WILLIAM SHATNER: A secret society
that plotted America's independence.
A heavenly vision
received by George Washington.
And secret documents that may have been hidden...
in the White House.
In the United States,
the foundation for freedom and democracy was laid
by a group of men who are referred to
as "the Founding Fathers."
But more than two centuries
after their bold vision came to life,
new information has emerged
about the complexities, the agendas, and the secrets
of these important historical figures.
What truths have remained in the shadows
about the men who formed America?
Well, that is what we'll try and find out.
♪ ♪
More than a hundred English colonists storm out
of the Old South Meeting House
and march toward the nearby harbor.
The protestors, known as "the Sons of Liberty,"
are not happy with the British crown.
RICHARD SPENCE: The Sons of Liberty were a kind of
proto-revolutionary group, and one of the things
that they're angry about is the price of tea.
The colonists had been getting their tea from smugglers,
but then the British crown basically turned around, and...
and it handed a monopoly
on tea trade to the East India Company.
And the tea provided to the colonies
by the East India Company was cheaper, and so,
when the East India Company came in, all these little
mom-and-pop smuggling operations were put out of business.
Well, that made people angry.
Their economic interests were threatened.
SHATNER: As the story goes, the Sons of Liberty stormed
the British East India Company's ships,
and dumped more than 90,000 pounds of tea into the harbor,
destroying property that today would be worth
over $1.5 million.
This revolutionary act of defiance became known
as "the Boston Tea Party."
SPENCE: Some people argue the American Revolution began
in 1773 with the Boston Tea Party.
By the time of the Revolution,
the British colonies had a population
approaching three million people.
And theoretically, the colonies existed to enrich the empire.
On the other hand, the people living
in those colonies believed that they had settled there,
and that its economy existed to enrich them.
And this is what the conflict arose over.
And that, then, would eventually roll over
into the revolution itself.
The American Revolution was a very new thing,
a very dramatic thing.
This was the first colonial revolt
in the modern world.
The inhabitants of British North America were supposed
to populate this new world
and run it for the benefit of the home country.
And at the end of the 18th century, they said, "No."
Human nature gave people rights,
and that governments had to respect them,
and if they didn't, it was legitimate to change them
or even overthrow them.
SHATNER: The leaders of the American Revolution
included icons such as George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin
and Alexander Hamilton, among many others.
These visionaries, collectively known as the Founding Fathers,
advanced the American ideals of democratic government,
despite the fact that, at the time,
opposing the king of England was both bold
and dangerous.
CHRIS HODAPP: The Founding Fathers lived
in a period of divine right of kings,
where a king's decision
was equal to getting the word of God handed down.
And so, really, it became a time of questioning existing
divine-right-of-king style government,
expressing the belief that you didn't have
to have royalty running a country.
SPENCE: The Founding Fathers--
they were all men of education,
some degree of wealth and influence
who were, in many cases, secret in their activities,
because if you're going to plot a rebellion against the king,
secrecy is necessary, because if not,
you'll all be hanging within about a week's time.
And this is where you bring in our friends, the Freemasons,
because what aids secrecy
better than a secret society?
SHATNER: The Fraternal Order of Freemasons
is a secretive brotherhood that traces its origins back
to the 13th century,
when European stonemasons formed the organization
as a way of bringing together like-minded
and free-thinking individuals.
Centuries later, when English colonists came to the New World,
many of them established local Freemason groups
and congregated in meeting places
that were known as "lodges."
AKDRAM ELIAS: The purpose of Masonic lodges
in the American colonies was really very important.
It was the place where pillars
of their local community would come together.
There are some very prominent Freemasons
among the Founding Fathers of the United States.
You have people like George Washington,
Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock,
and Paul Revere was one of them, as well.
SPENCE: As a whole, Freemasonry tended
to be kind of broadly connected with free thinking,
fellowship and a clear rejection
of monarchy and titles of nobility.
Another thing which Freemasonry would contribute
to this whole idea of revolutionary conspiracy
was the inherent secrecy of the organization.
The secrets of Freemasonry are only for initiated members.
You're never supposed to talk about that.
And when you have revolution involved,
they're necessarily not just secret,
but actually conspiratorial about what they were doing.
SHATNER: Some historians have suggested
that Freemasonry was more than just a secret society
that was used to conceal revolutionary activities.
It may also have been the inspiration
for a hidden agenda
that involved the spiritual beliefs of the Founding Fathers.
