AARON BURR, SIR: THE DUEL FOR DEMOCRACY to Have Reading at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library

Join in for a new play reading of "Aaron Burr, Sir: The Duel For Democracy" on Thursday, October 19. 

This free public event tells a story of parallel turning points in America's troubled journey to a more perfect democracy - the 1804 Hamilton-Burr duel and January 6 - then digs into the issues facing our democracy today. The Salon kicks off with a sneak peek of Across the River: a new play that provides a new look at Aaron Burr beyond the saga depicted in Hamilton. In this new work, syndicated columnist and historian Jamie Stiehm explores the conflict between individual responsibility and ego through Aaron Burr's odyssey after the fatal duel with Alexander Hamilton, and its fateful impact on American democracy and the growth of slavery in the early United States.

Across the River introduces Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton as "brothers (and orphans) from another mother" and twin Yankee avatars of enterprise, immigration, and commerce. Tragically, these Revolutionary War frenemies were compelled by ego and honor to mutual annihilation in the 1804 duel. Hamilton's literal death and Burr's political demise left the early American Republic in the hands of a succession of slaveholding Presidents, resulting in the early U.S. Republic remaining in thrall to slavery and oligarchy until the Civil War.

The conversation continues with a distinguished panel featuring eminent scholar of Congress Norm Ornstein, Professor Ravi Perry of Howard University and DC Vote, and U.S. Capitol Historical Society (CHS)'s Steve Livengood, all moderated by CHS President/CEO Jane Campbell. They will discuss America's flawed democracy from the Founding through January 6 right up to the present day.

The Across the River Theater and Policy Salon's venue - the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library main auditorium - symbolizes the hope that "the arc of history bends toward justice."

This Theater and Policy Salon has been supported by a grant from HumanitiesDC.

The Across the River Theater and Policy Salon will be held in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library main auditorium on Thursday, October 19 from 630pm to 8pm in downtown Washington, DC (Metro: Gallery Place)

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