inspire others
to research the lore for themselves.
But, he said, "It's more fun than anything else."
Although no sightings of Theodosia's ghost have been reported since
development began on the island, she will not be forgotten, thanks to Pace and
historians like him.
- Crystal S. Tatum
Renovation of
My Old Kentucky Home to be showcased Nov. 1
The home that symbolizes
Kentucky is having an open house on Nov. 1 to show off a
nearly $1 million renovation project.
Federal Hill, the Georgian-style mansion in Bardstown that
legend says inspired Stephen Foster's “My Old Kentucky
Home,” has undergone extensive interior renovations that
will be celebrated in a ceremony next month.
The goal of the work, the first major renovation since 1977,
was to make the home look as it did in the 1850s when Foster
wrote his famous song. The work includes new interior
finishes, reproduction wallpapers, carpets, drapery
treatments and bed hangings.
Paints and colors were analyzed to accurately determine what
the home looked like. For example, small core samples of
wood were taken and analyzed under a microscope to help
recreate the graining technique that was used. Several
different kinds of wood were used in the home and the
graining made it look all look like the same kind of wood.
“This is an accurate renovation that makes the home appear
as it was in the 1850s,” said Alice Heaton, the park manager
at My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown. Federal
Hill is featured on the back of the Kentucky quarter that
was issued by the U.S. Mint in 2001.
Visitors to the home will notice bright colors and patterns,
which were typical of the period, according to Ron Langdon,
the home's curator who worked on the renovation. In 1850,
only candles and lamps were used for lighting, so bright,
reflective colors and patterns would have helped brighten
the rooms.
Work on Federal Hill was started by John Rowan in 1795 and
was completed in 1818. The state took control of the home in
1922. It has undergone renovations in 1926, 1950 and 1977.
Rowan served in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, was a member of the Kentucky General
Assembly, the state Court of Appeals and was secretary of
state. Federal Hill hosted Aaron Burr, Henry Clay and other
important political and social figures. Foster, a family
relative, wrote his song in 1852.
The renovation work, made possible by an anonymous donor,
began in 2004 and was carried out by a group of expert
artisans. They include Matthew J. Mosca, a consultant on
historic paint finishes from Baltimore; Jim Yates, a
consultant on wallpaper from Johnson City, Tenn., who has
installed wallpaper at the White House; Kevin and Marva
Hereford, consultants on the draperies and bed hangings from
Milton, Ky.; Todd Deetsch, a consultant on grain finishes in
Middletown, Ky.; and Langdon, the home's curator.
My Old Kentucky Home will also be holding its annual
candlelight tours Nov. 24-25, Dec. 1-2 and Dec. 8-9 this
year. This event features tours led by guides dressed in
Christmas period correct clothing at Federal Hill mansion.
The house is decorated for the holidays as it would have
been in the 1800s. Guests are served refreshments after the
tour. For information, contact the park at 502-348-3502.
The 285-acre park also has an 18-hole golf course,
campground, picnic area and a summertime theatrical
production - “The Stephen Foster Story.”
One hundred and ninety years after
Martin
Van Buren used the position of attorney general to try to topple the
governor, candidates Jeanine Pirro and Andrew Cuomo are trying to topple one
another. Over and over again during their recent debate -- 16 times by
one count -- Republican Pirro hammered her Democratic rival for a lack of
experience, saying that as a junior prosecutor for only 14 months 21 years ago
he did not understand the criminal justice system or know how to run a legal
operation. And for good measure, she accused him of corruption.
For his part, Cuomo charged that Pirro is under investigation not only for
seeking to wiretap her husband Albert, whom she suspected was having an affair,
but also for failing to pursue corrupt officials in Westchester County. (Two
days later, current Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
said there is no such corruption probe.)
Such heated contests are nothing new for attorneys general.
The job was a source of friction between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.
Burr
defeated the Hamilton faction to win appointment as attorney general in 1789.
The animosity between the two men continued for the next 15 years, until 1804,
when Burr killed Hamilton in a duel. ...
Theatre review: Fontana resident is one of the stars
in Candlelight's great show, 'Anything Goes'
By RUSSELL INGOLD 10/12/06
"Anything Goes" is an appropriate title for Candlelight
Pavilion Dinner Theater's new production.
That's because this musical comedy offers anything and everything a theatergoer
could want -- a fun story, energetic singing, terrific dancing, lots of humor,
and splendid costumes. And to top it off -- it has a Fontana resident, Aaron
Burr, in one of the starring roles.
In other words, it's all good.
Burr does an outstanding job portraying wealthy Englishman Lord Evelyn Oakleigh,
providing many of the funniest moments in this lighthearted show.
Burr also puts his extensive musical background to good use. At the age of 6, he
began traveling full-time with his family as a gospel singing troupe; by the age
of 12, he had been to 46 states in the United States and more than 20 countries
throughout the world. He continued singing throughout high school and has
recently been acting for area theater organizations such as Performance
Riverside.
In "Anything Goes," he plays one of the many goofy passengers aboard the S.S.
American, which is sailing from New York to England.
North Grand Park on the evening of its
grand opening. (Photo by Vicki Botta)
Goshen — A festive mood prevailed over a dark, rainy downtown Goshen last
Friday. Everyone arriving for the party under the tent at Goshen’s newest
landmark, North Grand Park, heartily shook the hand of Ray Quattrini, the man
who tore down Conklin’s Lumber and put up architecturally upscale buildings
suitable for such tenants as J. P. Morgan Chase Bank, Prudential-Rand Realty and
the Pucci Investment Group.
