Burr was orphaned at two, raised by an abusive uncle, and fought with great courage at Valley Forge — yet he stood for nothing but himself. He was progressive on slavery and women's rights, frequented New York's finest prostitutes, and was willing to switch political sides whenever it served his ambition.
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At 19:50 · chapter starts 18:50
Burr makes his entrance in this chapter as one of the most paradoxical figures in American history. Born in New Jersey in 1756 and orphaned at two, Burr fought with genuine distinction at Valley Forge — facing down a mutiny — before becoming a formidably successful lawyer and politician in New York. He was, Dominic notes, ahead of his time in opposing slavery, nativism, and supporting votes for women. Yet he was also a notorious philanderer, reportedly the favourite customer of New York's finest brothels, and above all a supreme political opportunist. Dominic compares him to Richard Nixon: brooding, sardonic, willing to do whatever it takes. Tom immediately agrees: Burr is Cataline, not Cato. The chapter closes with Burr's pivotal role in delivering New York to Jefferson — and the first stirrings of his feud with Hamilton, which began when Burr unseated Hamilton's father-in-law as senator in 1791. [1] — Dominic Sandbrook "Burr was orphaned at two, raised by an abusive uncle, and fought with great courage at Valley Forge — yet he stood for nothing but himself.…" 19:50
In the 1800 presidential election, Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr tied at 73 Electoral College votes each, forcing the House of Representatives to decide who would be president.
In 1800, Jefferson and his running mate Burr tied at 73 Electoral College votes each, sending the decision to the Federalist-controlled House of Representatives. Burr saw his chance to grab the presidency — but Hamilton lobbied hard against him, calling Burr 'bankrupt beyond redemption except by the plunder of his country.'
Factories that replaced coal engines with electric ones in the early 1900s got only 6% efficiency gains. Those that redesigned their entire factory around electricity got a 3x productivity improvement. Swapping AI tools into your existing structure will give you 6%. Rebuilding around AI will give you 10x.
Lebanese terrorists backed by Iran were holding American hostages throughout the Reagan presidency. Reagan had loudly campaigned against negotiating with terrorists — putting him in an impossible position that his team quietly decided to ignore.
During the Iran-Iraq War, the US openly supplied Iraq with weapons, training, and intelligence. At the same time, Oliver North was secretly funneling missiles to Iran. The US was playing both sides of a shooting war.
Oliver North traveled to Iran under the alias 'William P. Goode' with a fake passport. CIA Director William Casey allegedly gave him cyanide pills so he could kill himself rather than be tortured if captured. He returned safely and the deal moved forward.
The Pentagon sold missiles to the CIA for $3,700 each. The CIA sold them to Richard Secord at cost. Secord sold them to Iranian middleman Ghorbanifar for $10,000 each. Ghorbanifar charged Iran even more. The profit — including $3 million in interest in one Swiss account — was diverted directly to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran in 8 shipments over more than a year. Only 3 of 7 hostages were released. Three more were taken. The net result was zero freed hostages and a full-blown constitutional scandal.
On October 5, 1986, a CIA Contra supply plane flew a weapons drop at 2,500 feet in broad daylight. A Sandinista soldier shot it down. The only survivor, Eugene Hasenfuss, had borrowed a parachute from his skydiving brother. He was captured, paraded in front of cameras, and told the Sandinistas everything he knew.
The CIA supply operation used a front company called Southern Air Transport, widely known to be a CIA cover. Crew members of the downed plane carried their Southern Air Transport employee IDs in their wallets. One also had a business card directly linking him to Oliver North's office in Washington.
When the scandal broke, Oliver North and his secretary Fawn Hall conducted what became known as a 'shredding party,' destroying a day's worth of documents. The full truth of Iran-Contra may never be known because of what was fed through that shredder.
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