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Alexander Hamilton
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Chapter 41-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 41 Summary: “A Despicable Opinion”
In March 1804, at a dinner, Hamilton spoke of Burr as a dangerous man with two men named Cooper and Tayler. Afterwards, Cooper wrote a letter to a friend, describing the conversation. Excerpts from the letter appeared in the Post, and Cooper claimed the letter had been stolen. Cooper would later say that he had been circumspect in his letter and had not written the specific details of a “still more despicable opinion” (800) that Hamilton had voiced against Burr. It was this despicable opinion that drove Burr to send a letter to Hamilton, demanding an explanation for the despicable act he alluded to.
Hamilton would not retract his statement, because he protested that he did not know what remark “despicable” might have referred to. He asked Burr for greater clarification, and stated that he could only disavow or apologize for specific comments if he knew what they were.
After a great deal of writing back and forth to each other, the duel was scheduled. Hamilton, given his “avowed opposition to dueling” (806), planned on firing his pistol, but missing intentionally, just as he had encouraged Philip to do in his duel with Eacker. Hamilton did not prepare for the duel, but there was evidence that Burr had been practicing with pistols for months.
Hamilton got his affairs in order and wrote a statement that, in the event of his death, he believed would be an adequate political justification for the duel.
Chapter 42 Summary: “Fatal Errand”
During his final week, Hamilton continued to work and spend time with his family. His final letters were about his anxieties for the country’s future. Burr’s final letters were instructions to his daughter, urging her to burn letters he had written to his many mistresses.
On July 11, 1804, the two men took flintlock pistols and prepared for the duel with their seconds. Burr was unaware of Hamilton’s plan to miss on purpose. When Burr shot him, Hamilton said, “I am a dead man” (818).
Hamilton’s friend William Van Ness always claimed that Hamilton fired first. Hamilton’s bullet lodged in a tree branch, 12 feet above Burr’s head. He had missed on purpose, as he had planned. At age 49, he died later that afternoon with Eliza and his children at his side. But first, he took communion from a man named Moore. He also told Moore that he bore no malice towards Burr.
Before the duel, Hamilton had written a letter for Eliza. The letter expressed his wish to see her again in Heaven, and concluded: “Adieu best of wives and best of women. Embrace all my darling children for me” (818).
Chapter 43 Summary: “The Melting Scene”
Chapter 43 gives an account of the public reaction to Hamilton’s death. Now that he was gone, even some of his most venomous detractors praised his mind, skills, and passion for America. He had been a formidable foe, and many accounts described him as unique and irreplaceable.
Accounts of the duel were published, including the fact that Hamilton missed on purpose. Hamilton’s farewell letters made it clear that he had not intended to harm Burr, who was now vilified as an assassin. Burr was charged with murder, but the case was thrown out due to lack of evidence.
For the rest of his life, Burr was remorseless about Hamilton’s death. He would even joke about shooting him. Burr did not alter his habits after leaving New York. He moved from town to town, country to country, womanizing and speculating. He eventually returned to New York after ruining his reputation everywhere he went, just to be as close as possible to the seat of power.
Chernow closes Chapter 43 with a summary of Hamilton’s accomplishments, and reinforces the suggestion that Hamilton had more influence over America than any other man, including those who attained the presidency.
Epilogue Summary: “Eliza”
After Hamilton’s death, Eliza continued her charity work. She was always sustained by her faith. She remained loyal to Hamilton and defended his legacy whenever she could. She would also edit Hamilton’s papers, and was unimpressed by many biographies that were written about her husband.
When she died in 1854, she was buried next to Hamilton.
Chapters 41-Epilogue Analysis
Chapters 41 and 42 are primarily accounts of the events that led to the duel between Burr and Hamilton, and then the description of the duel itself. Chernow provides a brief history of dueling, and the ways in which various founding fathers and political figures justified the practice to themselves.
After Hamilton died, the praise for him was almost universal. Those who fought so fiercely against him lauded him as a genius and an indispensable American.
The most substantial piece of the final chapters is Chernow’s recitation of Hamilton’s achievements, and his description of his influence on America. Even today, the system by which America is governed and operated is largely Hamilton’s creation. Without his ambition and contributions, the Treasury office, the Customs office, the Coast Guard, the Mint, and the Constitution itself would exist in very different forms, or perhaps not at all.
Hamilton died before he was 50 years old. Because he was such a tireless worker, staunch American idealist, and freethinking innovator, it is likely that, had his life not ended when it did, he would have contributed much more to the country’s development.
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