Aaron Burr and Hubris: Heroes & Villains
How do you know when ambition is self-sacrificing and when it is self-serving? Explore the story of Aaron Burr in this video feature of BRI's Heroes and Villains Curriculum to help determine how he exhibited the vice of hubris.
Heroes and Villains uses narratives to discuss the concepts of civic virtue in all classrooms. Each virtue narrative includes corresponding discussion guides, journal templates, a toolbox with additional activities, and suggestions for further reading on each topic or virtue.
0:09 Humility. It’s the wisdom to serve and give credit to others and admit mistakes, all critical in leadership. But instead, when leaders fall victim to pride and arrogance, it’s called hubris, which can lead to a tragic fall. Enter Aaron Burr, a U.S. politician whose hubris
0:30 led him down a path of infamy and ultimately to a trial for treason. A charismatic Revolutionary War hero, Aaron Burr rose up the political ladder, that is until 1800, when he ran as Thomas Jefferson’s vice presidential candidate. But many thought Burr was secretly trying to win the presidency for himself rather than become VP.
0:53 The election exposed Burr’s hubris on the national stage. When fellow New Yorker, founder Alexander Hamilton, made a series of derogatory comments about his integrity, Burr challenged him to a duel and killed Hamilton. Now a wanted man, Vice President Burr fled justice and went into hiding.
1:15 Having lost respect and status, he allegedly hatched a plot with double agent James Wilkinson to form a new country, with Burr as its leader and went west with a plan to raise a private army, weapons, ships, and money to invade the Louisiana territory and possibly even Spanish held land in the West.
1:37 His efforts failed, as most were reluctant to go along with his plan to create a new empire to rule. When one of Burr’s coconspirators exposed details of the scheme to Jefferson, Burr was arrested while hiding in disguise and put on trial for treason. Ultimately, he was found not guilty because the Constitution says that
1:58 treasonous acts must have been carried out and witnessed, not just planned. Still, as a result of his extraordinary hubris, Burr’s days as a political player were over. Today, Aaron Burr is famous for all the wrong reasons. In a constitutional republic, leaders should exemplify humility, use power
2:19 responsibly, and work modestly with others in the spirit of a common purpose. Has a lack of humility ever affected a decision you made?
