Maria Reynolds
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Maria Reynolds (born Maria Lewis, 1768 – 1832?) is best known as the mistress of Alexander Hamilton and wife of James Reynolds, and she played a central role in one of the first sex scandals in American political history.
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[edit] History
At age 16, Maria Lewis married James Reynolds, a former Commissary officer during the American Revolution, and together they had a daughter, Susan. Throughout their marriage, James Reynolds was abusive to Maria and their children, but the two would nonetheless conspire in one of the first American scandals to use the media against a public figure.
[edit] Affair
In 1791, 23-year-old Maria Reynolds approached the married thirty-four-year-old Hamilton in Philadelphia, requesting his help. Claiming that James Reynolds had abandoned her and her daughter, Maria asked him for enough money to transport them back to New York City, where her family lived. Hamilton consented, and delivered the money in person to Maria later that night — whereupon the two also began an illicit affair that would last at least three years.
Over the course of 1791 and 1792 while the affair took place, James Reynolds was well aware of his wife's unfaithfulness. He continually supported the affair 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, again insisted on monetary compensation instead.
[edit] Scandal
Hamilton eventually paid Reynolds more than $1000 in blackmail over several years to continue sleeping with Maria without his interference. But when Reynolds, being a professional con man, became entangled in a separate scheme involving speculation on unpaid back wages intended for Revolutionary War veterans, he quickly implicated Hamilton, knowing that Hamilton would have to choose between revealing his affair with Maria, or admitting complicity to the much more damning speculation charges. Hamilton naturally chose the former, admitting his sexual indiscretion to Congressional inquirers James Monroe and Frederick Muhlenberg, and even turning over his love letters from Maria to them.
The letters proved Hamilton's innocence in the speculation scandal. In addition, because his confession was made in confidence, Hamilton's involvement with Maria Reynolds was not made public in the wake of the speculation investigation. However, Monroe did tell his close personal friend, Thomas Jefferson, of Hamilton's admission. Jefferson and Hamilton were self-described nemeses, and Jefferson used the knowledge to start rampant rumors about Hamilton's private life. The final straw came in 1797, when pamphlet publisher James Thomson Callender obtained the secret letters and printed them in his newspaper. Callender, who might be referred to today as a "muckraker," also resurfaced corruption charges against Hamilton in his articles. Now Hamilton had no choice but to respond, so he printed his own pamphlet called Observations on Certain Documents 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 Hamilton's reputation. Maria Reynolds divorced James Reynolds soon after; her attorney in the proceedings was none other than Aaron Burr, who would eventually kill Hamilton in their infamous 1804 duel.
[edit] Further reading
- Scandalmonger ISBN 0-684-86719-2 by William Safire. A well documented fictionalized account of the affair as well as background information about the enmity between Jefferson and Hamilton.