ARTURO DE HOYOS: We have to remember,
at the time that Freemasonry developed,
that these men were Christians.
So, Freemasons must believe in a supreme being,
you have to have a hope in the immortality of the soul.
This is something that's spoken of in the Bible.
And this is something that dominated the world
for thousands of years,
and was extremely important to our Founding Fathers.
The American Revolution
was dedicated, in their mind, you know, to the one true God.
SHATNER: Did some of the Founding Fathers believe
that the American Revolution was a kind of spiritual crusade,
undertaken in the name of God?
There are those who believe that the answer is "yes,"
and as evidence, they point to the wording
of the Declaration of Independence.
Signed on July 4, 1776,
the document proclaimed
that the colonists were free from Britain,
and stated that human beings have inalienable rights
given to them, not by a king,
but rather by God, their creator.
DE HOYOS: The signers of the Declaration of Independence
were all aware that they were committing treason.
They put their names in bold letters,
and they said so on the Declaration of Independence.
That's very much an American idea.
That sense of fighting for a just cause.
And the people who were members of the Freemasons
in the Revolutionary War believed
that this was divine work.
Were the Founding Fathers inspired not only by politics
when plotting America's independence,
but also by secret spiritual traditions
that dated back centuries?
It may sound farfetched, but what if I told you
that George Washington himself
might have received a divine vision
that turned the tide of the Revolutionary War?
SHATNER: Inside a Masonic lodge,
a 20-year-old man sits blindfolded,
surrounded by Freemasons dressed in dark robes.
He takes a blood oath to join their secret brotherhood
and will remain a member until his death.
This young initiate is none other
than the future first president of the United States...
George Washington.
George Washington, when he joined the lodge
at Fredericksburg,
he had come into a large amount of property.
His father died, and then his older brother died.
And so he joins the Masons because he wants
to be in the company of other important men.
And freemasonry was an important aspect
of his life in those early years.
He brought Masonic philosophy into the way
he commanded troops, as well.
COE: During the revolution,
George Washington is often described
as some sort of founding superhero.
We see Washington in so many of the portraits
of the Founding Fathers,
sort of towering above people,
and part of the reason is he was taller than most people,
and he had presence.
SHATNER: As commander in chief of the Continental Army,
George Washington became the most visible leader
of the American Revolution.
Today, he is often referred to
as the father of the United States.
But while Washington's influence
on American history is well known,
there is much about him
that remains shrouded in mystery.
Washington was famously secretive
about his personal life.
However, we know that he was raised by a single mother
who read the Bible, and very few other books.
He could quote from the Bible.
For example, Washington will say,
"It's Providence that this should happen,"
or that God intended him to do something.
BROOKHISER: Washington's God,
and we know this from his correspondence,
intervenes in history, watches over history.
He's this all-powerful force looking over humanity
and human history, and capable of helping you out
if you behaved well,
and if you asked for his help.
SHATNER: Is it possible that,
as both a Freemason and devout Christian,
George Washington secretly believed
that God would intervene on behalf of the colonists
in the American Revolution?
Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining how Washington was able to lead his army
through its lowest point.
After numerous bloody battles against British forces,
General George Washington decides
to encamp the Continental Army for the winter.
For the next several months,
Washington and his troops will have to endure the bitter cold.
BROOKHISER: The problem at Valley Forge was
the Army was just not being supplied with anything.
They didn't have enough food,
they didn't have enough clothing.
The accommodations that they built at the camp
were put up at the last minute.
SPENCE: When you get people
crowded together in unsanitary conditions with low nutrition,
you will have a significant mortality rate.
So, in the Valley Forge situation,
the Continental Army is at a fairly low point,
and during that six months, 20% of its ranks will die.
SHATNER: The conditions at Valley Forge were so severe
that Washington wrote...
But then,
in the Continental Army's darkest hour,
Washington reportedly sought help from a higher power.
COE: As the story goes, Washington got on his knees.
You know, he kneeled at Valley Forge,
and he asked God for help.
GEIGER: The man who first reports Washington praying
at Valley Forge was a man who lived there.
He was a Quaker named Isaac Potts.
And he's the one who says, "Oh,
"I saw him, I was behind a tree.
I saw the Commander-in-Chief, and he's kneeling in prayer."
Washington certainly would have prayed at Valley Forge
because it was terrible.
It was desperate. I think he took the situation
very seriously and hoped
that Providence might improve it.
SHATNER: There were also reports that Washington
not only prayed at Valley Forge,
but also had a divine encounter.
