Summary
The first chapter in Founding Brothers discusses the battle between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. In the summer of 1804, Burr and Hamilton dueled-- resulting in Hamilton getting shot, and eventually his death. He was shot by one of the two shots fired, between which many seconds went by. Afterward, the public created two extremely different stories-- later to be known as the Hamiltonian version and the Burr version. The Hamiltonian side said that Burr was the first to fire, and then Hamilton shot impulsively after being shot. The Burr story was that Hamilton fired first, missing on purpose, and then Burr fired after a few seconds; leaving Hamilton shot and lying on the ground. Though this version is obviously not true, the public generally agreed that the Burr version was the truth. Thus Hamilton became a martyr, and Burr was left to be remembered as the villain-- though the accuracy of that statement is debatable.