Wraps, salads and beverages by Courtesy Caterers and music by “The Gravikord
Duo” served as an official welcome to these tenants and a grand opening
celebration for North Grand.
The Rev. Virginia Hoch of the United Methodist Church of Goshen called the new
office building “a great asset to the community.” She said it was built on the
site of the original United Methodist Church before it became a mill and seed
store and eventually the family-owned Conklin’s Lumber.
The original building, where the Chase Bank now is, was originally purchased for
$2,900, she said. Each of the other businesses occupied one of the subsequent
expansions before the church moved to its present location on Main Street.
The Rev. Hoch said Quattrini was keeping history alive by bringing a bank
started by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr to the location.
Town Supervisor Doug
Bloomfield said North Grand Park added to Goshen’s beauty.
Village Trustee Lynn Cione fondly referred to Conklin’s as a Goshen landmark
from which directions could be given to any location in the village. North Grand
Park was not created out of “spur of the moment thoughts,” she said, but “with
love and care.” The Quattrinis have touched everything in Goshen in one way or
another and have “made Goshen a place where she wants to live,” she said.
Ray Quattrini describes himself as a “bootstrap” kind of person who started
working at age 12 for a neighbor who owned a construction business. At that
young age he mixed cement and carried materials for his neighbor, he said.
Finding that he loved construction, he learned all that he could. He originally
studied to be an architect but quickly decided he didn’t like the thought of
being behind a desk.
After moving here from Bergen County, N.J., in 1973, he built the home of the
wealthy businessman, Larry Meinwald from New York City, who would later become
his partner, forming the Goshen Corporation. According to Quattrini, they “spent
the next 12 years investing in Goshen.”
Meinwald liked grand-scale projects and had the means to finance the ones that
both he and Quattrini were passionate about. Together they purchased and
renovated approximately 20 buildings in Goshen. One of their projects was the
Flat Iron building, a location that was formerly the old Piggett’s Market near
the corner of Main Street and North Church Street. His partner retired in 1997,
at the age of 85, and died in 2001.
According to Quattrini, North Grand Park is his biggest project ever. The
buildings behind the ones inhabited by Chase, Prudential Rand, and Pucci’s are
presently looking for tenants. The building going up next to the police station
is designed to accommodate a food market on the first floor and a restaurant on
the second floor.
When asked if he considered himself the “Donald Trump of Goshen,” Quattrini
laughed and said no. “People think I’m wealthy because of what I do,” he said.
“Goshen is a small town.”
He adds that loves what he does, and although he lives outside of Goshen, 95
percent of his work is here.
Quattrini said he is “just someone who’s fortunate enough to do what he likes to
do.”
I read with interest that "Rev. Hoch said Quattrini was
keeping history alive by bringing a bank started by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron
Burr to the location." Congratulations to Goshen. But the truth is that
Hamilton's Bank of New York would only lend to rich Federalists. Burr created
legislation to form the Manhattan Company to bring water to NYC. In it he added
a section that the Company could lend excess funds. Hamilton did not understand
this clause when he approved it. Fortunately the common person could then get
loans, even if not in Hamilton's party. Learn more about the origin of Chase
Manhattan Bank at
www.AaronBurrAssociation.org
Tufts daily
Journalist McCain: despite '06 edge, corruption also dogs Democrats' past
Conservative journalist Robert Stacy McCain condemned corruption in the
Democratic Party and stressed importance of the coming November election in a
Tufts Republicans event last night.
"This year is [the Democratic Party's] best chance to take back the House," he
said. "If they don't take it back soon, they're not going to take it back."
McCain, an assistant national editor with the Washington Times, said that this
election will be "one of the most exciting campaigns."
"You'll go to bed on Nov. 7 and no one will know who's going to control
Congress and you'll wake up on Nov. 8 and they still won't know who's going to
control Congress," he said.
According to McCain, several issues may tip the election in Democrats' favor,
including the war in Iraq. The Republican Party is facing discontent, however,
with stalled reforms for social security, education and healthcare, he said.
Still, he feels that the Democrats are "living in the past" because of their
obsession with the war.
"The left really wanted to restage the 1968 war protests," he said.
McCain, formerly a Democrat who now votes Republican, voiced other criticisms
about the Democratic Party. His main focus: what he claims as extensive
corruption that he claims "goes back to the founding of the [party],
particularly the involvement of Aaron Burr."
Aaron Burr was tried in 1807 under charges of treason for trying to start a
new nation in the Southwest United States, of which he was to be the head. He
had previously served as the third Vice President under Thomas Jefferson as a
major formative member of the so-called Democratic-Republican Party.
McCain elaborates further on corruption themes in a book "Donkey Cons: Sex,
Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party," that he co-wrote with Lynn
Vincent, a Features editor at World Magazine.
"Donkey Cons," released in April, is a factual catalogue of offenses that
contradicts the noble image Democrats try to uphold, McCain said.
When McCain discusses the corruption of the Treason Trial, he refers to the US
government illegally arresting Aaron Burr, and paying their main witness
General Eaton $10,000 to testify against him.