A soldier named Anthony Sherman claimed to witness Washington
saying that he received confirmation
that his prayers had indeed been heard.
GEIGER: The report was that, at Valley Forge,
that Washington said to an officer that he had seen
a vision of an angel talking to him.
The vision given to him by this angel was
the angel essentially waved his hand,
and on one side of America was an ocean and Europe,
and on the other side was an ocean and Asia.
And so that the angel had revealed to George Washington
this vision that America would go from coast to coast.
SHATNER: What occurred after Washington's alleged vision
was very curious.
Against all odds,
and despite losing 2,000 men
to cold, starvation and disease,
the Continental Army survived the winter at Valley Forge.
And then, only ten days after leaving the encampment,
Washington and his troops won a decisive victory
over the British at the Battle of Monmouth.
Many Americans came to believe that Washington's prayer
had miraculously changed the colonists' fortunes.
GEIGER: This idea of Washington praying in the woods,
for a young nation that was still a fragile nation,
it gave us this idea that God heard Washington praying.
And so there's a reason to believe that maybe
our nation would survive.
The idea that George Washington received a prophetic vision
that changed the course of American history
is an extraordinary possibility to consider.
But there are other secrets of the Founding Fathers
that, while not quite as otherworldly,
are no less intriguing.
For instance, historians are still debating
the true identity of one of the Revolution's
most important spies, who went by the code name
Agent 355.
SHATNER: The British Army scores a decisive victory
over General George Washington and the Continental Army.
The British take control of the city
and make it their military headquarters.
In the Summer of 1776, the Revolutionary War is
not off to a good start for the Americans.
New York is one of the largest cities
in the American colonies at the time.
As a result, Washington needs to retake New York.
And so this demonstrates a really-- a critical need
for intelligence to know what the enemy is doing,
what the forces are comprised of,
what their intentions are.
He needs information.
SHATNER: To obtain the intelligence that he desperately needs
to retake New York City, Washington created
an intelligence network made up not of soldiers,
but rather ordinary citizens
living in and around New York.
The group became known as the Culper Spy Ring.
We're not sure how the Culper Spy Ring
got its name.
But the one thing we do know
is that Washington's main spy was a farmer
named Abraham Woodhull.
And they gave him the code name Samuel Culper.
OLLY: Abraham Woodhull enlisted a small group
of perhaps a half a dozen men
who conveyed military intelligence
from Manhattan to Washington's headquarters.
And then, because Abraham Woodhull
could not constantly be going into New York
to gather information, he enlisted the services
of Robert Townsend, who was a merchant in Manhattan.
As a merchant, he could be, really, anyplace.
He could be down by the waterfront.
He could be in coffee shops.
He could be chatting in a tavern with people.
So he was gathering information.
So Robert Townsend took the name of Samuel Culper, Jr.
SHATNER: To ensure that their messages
were not read by the British, the Culper Spy Ring devised
ingenious methods of sending coded messages.
The Culper Spy Ring communicated with each other
by mostly letters.
They used numbers to represent words,
about 700 different words.
And these numbers were written in the messages,
and then the spy code was
given to the people who needed to translate the code
at Washington's headquarters or wherever.
SHATNER: Historians have been able to decode and decipher
many Culper Spy Ring messages that still exist today.
But there is one message
that continues to baffle experts.
It's a letter that refers to a mysterious spy
who was known only as 355.
There is a spy letter, dated August 15, 1779,
written by Abraham Woodhull,
in which he says that he's going to go into the city,
into Manhattan, to gather information,
with the help of a "355."
So this number, 355,
is a very tantalizing and mysterious detail
that leads to speculation because 355
is the numerical substitution in the spy code for "lady."
It's so fascinating to think about a lady spy
during the Revolutionary War that this has
fired the imagination of hundreds of people
that have written books about who this spy could be.
SHATNER: Over the years, there has been intense speculation
as to the identity of Agent 355 and what role
she played in the Culper Spy Ring.
Some experts believe there is evidence to suggest
that the woman may have been an African-American slave
who was known as Liss.
BELLERJEAU: Liss was born into slavery in Robert Townsend's household,
Townsend was the lead spy
of the Culper Spy Ring, Culper Jr.
Now, the British had promised escaped American slaves
if they would come over to the British side,
at the end of the war, they could become free.
And one of the British commanders
that was a leading abolitionist
was a man named Colonel John Graves Simcoe.
And in May of 1779, Simcoe was staying in the Townsend home.
