Hamilton’s Affairs of Honor

into-the-weeds:

linmanuel:

publius-esquire:

It’s no secret Hamilton was hypersensitive, and out of the Founders by far had the most challenges under his belt. He only ever saw the dueling field twice (once as Laurens’s second in his duel with Charles Lee, and then as the principal against Burr).

Here’s a list of the people he challenged and for what reason:

Reverend William Gordon (1779) – Accused of wanting to overthrow the government

Aedanus Burke (1790) – Accused of lying

John Francis Mercer (1792-93) -Accused of buying government debt at inflated prices to help speculators

James Nicholson (1795) – Accused of being corrupt and a coward

Republican Party (1795) – Bad day

Maturin Livingston (1795 and 1796) – Accepted above challenge

James Monroe (1797) – Accused of speculation and slander

John Adams (1800) – Accused of everything, but specifically of being a member of a British faction

Ebenezer Purdy/George Clinton (1804) – Accused of plotting to put a son of George III on an American throne in exchange for Canada

Aaron Burr (1804) – Accused of character defamation through libel. Only instance where Hamilton did not initiate the challenge.

The James Monroe challenge got really close, and you know who helped squash it? BURR.

“Republican Party (1795) – Bad day”