Burr led his own defense team to be declared innocent, by Justice John
Marshall and the jury.
Who else but Burr could stand up to such a brutal governmental assault?
Learn about this champion of women's education, who kept Jefferson from taking
over the Judicial Branch, and opposed his plantation owning constituents.
at www.AaronBurrAssociation.org The details of the Duel are there for the avid
history buff too. Thank you.
Regime Change
The left needs to come up with a better
case against the Electoral College.
BY DAVID FORTE Tuesday, September 26, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
It
was probably inevitable that eventually an academic would rewrite the history of
the American Founding in his own image. Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of
Law and Political Science at Yale University, has selected, molded, distorted,
and recreated the events of the 1800 election and its aftermath to suit his view
of what the Constitution ought to be. It's a pity. Written with a vibrant
narrative style, "The Failure of the Founding Fathers" highlights such
overlooked or underappreciated facts as the framers' lack of judgment in putting
the vice president in charge of counting electoral votes, and the truly heroic
efforts of Federalist Congressman James Bayard to break the famous impasse
between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.
Nonetheless, the book fails because it is not a work of history at all, but
rather an argument constructed to advance an ideological and political agenda.
Ackerman wants to delegitimize the Electoral College and to undermine the
founders' authority. .....
Mr. Forte is a professor of law at Cleveland State University. This
article first appeared in the
Claremont Institute's
Web site.
Story of Margaret Blennerhassett featured this
month 9/14/06
PARKERSBURG — Several special events are planned in September
and October at the Blennerhassett Museum and on Blennerhassett Island Historical
State Park.
Living history re-enactor Debra Conner will present one program Tuesday at the
museum and another on Sept. 21 on the island.
“An Evening with Margaret Blennerhassett” will be presented by Conner from 7:30
to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in the museum at Second and Juliana streets in downtown
Parkersburg.
The cost is $8 for members of Friends of Blennerhassett and $10 for non-members.
The price includes self-guided tours of the museum, the performance and
refreshments.
Conner has titled her program “Exile from Eden” and tells the story of Margaret
Blennerhassett’s riches-to-rags story. She also provides glimpses into frontier
life and the lives of historical figures, like Aaron Burr, Thomas
Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.
Conner will also present “Brunch with Margaret Blennerhassett” on Sept. 21 on
Blennerhassett Island. The boat ride to the island will be 10 a.m. and visitors
will be greeted by Conner in her role as Margaret. She will provide a glimpse
into frontier life in the 18th century and a special tour of the Blennerhassett
Mansion.
The cost is $36.95 per person and includes a self-guided tour of the museum, the
boat ride, the brunch and the mansion tour.
Burr Donation
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (AP)
-- Blennerhassett Museum has its first item related to Aaron Burr the man
accused of pulling the head of the Blennerhassett family into a treasonous
plot known as the Burr Conspiracy.
The item is a silhouette of Burr painted by Joseph Wood in 1812, after
Burr returned from four years of exile in Europe.
Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park historian Ray Swick says the
silhouette is one of the most valuable relics ever acquired by the museum.
The piece was purchased with money donated by DuPont and GE Plastics.
The silhouette is featured in a new exhibit dedicated to the
Parkersburg-area island's namesake, Irish aristocrat Harman
Blennerhassett.
Burr was vice president of the United States when he shot and killed
Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel.
While a fugitive from that duel, Burr befriended Blennerhassett.
During a visit to the Ohio River island in 1806, Burr allegedly conspired
with Blennerhassett to form a new country.
Both were accused of treason. Blennerhassett spent 53 days in jail but was
released after Burr was acquitted.
The city has few more charming enclaves of old houses than Charlton, King,
and Vandam streets between Varick Street and Sixth Avenue. It's an industrial
neighborhood, but one in which large printing plants loom picturesquely over
diminutive row houses.
In the 18th century, when this was part of the countryside north of the city,
Major Abraham Mortier bought land from Trinity Church and erected upon Richmond
Hill — one of many hills that were a defining feature of Manhattan topography —
a splendid mansion in 1767. It later served as an office for General Washington,
where he was attended to by both Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
The house became the home of John Adams when he was vice president. After the
capital relocated to Philadelphia, the house was purchased by Aaron Burr, who
already knew it well. This is where Burr lived when he was elected vice
president — and when he shot Hamilton. Later, the ever embattled Burr platted
the land of the Richmond Hill estate into the street grid we see today. But he
was never able to develop the land as he apparently wanted to, as his finances —
also ever embattled — forced him, in 1817, to sell to the "landlord of New
York," John Jacob Astor. .....
Tracing history
From Natchez, Miss., to Nashville, Tenn., it's 440 storied miles
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer Posted on Sun, Aug. 20, 2006
NASHVILLE, TENN.
- Natchez Trace is more than just a parkway for vehicles.
The 440-mile historic pathway stretches from near Nashville, Tenn.,
southwest through northern Alabama to near Natchez, Miss., along the route of
one of America's most famous frontier trails.
The well-groomed Natchez Trace Parkway parallels the historic routes used
by buffalo, American Indians, French and Spanish explorers, missionaries,
traders, soldiers and on-foot travelers in America's early days.
It is associated with Andrew Jackson, John James Audubon, Aaron Burr,
Ulysses S. Grant and Choctaw Chief Pushmataha.
