User:Mary Monkus

I have spent many hours over 8 years researching the life of Aaron Burr, 3rd Vice-Pres. of the U.S. My main sources:The Library of Congress in D.C., The New York Historical Society (diaries, letters, journals, newspapers and whatever Congressional reportage I could dig up.) Also, after having been discouraged by several biographies that contain obvious biases against Burr, I chose Milton Lomask's two-volume biography of Burr (nominated for a Pulitzer for it's painstaking accuracy in research), and Nathan Schectner's biography, "Aaron Burr." These two authors appeared to treat their subject with unrelenting objectivity(especially Lomask), and write clearly and with excelllent citations - many of which I randomly verified myself - just to keep them honest. They appear to have dug the deepest. A new book on Burr, "Fallen Founder," by Nancy Isenberg has recently been published. It also appears to be researched in depth and done with objectivity towards the subject. I have added some of what I learned from my research to Aaron Burr's Wikipedia page. One must not write with sympathy about an historical character;I think it would sway the writer's point of view and thus lessen his/her objectivity. However, the deeper and longer the research, a somewhat empathetic viewpoint emerged for me. That is,as the character's personality continued to emerge from all these sources - especially the letters - I could at least begin to relate to the man's life; a condition I believe, that develops with biographers in their pursuit of truth.