Liss got to know this commander,
and when Simcoe left the house, she escaped with him.
SHATNER: In recent years, some historians have theorized
that Liss's escape with Colonel Simcoe
was actually a ploy,
and that the real reason Liss left Robert Townsend's house
was so that she could spy on the British army.
BELLERJEAU: Now, if Liss was inside British headquarters,
serving as an enslaved person,
she could pass through rooms and observe things,
overhear things, and she wouldn't even be noticed.
SHATNER: Was Liss actually a double agent who was
secretly working with the Culper Spy Ring?
It's an intriguing theory.
And some experts propose that not only was Liss 355,
but also it's possible she played an important role
in exposing America's most notorious turncoat:
Benedict Arnold.
There was a secret meeting of the British officers
held at a house in East Hampton.
Colonel Simcoe went out with his troops to this meeting,
and the British talked about how they had just secured
the deal with Benedict Arnold
to give up the fort at West Point for money.
Now, an account was written of this meeting
that said that an enslaved woman in the house
was passing through a room
and overheard the men talking about how an American general
was gonna give up an American fort to the British.
This woman is described as a waitress
or perhaps mistress to Colonel Simcoe.
That's the woman who I think could be Liss.
SHATNER: Curiously, less than one month after
this secret meeting took place,
Benedict Arnold was revealed to be a traitor to the Revolution.
There are those who believe that the timing of these events
is no coincidence,
and that Liss provided crucial information
that made it possible to expose Arnold.
But ultimately, the real identity
of 355 remains unknown.
OLLY: We know the other members of the Culper Spy Ring.
But who was this woman who was coded as 355?
Today, we're used to women
playing important roles as spies.
But in the Revolutionary War, that would have been very rare,
and so this has fascinated people since 1779.
Will we ever find out who the mysterious Agent 355 was?
Perhaps time will tell, but, fortunately,
not all of the Founding Fathers' secrets have been buried.
In fact, some may be hidden in plain sight
on the streets of Washington, D.C.
SHATNER: Here, on the bank of the Potomac River,
is a lighthouse that dates back to the 18th century.
And hidden within the sea wall of the house
is a rather curious monument.
It's a three-foot-tall stone block
that was placed in this location to mark the southern boundary
of the District of Columbia.
The boundary stones surrounding the District,
those are still out there.
You can find those boundary stones
all over the area.
In the middle of streets,
in people's backyards, in parking lots.
They demarcate what is federal territory for the city,
and what is Virginia and Maryland.
Thomas Jefferson, actually, was the one who said,
"Let's make the lines surrounding the city the shape
of a diamond sitting on its point."
So, that was his contribution.
That's why we have the shape we do today.
SHATNER: All told, there are 40 boundary stones
surrounding Washington, D.C.
In 1791, each stone was carefully placed
by a group of local Freemasons in an elaborate ritual, under
the orders of then-President George Washington.
They form an area that is precisely ten miles long
by ten miles wide, defining the original borders
of the District of Columbia.
And there are those who believe
that the careful geometry of America's capital
held deep significance for the Founding Fathers.
SELMAN: There are some people who would equate
the relationship between those boundary stones
that surround the city-- that diamond shape--
with the Masons having designed the square and compass,
their symbol, into the pattern of the city.
The geometry and the meaning behind numbers and symbols
are part of what's known as "sacred geometry,"
and was standard practice for artists
and architects at the time.
So, it's a methodology and a technique.
SHATNER: Is the diamond shape of the District of Columbia
actually a Freemason symbol hiding in plain sight?
And if so, what purpose does such
an unusual configuration serve?
Perhaps the answer can be found by examining how
the Founding Fathers oversaw the construction
of the nation's capital city
that lies within the District.
In March 1791, President Washington
appointed French architect
Pierre Charles L'Enfant to design the city.
HODAPP: Washington became deeply involved
in approving L'Enfant's designs.
He got the guy hired, and was very, very interested
in the design of the city.
European capital cities were chaotic,
their streets changed names every ten feet,
and they followed strange paths and creeks.
Well, Washington said this new city won't be that.
It will be a utopian city, a planned city.
And so it's not surprising that when L'Enfant was designing
this very geometric, very balanced federal city,
that there are many, many layers of Masonic symbolism.
There are very few cities in the world that are
intentionally designed as fully as Washington.
The interesting thing is that, quite often,
the assumption is that there's a gridded street system,
and then these avenues were laid on top
to connect topography or significant points.