The two-lane road is a pretty, unhurried, winding, low-speed, laid-back
route that is becoming increasingly popular with long-distance bicyclists. It
is also favored by owners of recreational vehicles and motorcycles.
The rolling terrain has forests, prairies, farms, waterfalls and
bottomlands with tupelo and bald cypress. And no billboards.
There are turnoffs for historic sites and interpretive signs, plus 28
hiking and self-guided nature trails along the route.
Along the parkway, there are spots where you can explore and hike on short,
still-surviving original sections of the Natchez Trace.
There are also state parks, Indian mounds and Civil War battlefields.
The federal parkway is long on ambience and local flavor and short on
amenities, such as lodging, restaurants, service stations and visitor
services.
Administered by the National Park Service, the Natchez Trace is a National
Scenic Byway, one of 99 in the United States, and an All-American Road, one of
27 in the country.
History of route
The trace began as a series of hunters' trails once trod by buffalo and
used by the Chickasaw, Choctaw and Natchez tribes. It ran from the Mississippi
River over the low hills into the Tennessee River Valley.
The French were aware of the trace and marked it as a trail on a map in
1733.
Farmers in the Ohio River valley hired often-rowdy rivermen to float their
goods to Natchez or New Orleans. They then sold their flatboats for lumber and
returned on foot via the Natchez Trace.
That turned the crude trail into a clearly marked path, and by 1810, it had
become a wilderness road. It was the most heavily traveled road in the Old
Southwest.
That led to the development of inns or stands along the Natchez Trace. Most
provided basic food and shelter. By 1820, there were 20.
Thieves preyed on travelers. There were unfriendly Indians, floods, swamps
and disease-carrying insects.
In January 1812, that all changed with the arrival of the steamboat New
Orleans at Natchez. Soon steamboats were carrying cargo and passengers north
on the Mississippi to St. Louis. Travelers liked the speed and safety provided
by the steamboats.
Restoring the nearly forgotten Natchez Trace got a major boost in the early
1900s from the Daughters of the American Revolution.
One of the biggest attractions along the Natchez Trace is the grave of and
monument to Meriweather Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame. It is at mile marker
385.9 near Hohenwald, Tenn.
Lewis, heading overland from St. Louis to Washington, D.C., died
mysteriously of two gunshots at an inn along the trace on Oct. 11, 1809, at
the age of 35. It is unclear whether Lewis, the governor of the new Louisiana
Territory, was murdered or committed suicide at Grinder's Inn.
The monument features a broken shaft to reflect Lewis' unfinished life.
Near Tupelo is the Brice Cross Roads battlefield from the Civil War.
The June 10, 1864, battle pitted 3,500 Confederate troops under Maj. Gen.
Nathan Bedford Forrest against 8,100 troops under Brig. Gen. Samuel Sturgis.
The Confederates defeated the Union troops and forced them to retreat to
Memphis.
There are numerous historic and interesting towns along the trace: Leipers
Fork in Tennessee is on the National Register of Historic Places; Franklin,
Tenn., has old mansions and a Civil War battlefield; Columbia, Tenn., is the
home of James K. Polk, the 11th U.S. president, and the mule capital of the
world.
The Natchez Trace lies in three states: Tennessee, 98.2 miles; Alabama,
32.9; and Mississippi, 308.8.
The only big towns along the route are Natchez, Jackson and Tupelo in
Mississippi and Nashville at the northern end.
Mileage on the Natchez Trace is measured from south to north. That means
that Natchez is mile 0 and the northern terminus outside Nashville is mile
440.
The federally owned corridor is typically 400 to 1,000 feet wide, although
it is wider around attractions.
Amenities
There is one gas station on the 440-mile trace. You must exit the parkway
to find tourist services in nearby towns.
Three campgrounds on the parkway are at mile markers 385, 193 and 54.
Camping is free, and no reservations are accepted. The sites have no hot
water, no showers, no electricity and no dumping stations.
There are 16 areas with hiking trails, 16 with historical exhibits, 14 with
Indian history, 11 with travelers' information, nine with nature exhibits, 15
with self-guided nature trails and 22 with Old Trace exhibits. There are 34
with picnic areas, 18 with restrooms, and 20 with drinking water, the park
service says.
In addition, the park service operates five additional biker-only
campgrounds along the trace.
Construction on the parkway began in the late 1930s.
Commercial traffic is prohibited. The speed limit, generally 40 or 50 mph,
is strictly enforced.
Options for hiking
There are lots of hiking options along the Natchez Trace.
At present, you can hike 63 miles on the Natchez Trace National Scenic
Trail. It is 24 miles at the northern end near Franklin, Tenn., seven miles
near Tupelo, 22 miles near Ridgeland, Miss., and 10 miles near Port Gibson,
Miss.
Plans call for the trails, being built by volunteers, to grow and link up
in the future.
High points along the parkway are 1,020 feet in Tennessee, 800 feet in
Alabama and 105 feet in Mississippi.
For more information on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, see
www.nps.gov/natt.
For more information, write to the Natchez Trace Parkway, 2680 Natchez
Trace Parkway, Tupelo, MS 38804; 662-680-4025 or 800-305-7417;
www.nps.gov/natr.
The park service will provide listings of local agencies that maintain
tourist accommodations along the trace. It will also provide a list of bicycle
shop operators along the route.
