Aaron Burr has always been one of those historical figures that has always fascinated me. While today he is mostly known for being Thomas Jefferson's VP, being the black sheep of the Founding Fathers, and shooting Alexander Hamilton, Burr was really an interesting individual. While it is true that Aaron Burr was power-hungry (he once tried to create his own nation), he was also very socially progressive for his time period, supporting gender equality and the abolition of slavery. These factors could potentially mean that a President Aaron Burr would have been pretty interesting.
So let's assume that, for whatever reason, Burr is elected in 1800 instead of Jefferson, meaning that Thomas Jefferson would become the Vice President of Aaron Burr. What would the Burr administration look like?
In my opinion, quite a few things would change. Perhaps his progressive views, as well as the fact that he won an election that Jefferson was supposed to win, could cause the Democratic-Republican Party to begin to fracture into a northern and southern faction, with the former (led by Burr) absorbing the Federalist Party. Aaron Burr also funded banks in opposition to the larger national banks of Hamilton (albeit for partisan reasons), so perhaps we would see the dissolution of the national banking system twenty years earlier ITTL. President Burr's foreign policy would also be interesting. I can't see him passing an alternate Embargo Act of 1807 (assuming Burr lasts that long anyway), so maybe Burr would turn to war instead?
Anyway, what do you all think about what the presidency of Aaron Burr could have looked like? How would Burr affect the Democratic-Republican Party and the future of the United States itself? What would his cabinet look like?
So let's assume that, for whatever reason, Burr is elected in 1800 instead of Jefferson, meaning that Thomas Jefferson would become the Vice President of Aaron Burr. What would the Burr administration look like?
In my opinion, quite a few things would change. Perhaps his progressive views, as well as the fact that he won an election that Jefferson was supposed to win, could cause the Democratic-Republican Party to begin to fracture into a northern and southern faction, with the former (led by Burr) absorbing the Federalist Party. Aaron Burr also funded banks in opposition to the larger national banks of Hamilton (albeit for partisan reasons), so perhaps we would see the dissolution of the national banking system twenty years earlier ITTL. President Burr's foreign policy would also be interesting. I can't see him passing an alternate Embargo Act of 1807 (assuming Burr lasts that long anyway), so maybe Burr would turn to war instead?
Anyway, what do you all think about what the presidency of Aaron Burr could have looked like? How would Burr affect the Democratic-Republican Party and the future of the United States itself? What would his cabinet look like?
