The U.S. has seen its politics evolve. What's on the horizon?

As a young lad throughout school, I heard a lot about leadership and politics, and the evolution of our government in America.

Do you remember those stories about George Washington and that myth of the cherry tree?

As this story was told, Washington, a lad of 6, received a small hatchet as a gift and later used it to cut down his father’s favorite cherry tree. His dad filled with anger, confronted young George who admitted, “I cannot tell a lie, I did cut it with my hatchet."

His father’s reaction was to embrace his son and "rejoiced that his son’s honesty was worth more than a thousand trees."

Now maybe this story didn’t really happen, but it was a favorite one told by many people in those days because of its lesson of morality with our first president.

Many years later, Abraham Lincoln would enter politics as a young lawyer, and according to Richard Carwardine, who wrote the biography "Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power," said this: “The nickname ‘Honest Abe’ was not the fabrication of party publicists but a mark of the universal respect in which he was held as a lawyer of scrupulous honesty."

But as we march down this road of politics, there are many twists and bends.

Aaron Burr, who was vice president under Thomas Jefferson for a short term in our history, would demonstrate some shady behavior.

He fought in the American Revolution, serving with Benedict Arnold and receiving the rank of major. Burr joined the staff of George Washington but both, it is said, had a dislike for each other.

In 1791, Burr was elected to the Senate.

In 1800, Burr won the vice presidential nomination under the Jeffersonian Republican ticket. Both Jefferson and Burr received identical electoral votes, and the House of Representatives had to determine which one would be president and vice president in those days.

Alexander Hamilton opposed Burr and supported Jefferson, who won the presidency after 36 ballots.

Jefferson was somewhat suspicious about Vice President Burr because of his questionable demeanor.

In 1804, Burr’s friends nominated him for governor of New York. Hamilton contributed to Burr’s defeat by writing unglamorous comments about him, so Burr challenged him to a duel.

On July 11, 1804, in Weehawken, N.J., the duel took place and some say that Hamilton shot in the air instead of at Burr. Burr on the other hand placed a shot in Hamilton’s abdomen, and Hamilton would die the next day.

Burr was wanted for murder, so he fled to Philadelphia where he contacted his friend, General James Wilkinson, a U.S. Army officer.

The story in the Encyclopedia Britannica says that Wilkinson and Burr then planned an invasion of Mexico to establish an independent government there and perhaps considered the separation of some existing western territories. Wilkinson became alarmed, betrayed Burr and reported the matter to Jefferson.

Burr was arrested and sent to Richmond, Va., to stand trial for treason.

John Marshall, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, presided in his capacity as circuit judge for Virginia and acquitted Burr on the ground that acts of treason against the United States by definition require the existence of a state of war.

Burr was now very much distrusted and left the country to spend time in England.

Our political evolution has displayed many facets, from moral and charismatic leaders of early government to those who dot our history with blemishes of sad commentary and behaviors.

Fast forward to 2023, and now we have an ex-president who faces a multitude of indictments for some of his own questionable behavior.

Many people see this exercise as a mere matter of evolved politics, where one party has a certain festering disdain for the other.

Yet some see the current situation as a serious test of our Constitution and the right of our republic to function in some very difficult times.

How the current situation unfolds is anyone’s guess, but for sure, there have been political moments throughout our history that have tested the grit of this nation.

Richard Nixon’s resignation of Aug. 8, 1974, because of the Watergate scandal one example of our political turmoil. Bipartisan allegiance to the Constitution back then saved the day for the country, and Nixon resigned.

The Constitution has been a document that has served this nation throughout its history. The rule of law has also been a friend to the oppressed.

What’s next on this path of political intrigue you ask?

Will it be progress or further demise?

One might be incredulously surprised!

Pete Waters is a Sharpsburg resident who writes for The Herald-Mail.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Political turmoil has rankled America before. What's the next chapter?