For tourist information, call 800-927-6378 in Mississippi; 800-252-2262 in
Alabama; and 800-462-8366 in Tennessee.
Dune walks
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is sponsoring nature walks at the
Lake Erie dunes near Mentor on Sept. 16.
Meet at Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve at the north end of state
Route 44 in Fairport Harbor. It is next to the state park.
There will be a bird walk at 7:30 a.m. and dune nature walks at 9 and 11
a.m. Information and reservations: 440-632-3010.
Float, hike
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will hold a canoe float and hike
along Caesar Creek on Sept. 23.
The float through Caesar Creek State Nature Preserve will run from 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m. Everyone is invited to walk the 2-mile Caesar Trace Trail after the
canoe trip. Information and reservations: 513-934-0751.
In 1768 Trinity leased to Abraham Mortier, for ninety-nine years at $269 a
year, one-third of the famous Anneke Jans farm, good for 456 lots later on.
Then it was picturesque hill and swamp country, where Mortier built on a
commanding elevation a swagger country place which he named Richmond Hill. In
1791 Burr, a rising politician, initiated a legislative investigation of
Trinity's business affairs. In the post-Revolution period Trinity was
naturally unpopular, being rich and Episcopal, with the reputation of having
been a nest of Tories during the long British occupation of the city during
the fighting years. At the moment its income from rents was restricted by law
to $12,000 a year. The point of Burr's investigation was how the $12,000 was
being spent. Nothing came of the investigation, except that Burr later had an
opportunity to take over the Mortier lease. Aaron Burr became a made man
financially, by this one deal, if he had been content to ride along with the
Mortier lease and his shares in the newly formed Bank of the Manhattan
Company, which owed its existence to his legal shrewdness and political power.
When Eunice
Burr married Benjamin Wynkoop, she married a descendant of Anneke Jans.
PARKERSBURG -- Until recently, Blennerhassett Island was a
quiet little sanctuary for deer and a tourist destination for people willing
to take a quick boat ride across the Ohio River from Parkersburg.
Now the island known mostly for being the historic home of
Harman Blennerhassett, the man who was once a close pal of Aaron Burr, is a
key part of the biggest road project to come through Parkersburg in decades.
State highway officials are building a bridge over the
island, planting concrete piers on land that until now was untouched by the
public roads system. In an attempt to save tens of millions of dollars,
transportation planners picked Blennerhassett Island as the place where
Appalachian Corridor D will connect West Virginia to Ohio.
Projo 7/23
He said he "absolutely" wants to protect Rhode Island telephone customers'
privacy.
In his ruling, Judge Walker traced the legal principle involved, called the
"state secrets privilege," all the way back to a ruling in the treason trial of
Aaron Burr in 1807. The principle involved is that some secrets are so important
to the nation's security that they are completely protected from disclosure.
The current dispute concerns whether that principle really applies to every
aspect of the surveillance program.
Subject:
RE: The Tale of the Two Duels
Date:
7/22 11:12 AM
Folks: I was
invited some time ago to participate in a re-enactment sponsored by the
Martinsburg Public Library in West Virginia.
This library is currently exhibiting part of the “infamous” Hamilton exhibit
that was shown by the NY Historical Society in Manhattan. The Peter Burr Farm,
an historic organization that preserves the old
homestead of Peter Burr (brother of Aaron Sr.) was to co-sponsor the event. I
agreed to participate and went down to WV with Diane on the 14th of July. When I
got there however, I realized the event sponsored by the Library had already
taken place the previous week, and there had been nobody to represent Burr, or
our views. The event was quite lopsided in the direction of Hamilton, I was
told, as would be expected. In addition, I was told that all publicity for the
Peter Burr Farm event was being coordinated by the Library and therefore, there
was no publicity and no press whatsoever. The Peter Burr people were excellent,
gracious hosts, and made us feel most welcome. The duel went off without a
hitch, and the rest of the activities for the day’s events went well. However, I
couldn’t help savor a somewhat bitter taste caused by what I think was the
manipulation of the NY Historical society, and the complacency of the
Martinsburg people. I’ve made my views known to the Director, Pamela Coyle, who
did not have the good manners to come and meet me although I was formally her
guest. I expect Burr will be excluded from all future events having to do with
this exhibit, as it travels far and wide within the United States. Regards,
Antonio Burr
Op-Ed Contributor NYTimes 7/18/06
Houses Built to Burn
By ROGER G. KENNEDY
Published: July 18, 2006
Cambridge, Mass.
THIS summer, construction crews are once again in a race with fire crews
all over the West. Last year, more than eight million acres burned. So far
this season, more than 60,000 wildfires have consumed four million acres. Yet
those counties in Colorado and New Mexico afflicted in recent years by the
worst wildfires are also among those with the greatest influx of new
residents. Half of the nation’s population growth is taking place in the 10
fastest-growing states; seven of those states rank in the top 10 in the
percentage of their population at risk from wildfire. ....
Roger G. Kennedy, the director of the National Park Service from 1994 to
1997, is the author of “Wildfire and Americans.” and
author of Burr Hamilton and Jefferson, and friend of the ABA.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi won’t take part in an event Wednesday that
will include a tribute to former GOP Reps. Tom DeLay and Duke Cunningham. She
says they “have dishonored the House.”
Former Connecticut GOP Rep Ron Sarasin, president of the U.S. Capitol
Historical Society, said he was willing to skip any mention of Cunningham, a
convicted felon, but said DeLay would stay.
Sarasin: “If one were insistent upon erasing from history those individuals
who brought disgrace upon themselves and upon the institution in which they
served, the busts of (Aaron) Burr, (Spiro) Agnew and (Richard) Nixon would have
to be removed from the Capitol and references to the service of (former Reps.)
Dan Rostenkowski and Wilbur Mills would be stricken from the records.”
Sen. Clinton as veep?....
Burr never disgraced himself,
and still presented the most eloquent speech ever before the congress.
Who else had the senators in
tears over a non funeral issue? Who is Ron Sarasin?
PUEBLO, Colo., July 13 — All over tourist country, there’s an invisible
borderline where people stop and shut their wallets, as if halted by a sign:
nothing beyond here to see.
Kevin Moloney for The New York Times
Melissa Bechhoefer, registrar of the Colorado
Historical Society, with a sword and scabbard that belonged to Zebulon
Montgomery Pike.
In spiffying up to attract tourism, Pueblo, Colo.,
settled on the idea of a River Walk to anchor downtown. Much of the
attraction, along the Arkansas River, offers themes related to Pike’s
Southwestern expedition.
This tough former railroad and steel town in southeastern
Colorado has been anchored to one side of that border for decades, looking
across it as places like Colorado Springs and Denver snatch away the camera-toters
and ambience-chasers.
Now Pueblo is pinning its hopes for change on a man who suffered much the
same outsider’s fate: Zebulon Montgomery Pike.
That’s right, the Pike in Pikes Peak.
Most Americans — even here in Pueblo, where Pike and his fellow
soldier-explorers camped in 1806 during their Southwestern expedition — would
be hard pressed to associate him with anything other than the mountain. Lewis
and Clark, by contrast, who trudged the nation’s northern tier about the time
of Pike’s exploration to the south, get the glossy Hollywood treatment most
dead explorers can only dream of.
“Pike is the other guy,” said Clive G. Siegle, who teaches history at
Southern Methodist University and was here this week to give a lecture on
Pike’s life.
The mountain that Pike did get is no small thing. Rising up just 27 miles
from here in its 14,110-foot grandeur, Pikes Peak is a resonant symbol of the
West. But for purposes of the tourist trade, the story peters out after that.
Only seven years after his encampment in Pueblo, Pike died at age 34 in the
War of 1812, at the Battle of York in Ontario.
Pueblo became a trading post, then a steel-making city and then, after the
steel mill began shutting down in the early 1980’s, a fading Western notch on
the Rust Belt.
Pike and Pueblo, many people here say, are perfect together: both tough
characters who hung on through hardship, were overlooked by circumstances and
fate, and still have a story to tell.
Pike “had something to prove,” said Margo Hatton-Wolf, development director
of the HARP Foundation, a nonprofit group raising money for Pueblo’s new $23
million Pike-themed River Walk, envisioned as a downtown centerpiece. The
foundation is sponsoring a Pike Commemoration, with music, food and
period-costumed actors, this weekend.
Pike’s Western adventure was poorly equipped. He and his men arrived here
in November with no winter gear — not even socks — and many suffered severe
frostbite. Suspected of being a spy, he was captured by the Spanish army and
sent ignominiously home.
And his patron and military commander, Gen. James Wilkinson, was a
scoundrel who led the tiny American Army while taking a stipend from Spain,
perhaps for plotting with Aaron Burr to carve out a Southwestern empire
for themselves that would be allied with the Spanish.
Scholars are still divided as to whether Pike was complicit in Wilkinson’s
schemes, and a yearlong exhibit on the explorer at El Pueblo History Museum
plays on the ambiguities. Many people here, however, including Deborah
Espinosa, the museum’s director, tend to come down on the side of Pike as
victim: bad boss, tough road, short life.
“He was naïve, even gullible,” Ms. Espinosa said. “But we can teach
positive things to children about Pike: perseverance, leadership,
loyalty.”....
Allied with Spain indeed! This is the
first report that Burr's expedition out west after the proposed war against
Spain would be "allied with Spain"
The Rock River Times is pleased to present the prose winner of this
year’s contest, “Blue-Eyed Grass,” by George Keithley. We are proud to publish
this accomplished writer, who says of his work:
“Other work of mine includes the award-winning epic The Donner Party,
a Book-of-the-Month Club selection that has been adapted as a stage play and
an opera, eight collections of poetry, and an award-winning play about Aaron
Burr.
Handle History With Care: Hamilton’s Home Is Moving
Peering into spaces that have not seen the light of day for two centuries,
architectural archaeologists are dissecting
Alexander Hamilton’s country home, the Grange, to figure out how to take
it apart and put it back together again.
Ting-Li Wang/The New York Times
Stephen Spaulding of the National Park Service is
part of the effort to move Alexander Hamilton's country house, the
Grange, to St. Nicholas Park.
The
National Park Service plans to move the Hamilton Grange National Memorial
from Convent Avenue and 141st Street, where it is so boxed in by neighboring
buildings that two of its porches had to be cut off, to St. Nicholas Park,
about 300 feet to the southeast.
There, it can be reassembled in a form that Hamilton would have recognized,
with porches — and trees — all around.
Designed by John McComb Jr., an architect of City Hall, the Grange was the
seat of a 32-acre Manhattan estate that commanded views of both the Hudson and
Harlem Rivers. Hamilton had only two years to enjoy it, however. He left the
Grange on the morning of July 11, 1804, for a duel with Vice
President Aaron Burr from which he did not return.
Many admirers of the Grange have long hoped to extract the wooden house
from its cramped berth between St. Luke’s
Episcopal Church, which it once served as a chapel and rectory, and a
six-story apartment house. Now, financing for the $8.4 million restoration
project seems close.
“We’re delighted that the president put it in the budget and the House of
Representatives supported it,” said James Pepper, the superintendent of
national parks in Manhattan. Action by the full Senate is pending, he said.
Although the three-story house was moved once before, in 1889, it has not
left the original boundaries of the Grange. Its intended destination in the
park is within what was once the estate’s southeast corner.
“The aim is to reconstruct the house to its original form as much as
possible,” said Nazila Shabestari of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings &
Merrill, which is working on the project with John G. Waite Associates.
The Grange was closed to the public on May 7. That has allowed architects
to pry up floorboards and cut into walls to determine which parts of the house
are original and which come from subsequent renovations.
The structural analysis has led the architects to recommend that the best
way to pull the house out of its constricted site — without harming the
elegant curved loggia of St. Luke’s, which partly blocks the way — is to
divide the southern section (entry hall and library) from the rest of the
structure.
“The south bay is where most of the changes have occurred since 1889,” said
the architect, John G. Waite. “We’re going to have to dismantle much of it
anyway, in order to restore the building.”
This is preferable to cutting the house in half, which would require the
sacrifice of structural fabric in the Grange’s two most distinguished rooms:
the parlor and the main dining room, both of them octagonal.
It will be much less expensive than jacking the entire house over St.
Luke’s, said Stephen Spaulding, the chief of the architectural preservation
division in the park service’s northeast region. And it will be less
complicated than trying to disassemble the church loggia.
The entire project might be completed in late 2008 or early 2009, Mr.
Pepper said. Meanwhile, the architects are digging away.
Uncovering a thick horizontal timber in the south wall, they found recesses
(known as mortises) that corresponded precisely with the projecting posts (or
tenons) of the original front doorway, which was switched to the west side of
the house after the 1889 move. The doorway will be restored to its original
position.
Upstairs, they found traces of an original bedroom door hidden behind a
plaster wall. It was possible to tell that the door opening was blocked up
after Hamilton’s time because it was filled with wood lath that had straight
edges, meaning they were cut by saw. At the turn of the 19th century, lath was
split rather than sawed, giving it irregular edges.
Insights have also been gleaned from what the architects did
not find, like evidence of a dumbwaiter that was
once supposed to have existed. Mr. Waite interpreted this as a sign that much
of the Hamiltons’ family life took place downstairs, close to the kitchen.
“This house was built to be operated without slaves,” he said.
Trying to trace the course of the original front staircase, the architects
found a priceless bit of information under the floor boards: a pocket hewn out
of a horizontal timber that would have received the wooden tongue at the base
of a newel post.
The staircase was relocated and reconfigured in 1889. The question was
whether this altered staircase bore any traces of the original.
In this case, the evidence was hiding in plain sight. The existing newel
post does not appear to date from the late 19th century, when Victorian
extravagance was in vogue. Rather, it is a plain cylinder, circled by a few
simple moldings.
“What does this look like?” Mr. Waite asked. “A cannon.”
Why is that important? Because Hamilton — though best known as the first
Treasury secretary, the principal author of the Federalist Papers and the face
on the $10 bill — was also an officer in the Revolutionary War.
“And he was very proud of that,” Mr. Waite said.
Perhaps a cannon-shaped newel post was Hamilton’s way of commemorating his
military service.
“We thought, with all the changes, that we had lost the stairway,” Mr.
Waite said. “But the stairway is really here. In pieces.”
...
Dear Peter:
Hope you are doing well.
Did you happen to notice that Cokie Roberts of ABC News mentioned Aaron Burr
as a great hero on This Week with George Stephanopoulos on 7/2/06. In a
discussion about the most recent Supreme Court decision. She stated "[a]nd
it's really important to have the tradition of the independent judiciary
upheld. I mean going back again to the 2nd of July, Thomas Jefferson was the
person who tried to stop that, hated the independent judiciary. And the great
hero of that case turned out to be of all people Aaron Burr."
I thought you might find this interesting.
Brian D.
Hey Uncle Pete,
Thought you might appreciate this, on my second day of training at
JPMorgan we were in a conference room on the 17th floor of 277 Park
Avenue. I stepped out into the lobby for a coffee break...a beautiful
room with nice furniture, bookcases, artwork etc. I was surprised to
see two very old looking pistols, and it immediately occurred to me that
these might be the pistols from the Aaron Burr duel! It turns out they
were. It wasn't clear from the caption whether they were originals or
replicas, but I did read online that JPM owns the originals so I think
those were the ones. I was going to take a picture with my cameraphone
but didn't want to cause a scene...
Anyway you can be proud that your nephew works for a company on the
right side of history.
See you soon,
Bob
Bob, Our entire family is proud of you
being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa,
graduating Summa Cum Laude, and now
working at what was originally
the Manhattan Company, formed by Aaron
Burr to make loans to workers
who were not in Hamilton's Federalist
Party.
