ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY
September 1, 1807
Vice President Aaron Burr is Acquitted of Treason
On this day in 1807, United States President Aaron Burr was acquitted of treason by the United States Court at
Richmond, Virginia.
The court tried to prove that he was trying to steal land in the Louisiana Purchase. The only evidence was a letter
from Burr to General James Wilkinson, Governor of the Louisiana Territory but the letter was in Wilkinson's hand
writing... "a copy", he said because he had lost the original. This made Wilkinson a laughing stock and the jury
threw the letter out.
Years later, it would be discovered that Wilkinson was a paid spy for the Spanish Crown.
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