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Burr went on trial in 1807 for a secret plot to seize Mexico from Spain. The plan could have divided the Union. But was he guilty as charged? Transcript2 of radio broadcast:
02 July 2008

Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.
 

Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr was vice3 president of the United States. His term came to an end in eighteen hundred and five. He was heavily in debt and his political future did not look promising4.

Burr was not without plans, however. For some time, he had been considering an idea. He wanted to seize Mexico from Spain. Burr made secret deals with a number of people. He told them different things to get their help or their money for his plan.

What was Aaron Burr's real goal? Was it to seize Mexico? Or was it to create a country of his own out of some of America's western lands? The facts are not clear.

This week in our series, Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember tell about Burr's secret activities, and the trial that ended them.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Burr traveled west in the spring of eighteen-oh-five. His trip would take him down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the port city of New Orleans. In that city, he talked with a number of rich, powerful men. He explained his plan. And he found support among those who wished to end Spanish control of Mexico.

Burr was then ready to return east and put his plan into action.

VOICE ONE:

On the way back, Burr stopped in Saint5 Louis to see General James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana Territory. Wilkinson was plotting with Burr.

At the same time, however, Wilkinson was spying for Spain. He did not want to lose the money Spain paid him for information. So he began to think about how he could pull out of Burr's plan.

He advised Burr that it might be best to forget Mexico, that perhaps the time was not right. He offered to help Burr get back into politics as a congressman6 from Indiana.

Burr rejected Wilkinson's offer. He was not yet ready to give up his dream about Mexico.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Burr had hoped to begin his move against Mexico in the spring of eighteen-oh-six. Without money, however, he could do nothing.

He tried to get money from people who might be interested in sharing the riches of Mexico. But he was not successful. Nor did he get the money and ships he had asked earlier from Britain.

VOICE ONE:
 

Thomas Jefferson

War between the United States and Spain was an important part of Burr's plan. Should there be such a war, Burr was sure the men of the western lands would join him against the Spanish in Mexico. Without war, the campaign might fail.

Burr received bad news after he returned to Washington.

He met with President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson made clear that there would be no war with Spain.

After his meeting with Jefferson, Burr began to make new plans. He would forget the idea of invading Mexico -- at least temporarily. Instead, he said he would build a settlement in Louisiana and wait for a better time.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

While Aaron Burr had been traveling in the west, stories began to spread about his activities. Newspaper reports came close to accusing him of plotting to split7 the Union. People seemed willing to believe the reports. This was the situation General Wilkinson would use to pull out of Burr's plan.

Wilkinson wrote a letter to President Jefferson. He claimed that a force of ten thousand men was moving toward New Orleans. He said it was part of a campaign against Mexico. He gave details of the campaign, but claimed he did not know who was leading it. He warned the president that the force might try to seize Louisiana as well as Mexico.

VOICE ONE:

It was not the first letter Jefferson received about Burr's Mexican campaign. Nor was it the first to say that Burr was, in fact, planning to split some western states from the Union. But, unlike the other letters, Jefferson accepted Wilkinson's as firm evidence against Burr.

The president called a cabinet meeting to discuss what should be done. The result of the meeting was this: all American military commanders were ordered to stop Burr.

President Jefferson then made a public declaration8. He said a private military campaign was about to begin against the Spanish, and that anyone involved should leave it immediately. The declaration did not speak of Aaron Burr by name.

VOICE TWO:

Jefferson also spoke9 of the private military campaign in his yearly State of the Union message to Congress. Congress asked for more information. In a special message, the president said Burr had several plans. One was to split the western states from the Union. Another was to seize Mexico. He said Burr wanted to make people believe he was building a settlement in Louisiana. But, he said, that was just a trick.


The president said Burr had discovered that the people of the western states would not support any attempt to take them out of the Union. So, the president said, Burr had decided10 to capture New Orleans. Jefferson said there was no question that Burr was guilty.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
 

Court order for President Thomas Jefferson to appear at Aaron Burr's treason trial

Burr's guilt1 had not been proved in court. But to many Americans, Jefferson's statement was taken as truth. Some demanded that Burr be put to death for treason.

The crime of treason, as explained in America's Constitution, is the act of a citizen making war against the United States.

Burr was arrested in February, eighteen-oh-seven, and taken to Richmond, Virginia. A federal grand jury11 hearing would be held to decide if there was enough evidence to bring him to trial. In June, the grand jury officially charged him with treason. Burr would stand trial before John Marshall, chief justice of the United States.

VOICE TWO:

At one point in court, Burr spoke for himself. "Treason," he said, "is not possible without action. Yet I am being attacked -- not for acts -- but because of false reports about what I might do. The whole country has been turned against me. Is this justice? Wilkinson frightened the president with his reports about me. Then, the president frightened the people."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

It was true that President Jefferson wanted to prove Burr guilty. He ordered government officials in all parts of the country to find witnesses who could give evidence against Burr.

Some of Jefferson's opponents said he did this to turn the trial into a political battle. They believed he wanted to use the trial record to attack Chief Justice Marshall, who was a member of the opposition12 Federalist Party. Jefferson objected to the way Marshall controlled the Supreme13 Court. He felt Marshall used his position to threaten the powers of the presidency14 and Congress.

Chief Justice Marshall knew of Jefferson's part in the accusations15 against Burr. He was extremely careful and fair in giving his opinions and decisions.

VOICE TWO:

At the end of August, Chief Justice Marshall stopped taking evidence. He told the court that -- under the Constitution -- a charge of treason must be proved by two witnesses. He said the government's claim had not been proved by even one witness. He ordered the jury to decide the case.

On September first, the jury announced its decision. It said: "We of the jury declare that Aaron Burr is not proved guilty by any evidence offered to us. Therefore, we find him not guilty." Burr and his lawyers angrily protested the way the decision had been written. They said it was wrong for the jury to say more than "guilty" or "not guilty." Marshall agreed. He ordered the decision to be changed to read, simply, "not guilty." The trial was over.

VOICE ONE:

Aaron Burr lived another twenty-nine years. He spent some time in Europe, and then New York City. A few hours before he died, a friend asked if he had ever plotted -- as part of his plan to seize Mexico -- to split the Union of American states. Burr answered: "No! I would as soon have thought of seizing the moon and informing my friends that I would divide it among them."

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER:

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember. Join us each week for THE MAKING OF A NATION – an American history series in VOA Special English. Transcripts16, podcasts and MP3s of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com.
__

This is program #40 of THE MAKING OF A NATION


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 guilt 9e6xr     
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责
参考例句:
  • She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
  • Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
2 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
3 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
4 promising BkQzsk     
adj.有希望的,有前途的
参考例句:
  • The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
  • We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
5 saint yYcxf     
n.圣徒;基督教徒;vt.成为圣徒,把...视为圣徒
参考例句:
  • He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
  • The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。
6 Congressman TvMzt7     
n.(美)国会议员
参考例句:
  • He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
  • The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
7 split avXwG     
n.劈开,裂片,裂口;adj.分散的;v.分离,分开,劈开
参考例句:
  • Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了?
  • The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。
8 declaration rxrxj     
n.宣布,宣告,宣言,声明(书),申报
参考例句:
  • We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
  • At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。
9 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
10 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
11 jury g3dxN     
n.陪审团,评委会;adj.临时用的;vt.挑选
参考例句:
  • These twelve men are believed to compose the jury.据信,陪审团是由这12人组成的。
  • The members of the jury were discharged from their duties.陪审员们被解除了职务。
12 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
13 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
14 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
15 accusations 3e7158a2ffc2cb3d02e77822c38c959b     
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 );指控;控告;(被告发、控告的)罪名
参考例句:
  • There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
  • He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。
16 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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