The Burr trial featured some of the greatest oratory of the age amid heated exchanges, exhibitions of wit, and incisive demonstrations of legal logic. Though Burr's capture would receive numerous romantic retellings, it was his treason trial that gained the most attention, even acclaim, as one of the great criminal trials in American history. Spectators flocked to Richmond's House of Delegates from places near and distant, jamming the courtroom to witness the prosecution of the former vice president for the high crime of treason. The state summoned over 140 witnesses, though only a few actually took the stand and testified. This was a political prosecution, and so it naturally enflamed public opinion, and consumed more newsprint than any other American court proceeding ever had. Burr's trial was never simply about the law. It was political theatre, and elaborate performance designed to mold public opinion as much as to defend public reputations.
-Nancy Isenberg, Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr
More information on the Burr treason trial can be found here.
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