THE INSURRECTION ACT

The Insurrection Act gives U.S. presidents the authority to deploy active duty military to maintain or
restore peace in times of crisis. The Insurrection Act was invoked numerous times in the 20th century,
most famously when Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the
desegregation of public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas.
But the origins of the Insurrection Act date back more than 200 years to a bizarre chapter in American
history—when Aaron Burr plotted to raise an army and establish his own dynasty in either the Louisiana
Territory or Mexico.
Burr, a decorated Revolutionary War officer and senator from New York, served as vice president during
Thomas Jefferson’s first term. Burr had grand political aspirations, but they were dashed after he killed
his rival Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804.
Even though dueling was illegal, Burr was never arrested or tried for Hamilton’s murder, but it effectively
ended Burr’s political career. With no prospects in Washington, D.C. or New York, Burr set his sights on
the West, namely the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and Mexican-owned lands in the Southwest.
The details of Burr’s plot were never clear, but it involved mustering an army to invade Mexico under the
pretense of a war with Spain, and then keeping the conquered land for himself. Burr thought he had an
ally in General James Wilkenson, commander of the U.S. Army and first governor of the Louisiana
Territory, but when rumors of Burr’s plot leaked into the newspapers, Wilkenson turned on his co-
conspirator.