“Another man might have been brief or elliptical,” Ron Chernow wrote in his 2005 classic biography. The woman’s husband knew of the affair, forcing Hamilton – one of the most powerful figures in the fragile republic – to fork over hush money. He was not involved in financial duplicity, but an extramarital affair with Reynolds’s wife, Maria. Reynolds.” The treasury secretary, however, cut them short. The house call was only a sign of respect before exposing Hamilton to the long knives of public scorn.Īs Hamilton would later write, the three politicians “introduced the subject by observing to me that they had discovered a very improper connection between me and a Mr. Venable of Virginia – had already drafted a letter to President George Washington outing the cabinet member. Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania and Rep. Notes in Hamilton’s own handwriting to Reynolds and his wife seemed to back up the allegation. The three men believed they had uncovered a financial scam linking Hamilton to a pair of shabby fraudsters, James Reynolds and Jacob Clingman. They did not realize the curtain was about to rise on the nation’s first major political sex scandal.
15, 1792, James Monroe and two other members of Congress stepped through Alexander Hamilton’s door, ready to torpedo the powerful treasury secretary’s career. Rather than incriminate himself, Hamilton chose to air his own dirty laundry.On Dec. He presented Hamilton with a choice: either admit to the affair or implicate himself in James’ mess. By November 1792, James was locked up for his role in a plot that involved overdue back wages for war veterans. James had already roped him into another scandal. Again, Hamilton agreed to end to the scandalous affair. Of course, he received one final payment for his silence, receiving more than $1,300 in total. On May 2, 1792, James had a change of heart and decided to discontinue Hamiton’s visits. Even after James acquired $1,000 in blackmail money from Hamilton, he insisted that the politician carry on with his visitations “as a friend” in exchange for more cash. While Maria’s letter forewarned Hamilton of her husband’s blackmail attempts, James’ letter actually begged Hamilton to continue his forbidden visits. But the Reynolds’ wouldn’t give up that easily, and each of them desperately wrote letters to Hamilton. Emotional blackmailīy the time that Hamilton became wise to the Reynolds’ scheme, he decided to stop participating in the relationship in the fall of 1791. In his own words, Hamilton realized that Maria and James were involved in a plan to “extort money from me.” Although it wasn’t unusual at that time to challenge each other to a pistol duel, James chose to extort some major cash instead. In fact, James would even encourage their rendezvous in order to gain more blackmail money.
Shockingly, her husband knew about the scandal for the entire time and used his knowledge to blackmail Hamilton. As Maria led Hamilton upstairs, he later stated that “Some conversation ensued from which it was quickly apparent that other than pecuniary consolation would be acceptable.” Their sordid affair would continue until June 1792.ĭuring the course of their relationship, Hamilton was pulled into a ring of deception and lies by both Maria and her husband. Reynold’s lodging house, it became clear that his visit was about more than monetary aid. Since he didn’t have any cash on him at the time, he jotted down her address to drop off some money to assist her. Claiming that her husband James Reynolds had left her, she asked Hamilton for financial assistance. Maria Reynolds, then 23 years old, approached 34-year-old married Alexander Hamilton on a hot summers day in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania.