Theodosia Burr

Originally Aired: May 12, 1941 In Cavalcade of America #226, "Theodosia Burr," the devoted daughter of Aaron Burr finds herself torn between loyalty to her father and her own desires. It is New Year's Eve 1800, and Aaron Burr hosts a gathering at his Manhattan estate, where tensions flare with General Hamilton over the upcoming presidential election. Theodosia skillfully defuses the confrontation, demonstrating the diplomatic abilities her father has cultivated in her since childhood. As Burr pursues his political ambitions and dreams of a western empire, he relies heavily on his seventeen-year-old daughter not just as hostess but as campaign manager and strategist. When Burr needs funding for his elaborate Tammany Hall scheme to secure votes in New York, he insists Theodosia entertain the wealthy southerner Joseph Alston instead of her preferred guest, Washington Irving. Despite her governess Natalie's warnings that she sacrifices too much for her father's ambitions, Theodosia complies, only to find herself accidentally encouraging a marriage proposal from Alston. Now she faces an impossible choice between her father's political needs and her own happiness, as Burr pressures her to accept a loveless marriage that would take her far from home.