That's just the opposite of what L'Enfant actually did.
He laid out the angled avenues first,
and then the grid grew out of that.
Washington and the founders
and Pierre L'Enfant wanted to
physically embody the geometry
in the pattern of the city itself.
When you look at the city top down, you will see plenty
of geometric shapes as a result of these interactions,
so triangles, rectangles,
circles, you name it.
What's the idea behind it?
Geometry is a synonym of masonry.
The universal symbol of Freemasonry has the compasses,
the square, and then you have the letter "G."
And the letter "G" is the initial of geometry,
because we in Freemasonry refer to the deity
as the Grand Architect of the universe,
or the Grand Geometrician.
In other words, through symbols, deep thoughts are conveyed.
SHATNER: Did the Founding Fathers encode Freemason symbols into
the streets and buildings of Washington, D.C.?
And if so, what is the meaning of these messages
that they left behind for future generations?
There are those who believe that a clue can be found
by closely examining the U.S. Capitol building.
The city of Washington is divided into four quadrants.
At the intersection of the four quadrants--
it's called Point Zero-- is the United States Capitol.
The U.S. Capitol is elevated on a hill,
and the idea here is that this is
where the people and the states come together,
not one person, like a king.
And it was to remind all future members of Congress,
your mission is not about power.
Your mission is to serve the people by promoting
their happiness, their peace and their prosperity.
Was Washington, D.C. designed to be a symbol
of the Founding Fathers' beliefs?
Perhaps, but there are rumors that they left behind
an even more important message for future generations.
One that was concealed in the original cornerstone
of the White House.
(man declaims)
SHATNER: A group of Freemasons perform a sacred ceremony
in which they lay the first stone
used in the construction of the White House.
The large stone is intended to be the foundation
of the southeast corner of the building,
and is referred to as the "cornerstone."
When the White House cornerstone was dedicated,
there was corn, wine, and oil poured on top of it.
It's the corn of nourishment,
the wine of refreshment
and the oil of joy.
And that really expresses the hopes of the Masons involved
for the success of not only that building,
but what it represents-- the system of government,
and, by extension, the nation.
SHATNER: It's believed that, as part of the ceremony,
the Freemasons placed objects of great importance
in a time capsule that was put inside
a compartment located within the cornerstone.
For centuries, historians have wondered
what the Founding Fathers may have hidden
in the White House cornerstone.
GEIGER: We know that the Freemasons put time capsules
in other buildings and monuments.
And since this was the cornerstone
of the president's house, they might have put
something very important in there.
One of the things that has been speculated
is that they would have had some alternate versions of founding
documents of America, like a version of the Constitution
that also included in it the Masons' vision of
how the nation was supposed to proceed.
SHATNER: An alternate version of the Constitution
placed in the cornerstone of the White House?
But what reason is there to think
that this document existed?
Something that often gets lost in the shuffle in the whole
history of the Revolution is that the Constitution
and the Republic it created wasn't the first iteration.
So, what actually came out of the Revolution were
the Articles of Confederation,
which from 1781 to 1789
are actually what governed the new country.
But the Articles of Confederation didn't work,
and so they came up with the Constitution.
But it's Plan B.
The other thing you often have to take into account is
there were contentious factions among the Founding Fathers.
They did not all get along.
There were bitter arguments between them.
And so was there an alternative Constitution?
That's certainly quite possible.
GEIGER: Legally, a different version
of the Constitution wouldn't mean anything.
The Constitution we have is the one that was
ratified by the states.
Historically, it could be utterly fascinating.
It could be earth-shattering in terms of our understanding
about what intent was for the nation.
The thing is we don't know.
So, you can see why people want to find a cornerstone;
it's because they want to know what's in there,
and what that would mean.
SHATNER: But if there might be an alternate version of
the Constitution hidden in the White House cornerstone,
then it naturally begs the question:
why hasn't anyone checked to see if it's really there?
Well, as it turns out, people have tried to do just that.
But curiously, the cornerstone
of the White House has never been found.
GEIGER: The cornerstone was supposed to be in the southeast corner
of the White House, and the ceremony was reported on,
and then that cornerstone has never been seen since.
It seems to have just kind of disappeared from history.
So, it leaves you the question: where is it?
SHATNER: For more than 200 years, historians have speculated
as to where the cornerstone of the White House is located.
In fact, when the White House was completely gutted
for renovation work during the 1940s,
President Harry Truman took the opportunity
to order a thorough search for the elusive cornerstone.
