By: History.com Editors

1807

Thomas Jefferson subpoenaed in Aaron Burr’s treason trial

History.com Editors

Published: November 16, 2009

Last Updated: January 31, 2025

President Thomas Jefferson receives a subpoena to testify in the treason trial of his former vice president, Aaron Burr, on June 13, 1807. In the subpoena, Burr asked Jefferson to produce documents that might exonerate him.

Burr had already been politically and socially disgraced by killing former Treasury Secretary and Revolutionary-era hero Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. After killing Hamilton, Burr, still Jefferson’s vice president, went into hiding. Burr then concocted a seditious plan to enlist the help of Britain and Spain to create a separate nation in the southwestern reaches of the American continent, including parts of Mexico, over which Burr would rule. The outrageous plan failed miserably when one of Burr’s co-conspirators, General James Wilkinson, betrayed Burr and alerted Jefferson to the plot. Burr was hunted down and arrested in 1806 and indicted for treason.

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Jefferson expressed in his personal papers that he felt no love or loyalty to Burr despite their former political relationship. Burr had run a close and contentious election against the Republican Jefferson in the 1800 campaign. After the election resulted in a tie, the vote went to the House of Representatives. Only after Alexander Hamilton reluctantly lobbied for Jefferson did the House select Jefferson for the presidency instead of Burr. This was only one of the many grievances Burr held against Hamilton that led to the fatal duel.

Jefferson refused to appear in Burr’s defense and released only a few of the documents Burr had requested, invoking his presidential right to protect the public interest. If Jefferson’s intent was to help get Burr convicted, his refusal to supply documentation backfired. In the end, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall found Burr not guilty by lack of evidence.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on June 13th

1381

Peasant army marches into London

During the Peasants’ Revolt, a large mob of English peasants led by Wat Tyler marches into London and begins burning and looting the city. Several government buildings were destroyed, prisoners were released, and a judge was beheaded along with several dozen other leading citizens.

1777

Lafayette arrives in South Carolina to serve alongside General Washington

On June 13, 1777, a 19-year-old French aristocrat, Marie-Joseph Paul Roch Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, arrives in South Carolina with the intent to serve as General George Washington’s second-in-command.

Marquis de Lafayette.

1805

Meriwether Lewis reaches the Great Falls

Having hurried ahead of the main body of the expedition, Meriwether Lewis and four men arrive at the Great Falls of the Missouri River, confirming that the explorers are headed in the right direction.

1962

Stanley Kubrick’s “Lolita” premieres in New York

Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s famously controversial novel Lolita has its New York premiere on June 13, 1962. Even its advertising posters pose the question: “How did they ever make a movie of Lolita?”

1966

The Miranda rights are established

On June 13, 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Miranda v. Arizona, establishing the principle that all criminal suspects must be advised of their rights before interrogation. Now considered standard police procedure, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you,” has been heard so many times in television and film dramas that it has become almost cliche.

Symbols of law a legal system - a judge, gavel and scales representing jurisdiction.

1967

Thurgood Marshall nominated to Supreme Court

On June 13, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominates U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Thurgood Marshall to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Associate Justice Tom C. Clark. On August 30, after a heated debate, the Senate confirmed Marshall’s nomination by a vote of 69 to 11. Two days later, he was sworn in by Chief Justice Earl Warren, making him the first African American in history to sit on America’s highest court.

1971

The New York Times publishes the “Pentagon Papers”

The New York Times begins publishing portions of the 47-volume Pentagon analysis of how the U.S. commitment in Southeast Asia grew over a period of three decades. Daniel Ellsberg, a former Defense Department analyst who had become an antiwar activist, had stolen the documents. After unsuccessfully offering the documents to prominent opponents of the war in the U.S. Senate, Ellsberg gave them to the Times.

Some of the papers from the archive of Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971

1983

Pioneer 10 crosses the orbit of Neptune

After more than a decade in space, Pioneer 10, the world’s first outer-planetary probe, leaves the outer limits of the known solar system by crossing the orbit of Neptune, the system's then farthest planet. The next day, it radioed back its first scientific data on interstellar space.

2006

Jurors begin deliberations in Susan Polk trial

On June 13, 2006, jurors began deliberations in the trial of Susan Polk, 48, for the October 2002 murder of her psychotherapist husband Felix Polk, 70, in a poolside cottage at the couple’s Orinda, California, home. Felix was stabbed and cut 27 times and had suffered blunt force trauma to the head.

2017

Otto Warmbier returns from North Korean prison in a coma

On June 13, 2017 Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old student who was taken prisoner in North Korea 17 months earlier, returned home to the United States in a comatose state. His return marked a warming of relations between the U.S. and the pariah state known for its extensive human-rights abuses, casting new attention on how North Korea treats foreigners in captivity.

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Citation Information

Article title
Thomas Jefferson subpoenaed in Aaron Burr’s treason trial
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 23, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 31, 2025
Original Published Date
November 16, 2009

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