eBook - ePub
The Trial of Levi Weeks
Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the First Recorded Murder Trial in US History
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
The Trial of Levi Weeks
Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the First Recorded Murder Trial in US History
About this book
In January 1800, just weeks after the death of George Washington, the body of a young New York woman was recovered from the depths of Manhattan Well—so called because it had been dug by Aaron Burr's Manhattan Company.
The woman was Gulielma "Elma" Sands, who on December 22 had left the boardinghouse where she lived, never to return. Suspicion immediately fell on another boarder, Levi Weeks, who according to Sands's cousin and landlady was to marry the victim the very night she disappeared.Â
By the time Weeks went on trial for Sands's murder a few months later, the crime had become the talk of New York City. So many New Yorkers came to visit Sands's body before her funeral that her open coffin was displayed in the street, and crowds jammed the thoroughfares around the courthouse shouting for Weeks to be hanged. The fate of the accused lay in the hands of a defense team recruited by his brother, prominent builder Ezra Weeks, from the upper ranks of New York society.
Weeks's team of star lawyers—which included both Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr—had to work together to defend a client whom all of New York seemed to have already decided was guilty.
This book tells the full story of the trial of Levi Weeks and includes the entire transcript of the first American murder trial ever recorded. It is at once a riveting retelling of a true crime in which the voices of early New Yorkers come to us freshly from over two centuries in the past, and a riveting legal and social history of New York in the early years of the Republic.
The woman was Gulielma "Elma" Sands, who on December 22 had left the boardinghouse where she lived, never to return. Suspicion immediately fell on another boarder, Levi Weeks, who according to Sands's cousin and landlady was to marry the victim the very night she disappeared.Â
By the time Weeks went on trial for Sands's murder a few months later, the crime had become the talk of New York City. So many New Yorkers came to visit Sands's body before her funeral that her open coffin was displayed in the street, and crowds jammed the thoroughfares around the courthouse shouting for Weeks to be hanged. The fate of the accused lay in the hands of a defense team recruited by his brother, prominent builder Ezra Weeks, from the upper ranks of New York society.
Weeks's team of star lawyers—which included both Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr—had to work together to defend a client whom all of New York seemed to have already decided was guilty.
This book tells the full story of the trial of Levi Weeks and includes the entire transcript of the first American murder trial ever recorded. It is at once a riveting retelling of a true crime in which the voices of early New Yorkers come to us freshly from over two centuries in the past, and a riveting legal and social history of New York in the early years of the Republic.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Trial of Levi Weeks by Estelle Fox Kleiger in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Edition
2Subtopic
Early American HistoryTable of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Copyright
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Disappearance
- 2 The Manhattan Company
- 3 The Players
- 4 Case for the Prosecution
- 5 Prosecution Continued
- 6 Case for the Defense
- 7 Public Reaction
- 8 Historic Perspective
- 9 Aftermath
- Afterword
- Appendix
- Notes
- Bibliography