Sophie McCarthy

Infidelity has plagued politics, sent shockwaves through sports, and birthed award-winning reality television. Even the fastest-growing Broadway musical features a cheating scandal. Hamilton, debuting in 2015, has quickly climbed to the fourth highest grossing show of all time. The production, which centers on the turbulent political career of Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton, spans twenty-eight years, two hours & forty-five minutes, and forty-six songs. While Hamilton’s narrative spotlights his political influence and fiscal developments within the early years of American history, his personal escapades reveal the details of his entanglement with Maria Reynolds. 

1791 was a tumultuous era for the newly birthed United States of America. With a Constitution to uphold, democracy to build upon, and a fiscal system in desperate need of a makeover, the powerful men of the late eighteenth century certainly had their hands full. But for the first time in decades, the people of the United States were more occupied by what was occurring in Europe than on their homefront. With all eyes on France, the National Bank, and the Bill of Rights, Alexander Hamilton maneuvered through the blindspots of his constituents, colleagues, and even his wife, stumbling right into Mrs. Reynolds. 

Maria Reynolds, the twenty-three year old wife to James Reynolds, initially engaged in a relationship with Hamilton when his wife and children were said to have left the city for Albany during the sweltering summer months of 1791. After appearing at Hamilton’s Philadelphia residence, Mrs. Reynolds unloaded a narrative filled with abuse, mistreatment, and abandonment. Her request was simple: some assistance in finding her way back to New York City to reunite with family and friends. Unable to fulfill her needs at the moment, Hamilton is said to have gathered the necessary funds throughout the day before reuniting with Maria at the Reynolds’ residency later that evening. The two never set off for New York, choosing instead to spur one of the nation’s first scandals and a full-blown political affair. 

Hamilton and Maria continued their relations in secret for a handful of months, until December 15th, when it all came crashing down. Hamilton received a note of urgency from Maria, revealing her husband had discovered their affair, and Hamilton would soon be forced to pay the price. On December 17th, the Founding Father received a letter from James Reynolds’ requesting $1,000 for his silence and his wife. The agreement was simple: Hamilton would cough up the cash in exchange for Reynolds’ silence, as well as continued accessibility to Maria.  

As the Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was a powerful man with strong financial backing, presenting James Reynolds with the perfect target for extortion. Hamilton quickly and quietly paid the initial sum, but his relations with Maria continued to cost him. Having never left town as initially promised, Reynolds remained aware of the politician’s continued involvement with his wife, routinely sending Hamilton requests for funds after each tryst. 

The scheme maintained its secrecy until November of 1792, when James was arrested for forgery. Reynolds reached out to Hamilton for assistance, and when his request was met with denial, he revealed the smoking gun he had been carrying for over a year. Summoning Hamilton’s Republican rivals, James Monroe and Frederick Muhlenberg, Reynolds not only revealed the details of Hamilton’s infidelity, but attempted to implicate him in his financial schemes as well. He presented them with a variety of correspondence between himself and Alexander, which outlined the scope of the infidelity while simultaneously creating a financial relationship between the con artist and the Secretary of the Treasury.  

After meeting with Reynolds in jail, Monroe and Muhlenberg approached Hamilton with the story they had been told. Affirming the validity of the affair, Alexander maintained his innocence in any sort of nefarious spending. Satisfied, the Republicans agreed to keep the infidelity under wraps, but James Monroe secretly copied the letters Reynolds had provided to him before passing them along to Hamilton’s political rival, Thomas Jefferson. 

By 1797, Hamilton had stepped away from the cabinet, leaving him with plenty of time to write scathing essays about his political opponents and settle into his cushy life with his wealthy wife. It was in June that this would reach its climax, when James Callender published The History of the United States for 1796. Included were accusations of Hamilton’s scheming, fraud, and of course, infidelity, all of which were seemingly demonstrated by the documents, originating from James Reynolds before making it into the hands of Hamilton’s adversaries. 

In an effort to maintain his innocence with the law and free himself from the shackles of blackmail and extortion, Alexander Hamilton published: Observations on Certain Documents. The pamphlet detailed his physical relationship with Maria, his financial relationship with James, and his betrayal of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, his wife. The publication was successful in squashing all speculation of financial scheming, as well as any hopes Hamilton may have had for political advancement.  

Hamilton and Eliza remained married, spending the last seven years of his life rebuilding their relationship. The same could not be said about the Reynoldses, as Maria sued for divorce, with the help of attorney Aaron Burr, a few years prior to the publication. After Hamilton’s death in 1804, the result of a duel with said attorney, Aaron Burr, Eliza worked to maintain the legacy of her late husband and erase the infidelity that tarnished his name. Many of her efforts were successful, with the dramatic narrative dodging public attention until the biographical musical took center stage in 2015. 

American historical and cultural studies reveal a national infatuation with infidelity, rooted in the engrainment of family and religious values in American society. The wide range of infidelity scandals that have captivated international audiences also benefit from the fact that almost everyone, not just Americans, love to gossip!

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Sophie McCarthy is a New Jersey native and graduate of Clemson University, where she earned her BA in History with a minor in Sociology. She is a student in the Engaged and Public Humanities program at Georgetown, concentrating her focus on modern American Studies and Museum Studies. Sophie is an avid coffee drinker, Yankee fan, and beagle mom.