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Alexander Hamilton: Adultery and Apology: Observations on Certain Documents in the History of the United States for the Year 1796
Written by Hamilton himself to confess to the affair he conducted with Maria Reynolds, Alexander Adultery and Apology is Hamilton’s attempt to defend and rationalize his misdoings, and ultimately salvage what was left of his reputation.
The pamphlet was originally published in 1796 after accusations of the adultery arose. This personal exposé reveals a man, whom the public initially revered as a politician and Founding Father, as a flawed human-being. Within these documents Hamilton describes his exploits in impeccable detail and languid prose, at the risk of tarnishing his public image, to prove to the public that he had nothing to hide.
With a new foreword by Robert Watson, presidential scholar and author of Affairs of State , delve into this exquisite, essential account of history’s most scandalous love affairs.
The pamphlet was originally published in 1796 after accusations of the adultery arose. This personal exposé reveals a man, whom the public initially revered as a politician and Founding Father, as a flawed human-being. Within these documents Hamilton describes his exploits in impeccable detail and languid prose, at the risk of tarnishing his public image, to prove to the public that he had nothing to hide.
With a new foreword by Robert Watson, presidential scholar and author of Affairs of State , delve into this exquisite, essential account of history’s most scandalous love affairs.
- GenresHistoryHistorical
142 pages, Paperback
Published January 31, 2017
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About the author
Alexander Hamilton
1,088 books1,014 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
American politician Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury of United States from 1789 to 1795, established the national bank and public credit system; a duel with Aaron Burr, his rival, mortally wounded him.
One of the Founding Fathers, this economist and philosopher led calls for the convention at Philadelphia and as first Constitutional lawyer co-wrote the Federalist Papers , a primary source for Constitutional interpretation.
During the Revolutionary War, he, born in the West Indies but educated in the north, joined the militia, which chose him artillery captain. Hamilton, senior aide-de-camp and confidant to George Washington, general, led three battalions at the siege of Yorktown. People elected him to the Continental congress, but he resigned to practice law and to found in New York. He served in the legislature of New York and later returned to Congress; at the convention in Philadelphia, only he signed the Constitution for New York. Under Washington, then president, he influenced formative government policy widely. Hamilton, an admirer of British, emphasized strong central government and implied powers, under which the new Congress funded and assumed the debts and created an import tariff and whiskey tax.
A coalition, the formative Federalist Party, arose around Hamilton, and another coalition, the formative Democratic-Republican Party, arose around Thomas Jefferson and James Madison before 1792; these coalitions differed strongly over domestic fiscal goals and Hamiltonian foreign policy of extensive trade and friendly relations with Britain. Exposed in an affair with Maria Reynolds, Hamilton resigned to return to Constitutional law and advocacy of strong federalism. In 1798, the quasi-war with France led him to argue for an army, which he organized and commanded de facto.
Opposition of Hamilton to John Adams, fellow Federalist, contributed to the success of Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, in the uniquely deadlocked election of 1800. With defeat of his party, his industrializing ideas lost their former prominence. In 1801, Hamilton founded the Federalist broadsheet New-York Evening Post, now known as the New York Post. His intensity with the vice-president eventually resulted in his death.
After the war of 1812, Madison, Albert Gallatin, and other former opponents of the late Hamilton revived some of his federalizing programs, such as infrastructure, tariffs, and a standing Army and Navy. His Federalist and business-oriented economic visions for the country continue to influence party platforms to this day.
American politician Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury of United States from 1789 to 1795, established the national bank and public credit system; a duel with Aaron Burr, his rival, mortally wounded him.
One of the Founding Fathers, this economist and philosopher led calls for the convention at Philadelphia and as first Constitutional lawyer co-wrote the Federalist Papers , a primary source for Constitutional interpretation.
