A few months ago, we had tickets to see the Broadway musical “Hamilton” at the Kennedy Center. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go, but Claire, Kelly and Emily went. I’m sorry I missed it — I’m not a big fan of musicals, but I think history is interesting and Hamilton is one of the more interesting of our founding fathers.
Most of us know that he was America’s first Secretary of Treasury, that he was Washington’s right-hand man in the revolutionary War, he was one of the primary architects of the Constitution and he died in a duel with Aaron Burr.
Hamilton is probably best known for his engineering of America’s financial system, but he was also a prolific writer and he founded a newspaper. He established the New York Post in 1801, and the paper is still publishing a daily paper today.
I didn’t see the musical, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t address all of Hamilton’s adventures — and — mis-adventures.
One of the Hamilton stories that I ran across a few years ago sheds a bit of a different light on one of my favorite founding fathers…. although he was happily married to a daughter from a prominent New York family, he strayed from his marriage bed, when he began an affair with Maria Reynolds. Reynolds was a married woman, and her husband quickly turned the affair to his advantage by blackmailing Hamilton.
Today, I think everyone is sick and tired of sleazy politicians and their activities. A lot of us yearn for the good old days of honorable leaders like our founding fathers. But, if you dig a little deeper than the fifth-grad history books…. well, maybe not….
Here’s the Hamilton story as I remember it.
When Hamilton was at the height of his influence and power — and happily married — he met Maria Reynolds. The young woman asked him for money, saying her philandering husband had abandoned her. (Hamilton later said he was touched by the poor woman’s story.) Apparently, he was touched enough to begin an affair with her. After several months, Maria’s husband showed up at Hamilton’s door. Hamilton expected the outraged husband to demand “satisfaction” — a duel to the death. But — to Hamilton’s relief — James reynolds only demanded $1,000 as compensation for husbandly pain and suffering. He paid up, and James generously granted Hamilton leeway to continue the affair with Maria — in return for future payments.
The relationship continued with Maria, who became more and more clinging, until he could wriggle out of her grasp. Hamilton knew he’d been taken by a husband and wife con team. But Hamilton considered himself lucky to only be a few thousand dollars poorer as long as he was rid of Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds.
Some time later, Hamilton received another disturbing visit — this time from three U.S. senators, including James Monroe. The senators told Hamilton about a rumor that he had given money and secret Treasury Department information to a petty swindler named James Reynolds. (At this time, James was currently residing in a Philadelphia prison.) When faced with these accusations, Hamilton came clean. He confessed to the affair, but denied giving away any secret information. The senators believed him and left.
A few years later, Hamilton left the Treasury Department and started private law practice. His “scandals” remained hidden, and he was an influential figure in national politics — he even considered running for president in 1800. But a couple of years before the 1800 election, a pamphlet dredged up the whole “Reynolds Affair.” The tale of sex and payoffs created a sensation. Hamilton suspected that James Monroe (or one of the senators who came to his office a few years earlier) had leaked the story. James Monroe was an ally of Hamilton’s potential competitor for the presidency — Thomas Jefferson. Of course, Jefferson probably had dirty laundry of his own due to his relationship with his slave Sally Hemings.
But anyhow, Hamilton decided to fight — he wrote a fiery essay admitting that he had sex with Maria, but denied any wrongdoing at the Treasury Department. Hamilton decided to let everyone know he was an unfaithful husband, but he was not a crook. His public career survived — just barely. His enemies continued to discuss the affair and there was no chance that he could run for president. Thomas Jefferson won the election of 1800.
In 1804, Alexander Hamilton fought a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr. The two men had long been political rivals, but the immediate cause of the duel was disparaging remarks Hamilton allegedly made about Burr at a dinner. After Hamilton’s dramatic death as a result of the duel, his long-suffering wife, Betsy, burned all her correspondence, so no one knows what she thought of her husband’s embarrassing behavior.
An interesting note is that Maria Reynolds later had an affair with Aaron Burr, too.
Guess we have to just keep looking for those honorable leaders….
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