Friends, Countrymen

Technocrat

Banned
What might things have been like if Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had become lifelong friends rather than bitter enemies?

After being rejected for a military command by President Adams, could Burr have fallen in with Federalists critical (as Hamilton was, right?) of Adams in New York? Perhaps in 1790, New York State Attorney General Burr is recruited into the Federalists rather running for Hamilton's father in law's Senate seat in 1791?

Or maybe Burr does get the command, becomes personally invested in the United States' standing army, and as an opponent of Thomas Jefferson and appointee of Adams falls in with Hamilton that way?

What could that partnership of powerful personalities have gotten up to in the early republic?
 
I suppose Burr and Hamilton would be more recognized in American History.

I am not to familiar with these two figures, so that's all I know.
 

Zioneer

Banned
I suppose Burr and Hamilton would be more recognized in American History.

I am not to familiar with these two figures, so that's all I know.

Wait, what? You live in one of the most important cities in early American history, and you don't know who Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton are?
 
Wait, what? You live in one of the most important cities in early American history, and you don't know who Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton are?

Would a New Yorker care about the Collecting Pond?

There are people in local colleges that can't tell the difference between Mammals, Birds, and feldspar.

I know them vaguely, and I forgot all about them.
 
Honestly, what they need is distance...either Burr or Hamilton needs to move out of New York. Burr was a Democratic-Republican solely because if he had joined the Federalists, he would have had to run against Hamilton for both party and state offices, which they both figured would damage their relationship (with supreme chutzpah and/or an interesting take on things, Burr actually thought it would be easier to take over the D-Rs and bend them to his own views than go toe to toe with Hamilton in an endurance match. Scarily enough, history supports him on that assessment - Burr missed his true calling as head of a Doomsday cult). Maybe for whatever reason, Burr remains in New Jersey? Becomes head of Princeton, then governor of NJ and vaults up to the national level from there?

Alternatively, you could have Hamilton choose to settle somewhere other than New York when he came to the country. The main problem is that he wanted a large city with no slaves, so if New York is off the table for some reason, the only alternative for Hamilton is Boston.

As to what it would look like - probably a lot like our timeline only faster. If they're both still viable men in 1808, Burr will be running for President, and his odds of beating Madison are not bad. When does the 12th Amendment fracas happen I wonder? The best analog for Alex Hamilton surviving is actually Joe Kennedy Sr - he has no viable electoral campaign of his own, so he's going to sublimate it through his surviving children. Expect a President James Hamilton in the 1820s/30s?
 
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