During the Revolutionary War, he, born in the West Indies but educated in the north, joined the militia, which chose him artillery captain. Hamilton, senior aide-de-camp and confidant to George Washington, general, led three battalions at the siege of Yorktown. People elected him to the Continental congress, but he resigned to practice law and to found in New York. He served in the legislature of New York and later returned to Congress; at the convention in Philadelphia, only he signed the Constitution for New York. Under Washington, then president, he influenced formative government policy widely. Hamilton, an admirer of British, emphasized strong central government and implied powers, under which the new Congress funded and assumed the debts and created an import tariff and whiskey tax.
A coalition, the formative Federalist Party, arose around Hamilton, and another coalition, the formative Democratic-Republican Party, arose around Thomas Jefferson and James Madison before 1792; these coalitions differed strongly over domestic fiscal goals and Hamiltonian foreign policy of extensive trade and friendly relations with Britain. Exposed in an affair with Maria Reynolds, Hamilton resigned to return to Constitutional law and advocacy of strong federalism. In 1798, the quasi-war with France led him to argue for an army, which he organized and commanded de facto.
Opposition of Hamilton to John Adams, fellow Federalist, contributed to the success of Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, in the uniquely deadlocked election of 1800. With defeat of his party, his industrializing ideas lost their former prominence. In 1801, Hamilton founded the Federalist broadsheet New-York Evening Post, now known as the New York Post. His intensity with the vice-president eventually resulted in his death.
After the war of 1812, Madison, Albert Gallatin, and other former opponents of the late Hamilton revived some of his federalizing programs, such as infrastructure, tariffs, and a standing Army and Navy. His Federalist and business-oriented economic visions for the country continue to influence party platforms to this day.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 3, 2019
Wow, hard to think that this happened more than 200 years ago. So glad I read it, and all of the appendices (which were in the original). Fascinating. Oh, and by the way - in case you missed it, this is the real name of "The Reynolds Pamphlet", where Hamilton admitted to having an affair witha married woman, as a way to defend his honor against insider trading and speculation. Fascinating career explosion.
January 2, 2025
Esto es historia, así que no lo contaría como spoiler, supongo.
Durante el año 1976, Alexander Hamilton fue acusado con cargos de especulación y traición por su relación con un tal James Reynolds, sujeto acusado por conspiración a quien Hamilton había realizado numerosas transferencias monetarias registradas en sus cuentas. Esta hipótesis fue por supuesto reforzada por declaraciones del propio Reynolds, que entregó información de variada veracidad a la justicia y particularmente a la oposición política para dañar la imagen de Hamilton.
Entre la espada y la pared, Hamilton consideró que sus únicos medios para despojarse de estos cargos, limpiar su nombre y mantener su honor frente al país que ayudó a fundar eran la franqueza y la escritura, que siempre lo caracterizaron. Entonces, publica este infame texto, otrora conocido como “The Reynolds Pamphlet”, en el que explica que su relación con Reynolds es justificada únicamente por un discreto amorío de considerable extensión que mantuvo con la esposa de este, Maria Reynolds, a finales de 1791.
El relato del amorío es cronológicamente preciso y cuenta con una prosa casi literaria, mediante la que el autor señala el momento y lugar en que suceden los primeros encuentros. Sin embargo, la enrevesada trama que pretende detallar Hamilton comienza en el momento en que James Reynolds se entera de lo que está sucediendo y decide extorsionar monetariamente al secretario del tesoro, amenazando con que de no acceder a entregarle diversas sumas de dinero, informaría a su esposa de lo que estaba sucediendo. El posterior arresto a Reynolds por cargos de conspiración hace que este en su desesperación entregue a distintos periodistas y miembros de la oposición pruebas de una supuesta “conexión” con el Hamilton, lo que provocará que a este último le levanten cargos de especulación y traición. Para acompañar el impactante relato y dotarlo de evidencia, Hamilton incluye en forma de anexos todas las cartas y documentos pertinentes para su defensa: las cartas de María, las misivas en que Reynolds reprochaba el amorío y posteriormente rogara a Hamilton que lo detuviera, los intercambios entre Hamilton y las autoridades, las declaraciones de la oposición, TODO.