DE HOYOS: When Truman had the White House rebuilt,
or refurbished in the 1950s, they found a lot of stones with
Masonic emblems on them, and being an active Freemason--
in fact, he was the grand master of Masons in Missouri--
he had one of these stones sent to each of the grand lodges.
We have one at the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C.
It's a stone that has a Masonic mark on it,
but for the cornerstone, who knows?
GEIGER: Truman very much searched for that cornerstone,
and they've never found it.
If the cornerstone is still there,
it has never been discovered.
But maybe it's hidden somewhere and could still be found.
If we ever find the lost cornerstone
of the White House, could it reveal
even more secrets about the Founding Fathers?
It's an exciting possibility, especially given the evidence
that it may have been deliberately concealed.
Just like the supposed secrets surrounding
the untimely death of one the most celebrated
leaders of the American Revolution...
Alexander Hamilton.
The musical Hamilton premieres on Broadway at
the Richard Rogers theatre
and receives rave reviews.
The smash hit explores the life of Alexander Hamilton,
who was one of America's most important Founding Fathers.
Alexander Hamilton was that fiery Founding Father
who came here as an immigrant of very humble origins
and wound up one of the most powerful people in the country.
Arguably, no single person had a greater impact on how
the American republic functions than Alexander Hamilton.
SHATNER: After fighting in the Revolutionary War,
Alexander Hamilton became the United States'
first Secretary of Treasury,
and designed the nation's financial system.
But Hamilton is also famous
for the unusual circumstances of his death,
which came at the hands of his bitter rival,
Vice President Aaron Burr.
There's an account in an upstate New York newspaper
of a dinner party
at which Hamilton called Aaron Burr despicable.
It comes to Aaron Burr's attention,
he writes a letter to Hamilton
demanding an explanation.
There is an exchange of letters.
Hamilton does not satisfy Burr.
And so a duel takes place to resolve this question of honor.
SHATNER: On July 11, 1804,
Hamilton and Burr met
in the early morning hours in a secluded field
in Weehawken, New Jersey.
As was the custom at the time, Hamilton provided
both pistols for the duel.
GEIGER: Usually, one person brings both pistols.
They're supposed to be identical.
Now, most duels did not end in deaths.
Most of the time, they would both shoot,
they would both miss, and they would decide
that their honor had been satisfied
and they would walk home.
When there was a call to fire,
Hamilton fired high.
But Aaron Burr was aiming to kill.
Alexander Hamilton was shot a mortal wound.
He died 31 hours later.
SHATNER: The death of Alexander Hamilton marked
the tragic passing of an American hero.
For centuries, Hamilton was portrayed as
a gracious gentleman who aimed high
but was ruthlessly gunned down by the villainous Aaron Burr.
But then, 172 years after Hamilton's death,
new evidence came to light
that called these assumptions into question.
The pistols that were used in the Hamilton-Burr duel
were acquired by Chase Bank,
and they would put the pistols out on display now and again.
In 1976, they allowed the Smithsonian Institution
to inspect the pistols, and they found something shocking.
One of the pistols had a special mechanism that was
built-in to cheat in duels.
If you pushed the trigger all the way forward,
it would create a hair-trigger pistol
that might allow you to shoot a hair, moment, ahead
of your opponent.
Now, what we know is that Hamilton fired high.
Well, if you're shooting with a hair trigger,
as you go to aim, that could cause you to fire high.
So, the fact that he shot high
might suggest that he intended to use the hair trigger
on the pistol to shoot ahead of Burr,
and that caused him to shoot high
and resulted in his own death.
SHATNER: Did Alexander Hamilton try
to rig his duel with Aaron Burr
and, ironically, brought about his own demise?
It's hard to say for certain, but the story shows
that our perception of the Founding Fathers
changes over time,
and will continue to evolve in the future.
The American experiment is still in its early days.
If you compare us to England,
or France, or China,
or Egypt, we're still a pretty brand-new country.
And so our ways of looking
at the Founding Fathers are never static.
Some of their reputations go up,
others get a little scuffed.
But we should also remember they put their lives on the line
and created a new nation that would be organized
on new, improved principles,
and became a beacon to the world.
It's difficult to look back at the Founding Fathers
and not feel a sense of awe at their monumental achievements.
But no matter how much we know,
or think we know, about these men,
their towering legacy is so larger-than-life
that it's very hard to know the truth
about who they really were.
Which is why the secrets of the Founding Fathers will,
in all likelihood, remain...
unexplained.
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