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From Oprah Magazine

Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical Hamilton is available to watch on Disney+.

It depicts the animosity, rivalry, and subsequent duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, two instrumental figures in the founding of the United States.

In the film (and the original run of the play) Burr is played by Leslie Odom Jr., for which he won a 2016 Tony Award.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr is one of the animating forces of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, now streaming on Disney+, culminating in the duel that takes Hamilton's life in Act II. But there's much more to Burr's story after those fateful shots were fired on July 11, 1804.

The two Founding Fathers had longstanding bad blood due to their political differences. Their mutual disdain affected both of their political careers and led not only to the end of Hamilton's life, but irrevocable changes to Burr's.

As Hamilton explores in detail, Burr and Hamilton's relationship was highly contentious. They were both rising political stars and Revolutionary War heroes, but saw eye-to-eye on little.

Burr, a member of the Democratic-Republican Party had more progressive polices than Hamilton, who was a Federalist. The former supported immigrant and women's rights, as well as a broader voting franchise. But Hamilton felt Burr was politically unprincipled and willing to change his beliefs based on what was most personally advantageous, according to History.com.

The two clashed in elections, as Burr beat Hamilton's father-in-law to secure a Senate seat in 1791, and Hamilton worked to undermine Burr's presidential run in 1800. With Burr and Thomas Jefferson tied at the ballot, Hamilton petitioned for Congress to go with Jefferson, which they ultimately did (though it's unclear what, if any, effect Hamilton's actions actually had).

When Burr became aware he would not be picked as Thomas Jefferson's vice president for his reelection campaign, he ran for Governor of New York, another election he lost in part due to criticism from Hamilton.

Story continues

After exchanging confrontational letters, a duel was organized between the two in Weehawken, New Jersey on July 11. Burr hoped that winning the duel would reinvigorate his stagnant political career, according to PBS, and was also incensed over a "despicable opinion" Hamilton shared about him to guests at a dinner party.

Though impossible to confirm, many believe that Hamilton missed his first shot of the duel deliberately, while Burr shot to kill from the very beginning. That helped turn the public sentiment against Burr, as historian David Hosack noted.

Per History.com, deaths in these sorts of duels were rare, and the public was upset by the passing of a figure as instrumental as Hamilton. Burr was able to serve the remainder of his term as vice president, despite being charged with two counts of murder.

When Burr left the vice presidential office in 1805, he was disgraced, and in his desperation came up with an elaborate scheme to establish a new country by taking control of the Louisiana territory, a move now known as The Burr Conspiracy. He collaborated with Army General James Wilkinson, who was also Governor of Northern Louisiana, and contacted several European countries to see if they would support his plan with money and manpower.

Burr's daughter, Theodosia, who is the subject of the Hamilton song "Dear Theodosia," and her husband Joseph Alston went to assist Burr in forming this new colony, and the plan was for Theodosia to eventually succeed her father as its leader, Atlas Obscura reports.

The plan crumbled, as Wilkinson eventually bowed out in order to preserve his career, and rumors about Burr's treasonous ways spread to the newspapers. Burr was apprehended just north of New Orleans at Bayou Pierre, and he eventually faced trial for treason in 1807.

Thomas Jefferson testified against Burr, saying his "guilt is placed beyond all measure." Still, Burr was not found guilty, despite both the Jefferson testimony and the presentation of a coded letter describing the plan that he sent to Wilkinson (known as the Cipher Letter). The acquittal was due in large part to Supreme Court Justice John Marshall's rigid definition of what counted as treason.

Fearing more legal charges in states around the country, Burr spent several years in Europe, apparently attempting to get England or France to participate in a North American invasion. Theodosia apparently was instrumental in getting him out of the country.

He returned to the States in 1812, becoming a lawyer in New York and living out his days in relative obscurity. Burr was briefly remarried to Eliza Jumel in 1833, but was divorced because he was reportedly recklessly spending her money on land speculation. The divorce was granted on the very day Burr died in 1836, and Jumel used Alexander Hamilton, Jr. as her lawyer.

When Burr died, he was partially paralyzed.

In his final years, Burr was financially dependent on his friends, and he suffered multiple strokes that ultimately left him partially paralyzed. He finally died in September 1836 at the age of 80 in the care of a cousin on Staten Island, New York.

Though some have lobbied for the public to celebrate Aaron Burr's life and accomplishments, his legacy was forever altered by the murder of Hamilton and his subsequent treasonous actions.

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