I've been having a lively chat with historian Bob Johnson of Pennsylvania and sharing some of my insights that I've gleaned from studying our founding father
My knowledge of Tommy J (Thomas Jefferson) is rather limited, as he never captured my imagination as did my fav historical figures: Mozart, Richard III, and now Hamilton and Burr, but I do think TJ was rather hypocritical saying that all men are created equal as his slaves slaved away at M'cello.
Now that I've read everything I could get my hands on about Aaron, he definitely got a bum rap thru history. People hate him simply cos he killed AH, but don't know the backstory. AH busted his balls, to put it bluntly. It's only natural that Burr called him out, as barbaric as dueling is to us. I just read in a book yesterday that dueling was only for the upper classes; farmers, etc. never would have considered it. Well, la di da!
After a few years of researching AH and writing about him for a year, I got to know him pretty well, but have read so many conflicting reports about his character, I'm not sure even if I like him. But I do believe that he never speculated or embezzled Treasury funds, and since my book centers on his relationships with his wife and mistress Maria Reynolds I came to believe that his admitting adultery rather than let his enemies think he was ripping off the Treasury made him out to be of stronger character than the rest of them.
I just finished reading a few things about Sen. Wm. Maclay of PA, who's going in my Burr/Eliza book. What a character! He's worth a book of his own!
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