May you practice your profession with
social justice, just as AB did.
Francis Scott Key has
become as closely linked to our country's history as many of our
greatest past presidents. He's the author of our national
anthem. He loved to read and write poetry, and was devoted to
his small circle of friends.
As a youngster, Francis was soft-spoken and
highly intelligent. During the first decade of his life, he
lived with his parents in their Maryland plantation. Instead of
pursuing sports, music or dramatic ambitions, like most of his
friends, he preferred to write poetry.
At age 10, Francis was sent to St. John's
Grammar School in Annapolis where he lived with his great-aunt.
Later, he attended St. John's College, where he graduated with
top honors. He then studied law in Annapolis, at the suggestion
of his Uncle Philip, a lawyer.
Uncle Philip had a major impact on Francis,
even introducing him to the girl who would become his wife, Mary
Taylor Lloyd. Francis nicknamed her Polly. They were married in
Maryland in 1802. Soon after, they moved to Washington, D.C.,
where Francis became a law partner with Uncle Philip.
He quickly gained a reputation as a trial
lawyer, winning most of his cases. His most noted case was
defending Aaron Burr, the vice president of the United States
during Thomas Jefferson's presidency. Burr and two other men had
been arrested for treason when they were caught taking men and
guns to the Southwest. Some accused them of trying to take over
land to found a new nation. Most lawyers refused to defend them.
Francis agreed to take the case, and won it.
Francis became a particularly good public
....
Washington (The Weekly Standard) June 25,2006
Vol. 011, Issue 40 - 7/3/2006 -
Revolutionary Characters
What Made the Founders Different
by Gordon S. Wood
Penguin, 336 pp., $25.95
WHEN HISTORIANS WAX NOSTALGIC over golden ages it's often a sign that the
present age is leaden. That may account for the attention that distinguished
historians have recently lavished on the American founding generation, none more
distinguished than the author of this study of "revolutionary characters."
The seven subjects of these gems of compression and fluency might once have been
labeled "Founding Fathers." But patriarchal labels are gone with the wind, and
Gordon S. Wood has chosen the double-edged term "characters": double-edged
because the term connotes both integrity and eccentricity. All
eight--Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Hamilton, Madison, Burr, and
Thomas Paine--were uncommon men, although with the exception of Burr, the son
(and grandson) of a president of Princeton, all were self-made, an aristocracy
of merit, the first of their families to enjoy advanced education and national
and international prominence.....
Who cares what the
founders would do? Who believes that the experiences, opinions, or
plans of men who lived 200 years ago could have any relevance to
our problems? Who imagines that the Founders could answer our
questions?
We do. I have heard it
with my own ears. Over the past decade I have given hundreds of
talks about the Founding Fathers, on radio and TV, and to live
audiences. Every time there is an opportunity for Q-and-A, there
is at least one question of the form, “What would
Founder X think about
current event or
living person Y?” No subject is too trivial, no problem too
difficult. Audiences want to know what the Founders would do about
guns, taxes, race, the war on drugs, the war in Iraq; about Newt
Gingrich, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush. A recent talk about
Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary and the first
(and so far only) former Treasury Secretary to be shot, was
typical. The host was a financial services firm on Park Avenue.
The crowd was young to middle-aged, white collar–white
shirtsleeve, on their lunch break. Out of 200 people, a dozen
asked questions. Four wanted Hamilton’s opinion about a
contemporary issue: the balance of trade, recent decisions of the
Supreme Court on federalism, the New York Stock Exchange, and the
tone of modern politics (the presidential campaigns of 2000 and
2004 were fresh in everyone’s mind). The man had been dead for two
centuries; the duel he died in is still the most familiar thing
about him (that, and his rather GQ-ish
portrait on the $10 bill). Yet a crowd whose business is to
anticipate tomorrow’s business wanted to know what he would think
about the stories that were on that day’s Bloomberg.
.....
Guns were a fact of the
Founders’ everyday lives. The cerebral Jefferson, in one of those
sweetly pompous letters of advice that he loved sending his
younger relatives, recommended taking walks with a gun. “While
this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness,
enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with a ball
… are too violent for the body, and stamp no character on the
mind.” So much for baseball, already being played in early forms.
“Let your gun, therefore, be the constant companion of your
walks.”
One special type of gun
was known to many of the Founders even though its use was illegal:
the dueling pistol. Although Hamilton owned a fowling piece, he
did not own dueling pistols, so when Vice President Aaron Burr
challenged him to a duel for a political insult in the spring of
1804 he had to borrow a set from his brother-in-law. The pistols
were made by the London gunsmith Robert Wogdon, the finest
practitioner of his art. They were .544 caliber, meaning their
bullets had a diameter of just over half an inch. The barrels were
unrifled, but their careful balancing made the pistols accurate at
the short distances of dueling. Burr’s bullet pierced Hamilton’s
abdomen, and he died of spinal shock after 36 hours of agony. Burr
Reviewed
By David M. Kinchen
Burr led his own defense team to be declared innocent, by Justice John Marshall and the jury.
Who else but Burr could stand up to such a brutal governmental assault?
Learn about this champion of women's education, who kept Jefferson from taking over the Judicial Branch, and opposed his plantation owning constituents.
at www.AaronBurrAssociation.org The details of the Duel are there for the avid history buff too. Thank you.