Hamilton–Reynolds sex scandal

Affair

In the summer of 1791, 23-year-old Maria Reynolds approached the married 34-year-old Alexander Hamilton in Philadelphia, requesting his help and monetary aid, claiming her husband James had abandoned her. Hamilton did not have any money on his person, so he retrieved her address in order to deliver the funds in person. Once Hamilton arrived at the boarding house where Maria was lodging, she brought him upstairs and led him into her bedroom where he recounts that "Some conversation ensued from which it was quickly apparent that other than pecuniary consolation would be acceptable” The two began an illicit affair that would last, with varying frequency, approximately until June 1792.

Over the course of that year, while the affair took place, James Reynolds was well aware of his wife's unfaithfulness. He continually supported their relationship to regularly gain blackmail money from Hamilton. The common practice in the day was for the wronged husband to seek retribution in a pistol duel, but Reynolds, realizing how much Hamilton had to lose if his activity came into public view, insisted on monetary compensation instead. In fact after Hamilton had shown unequivocal signs that he wanted to end the affair in the Autumn of 1791 Hamilton received two letters on December 15, 1791, one each from Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. The first letter, from Maria, warned of her husband's knowledge and of James' attempting to blackmail Hamilton. By this point Hamilton discontinued the affair and briefly ceased to visit, but both Reynoldses apparently were involved in the blackmailing scheme as both sent letters inviting Hamilton to continue his visits. After extorting $1000 in exchange for secrecy over Hamilton's adultery, James Reynolds rethought his request that Hamilton cease his relationship with Maria and wrote inviting him to renew his visits "as a friend", only to extort forced "loans" after each visit which the most likely colluding Maria solicited with her letters. By 2 May 1792, James Reynolds changed his mind again and requested that Hamilton no longer see his wife, but not before receiving additional payment; in the end the blackmail payments totaled over $1300 including the initial extortion. Hamilton at this point was possibly aware of both Reynoldses' being involved in the blackmail and welcomed as well as strictly complied with Reynolds' request to end the affair.

Scandal

In November 1792 after James Reynolds was jailed for participation in a scheme involving unpaid back wages intended for Revolutionary War veterans, he used his knowledge about Hamilton’s sex affair to bargain his way out of his own troubles. Reynolds knew Hamilton would have to choose between revealing his affair with Maria or falsely admitting complicity to the charges. James Monroe, Abraham Venable and Frederick Muhlenberg were the first men to hear of this possible corruption within the nation's new government and on 15 December 1792 decided to personally confront Hamilton with the information they had received, supported by the notes of Hamilton's payments to Reynolds that Maria had given them to corroborate her husband's accusations. Denying any financial impropriety, Hamilton revealed the true nature of his relationship with Maria Reynolds and her husband in all its unsavory details, even turning over his letters from both Maria and James Reynolds.

Apparently convinced that Hamilton was not guilty of the charge of public misconduct, Monroe, Venable and Muhlenberg agreed not to make public the information and documents on the Reynolds Affair. Monroe and his colleagues assured Hamilton that the matter was settled. However, Monroe did send the letters to his close personal friend, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson and Hamilton were self-described nemeses, and five years after receiving the letters, Jefferson used the knowledge to start rumors about Hamilton's private life. In that same year, 1797, when Hamilton no longer held the post of Secretary of the Treasury, the details of his relationship to Maria and James Reynolds came to light in a series of pamphlets authored by journalist James Thomson Callender. Included were copies of the documents Hamilton had furnished to the Monroe commission in December 1792. Hamilton confronted Monroe over the leakage of the supposedly confidential documents. Monroe denied any responsibility. Hamilton came very close to calling Monroe a liar, and Monroe retorted that Hamilton was a scoundrel and challenged him to a duel. The duel was averted by the intercession of none other than Aaron Burr, who years later would himself kill Hamilton in a duel. After writing a first draft in July 1797, on 25 August 1797 Hamilton responded to Callender's revelations by printing his own 95-page pamphlet called Observations on Certain Documents, later known as the "Reynolds Pamphlet", in which he denied all charges of corruption. He did not, however, deny his relationship with Maria Reynolds; instead, he openly admitted it and apologized for it. While his candor was admired, the affair severely damaged his reputation.

Fictional Representations

This early sex scandal in American history has received multiple fictional portrayals. It was first depicted in the 1931 biographical film Alexander Hamilton. In the musical Hamilton, the Reynolds affair is a key moment in the Second Act, figuring directly in the songs "Say No to This" (in which the affair begins), "We Know" (in which Hamilton is initially confronted by Jefferson et al.), "The Reynolds Pamphlet," and "Burn," which depicts Hamilton's wife Eliza burning all her letters to him in response to the publication of the pamphlet and to the events the pamphlet describes. The affair also plays a key role in David Liss's book The Whiskey Rebels.