Where this was said
Did Burr Murder Hamilton? The Historians Argue
At 1:06:08 · chapter starts 1:03:00
The chapter puts two eminent historians in direct argument. Joseph Ellis, in his book on the Founding Fathers generation, argues that Burr had every reason to believe Hamilton was firing to kill — Hamilton had made a conspicuous show of aiming with his glasses — and that under the Code Duello, Burr was perfectly justified in taking deadly aim. Ron Chernow counters that Hamilton missed by twelve feet, making the deliberate miss obvious, and that Burr's insistence on bringing only one doctor was a calculated move to maximise the chances of Hamilton dying. The clinching detail comes from Jeremy Bentham, who befriended Burr in London: Burr told him he 'was sure of being able to kill him, so I thought it little better than murder.' Dominic's own verdict is diplomatically agnostic but leans toward Chernow — and Tom, emphatically team Hamilton, simply says Burr 'guns him down like a dog.' [1] — Jeremy Bentham "He was sure of being able to kill him, so I thought it little better than murder." 1:06:08