Al final la jugada (previsiblemente) resultó contraproducente para Hamilton, fue casi un suicidio político por decir lo menos: el público lo condenó, primero por la infidelidad y segundo por la decisión de ventilarla de forma tan pública y con tantos detalles (para la época, de todas maneras, no es como que Hamilton haya escrito una porno ni mucho menos, pero claro). Se acabó entonces la imagen del inmigrante bastardo, huérfano y pobre que luchó primero para surgir y luego para dar nacimiento a su nación, el soldado, la mano derecha de Washington, el veterano, el abogado, el ensayista, el padre del sistema financiero… todo eso se acabó para dar paso a Hamilton, el adultero. Con cada letra de este histórico panfleto que forma uno de los chismes históricos mas increíbles, Alexander Hamilton daña irreparablemente su imagen, su honor, y su vida familiar en un desastre del que, aun a días de hoy, no se puede apartar la mirada.
Durante el año 1976, Alexander Hamilton fue acusado con cargos de especulación y traición por su relación con un tal James Reynolds, sujeto acusado por conspiración a quien Hamilton había realizado numerosas transferencias monetarias registradas en sus cuentas. Esta hipótesis fue por supuesto reforzada por declaraciones del propio Reynolds, que entregó información de variada veracidad a la justicia y particularmente a la oposición política para dañar la imagen de Hamilton.
Entre la espada y la pared, Hamilton consideró que sus únicos medios para despojarse de estos cargos, limpiar su nombre y mantener su honor frente al país que ayudó a fundar eran la franqueza y la escritura, que siempre lo caracterizaron. Entonces, publica este infame texto, otrora conocido como “The Reynolds Pamphlet”, en el que explica que su relación con Reynolds es justificada únicamente por un discreto amorío de considerable extensión que mantuvo con la esposa de este, Maria Reynolds, a finales de 1791.
El relato del amorío es cronológicamente preciso y cuenta con una prosa casi literaria, mediante la que el autor señala el momento y lugar en que suceden los primeros encuentros. Sin embargo, la enrevesada trama que pretende detallar Hamilton comienza en el momento en que James Reynolds se entera de lo que está sucediendo y decide extorsionar monetariamente al secretario del tesoro, amenazando con que de no acceder a entregarle diversas sumas de dinero, informaría a su esposa de lo que estaba sucediendo. El posterior arresto a Reynolds por cargos de conspiración hace que este en su desesperación entregue a distintos periodistas y miembros de la oposición pruebas de una supuesta “conexión” con el Hamilton, lo que provocará que a este último le levanten cargos de especulación y traición. Para acompañar el impactante relato y dotarlo de evidencia, Hamilton incluye en forma de anexos todas las cartas y documentos pertinentes para su defensa: las cartas de María, las misivas en que Reynolds reprochaba el amorío y posteriormente rogara a Hamilton que lo detuviera, los intercambios entre Hamilton y las autoridades, las declaraciones de la oposición, TODO.
Al final la jugada (previsiblemente) resultó contraproducente para Hamilton, fue casi un suicidio político por decir lo menos: el público lo condenó, primero por la infidelidad y segundo por la decisión de ventilarla de forma tan pública y con tantos detalles (para la época, de todas maneras, no es como que Hamilton haya escrito una porno ni mucho menos, pero claro). Se acabó entonces la imagen del inmigrante bastardo, huérfano y pobre que luchó primero para surgir y luego para dar nacimiento a su nación, el soldado, la mano derecha de Washington, el veterano, el abogado, el ensayista, el padre del sistema financiero… todo eso se acabó para dar paso a Hamilton, el adultero. Con cada letra de este histórico panfleto que forma uno de los chismes históricos mas increíbles, Alexander Hamilton daña irreparablemente su imagen, su honor, y su vida familiar en un desastre del que, aun a días de hoy, no se puede apartar la mirada.
March 19, 2025
I read this in the pits of a hyper-fixation on the ‘Hamilton’ musical. But learning about the actual Reynolds pamphlet was genuinely incredibly interesting.
It’s a great read if you’re interested in knowing more on the history behind the musical, in my opinion.
It’s a great read if you’re interested in knowing more on the history behind the musical, in my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews