Palaces Out Of Paragraphs

English 1102: Hamilton and Writing

Historical Annotation Project: Reynolds Pamphlet

by

By: Arfa Ul-Haque

Title: Reynolds Pamphlet

Author: Alexander Hamilton

Date of Origin: August 25, 1797

Document originally found at “Founders Online” of the National Archives

Link: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-21-02-0138-0002

I owe perhaps to my friends an apology for condescending to give a public explanation.[1] A just pride with reluctance stoops to a formal vindication against so despicable a contrivance[2] and is inclined rather to oppose to it the uniform evidence of an upright character.[3] This would be my conduct on the present occasion,[4] did not the tale seem to derive a sanction from the names of three men of some weight and consequence in the society:[5] a circumstance, which I trust will excuse me for paying attention to a slander[6] that without this prop, would defeat itself by intrinsic circumstances of absurdity and malice.[7]

The charge against me is a connection with one James Reynolds for purposes of improper pecuniary speculation.[8] My real crime is an amorous connection with his wife, for a considerable time with his privity and connivance,[9] if not originally brought on by a combination between the husband and wife with the design to extort money from me.[10]

This confession is not made without a blush.[11] I cannot be the apologist of any vice because the ardour of passion may have made it mine.[12] I can never cease to condemn myself for the pang, which it may inflict in a bosom eminently intitled to all my gratitude, fidelity and love.[13] But that bosom will approve, that even at so great an expence,[14] I should effectually wipe away a more serious stain from a name, which it cherishes with no less elevation than tenderness.[15] The public too will I trust excuse the confession.[16] The necessity of it to my defence against a more heinous charge could alone have extorted from me so painful an indecorum.[17]

Before I proceed to an exhibition of the positive proof which repels the charge, I shall analize the documents from which it is deduced,[18] and I am mistaken if with discerning and candid minds more would be necessary.[19] But I desire to obviate the suspicions of the most suspicious.[20]

The first reflection which occurs on a perusal of the documents is that it is morally impossible[21] I should have been foolish as well as depraved enough to employ[22] so vile an instrument as Reynolds for such insignificant ends, as are indicated by different parts of the story itself.[23] My enemies to be sure have kindly pourtrayed me as another Chartres on the score of moral principle.[24] But they have been ever bountiful in ascribing to me talents. It has suited their purpose to exaggerate such as I may possess,[25] and to attribute to them an influence to which they are not intitled.[26] But the present accusation imputes to me as much folly as wickedness.[27] All the documents shew, and it is otherwise matter of notoriety, that Reynolds was an obscure, unimportant and profligate man.[28] Nothing could be more weak, because nothing could be more unsafe than to make use of such an instrument;[29] to use him too without any intermediate agent more worthy of confidence who might keep me out of sight,[30] to write him numerous letters recording the objects of the improper connection (for this is pretended and that the letters were afterwards burnt at my request) to unbosom myself to him with a prodigality of confidence,[31] by very unnecessarily telling him, as he alleges, of a connection in speculation between myself and Mr. Duer.[32] It is very extraordinary, if the head of the money department of a country, being unprincipled enough to sacrifice his trust and his integrity,[33] could not have contrived objects of profit sufficiently large to have engaged the co-operation of men of far greater importance than Reynolds, and with whom there could have been due safety,[34] and should have been driven to the necessity of unkennelling such a reptile to be the instrument of his cupidity.[35]

But, moreover, the scale of the concern with Reynolds, such as it is presented, is contemptibly narrow for a rapacious speculating secretary of the treasury.[36] Clingman, Reynolds and his wife were manifestly in very close confidence with each other.[37] It seems there was a free communication of secrets.[38] Yet in clubbing their different items of information as to the supplies of money which Reynolds received from me, what do they amount to?[39] Clingman states, that Mrs. Reynolds told him, that at a certain time her husband had received from me upwards of eleven hundred dollars.[40] A note is produced which shews that at one time fifty dollars were sent to him,[41] and another note is produced, by which and the information of Reynolds himself through Clingman,[42] it appears that at another time 300 dollars were asked and refused.[43] Another sum of 200 dollars is spoken of by Clingman as having been furnished to Reynolds at some other time.[44] What a scale of speculation is this for the head of a public treasury, for one who in the very publication that brings forward the charge[45] is represented as having procured to be funded at forty millions a debt which ought to have been discharged at ten or fifteen millions for the criminal purpose of enriching himself and his friends?[46]

 

 

  1.        The Reynolds Pamphlet written by Alexander Hamilton
         James Callender’s Pamphlet
    The Reynolds Pamphlet was published in August 1797. It written in response to a pamphlet published by James Callender titled The History of the United States for 1796; Including a Variety of Interesting Particulars Relative to the Federal Government”. Callender published his tell-all pamphlet of Alexander Hamilton’s affair and evidence that he took part in speculation. Numbers IV, V, and VI detail the affair between Alexander Hamilton and Maria Reynolds. Hamilton begins this portion of the pamphlet by apologizing for not providing an explanation beforehand. He believes that by stooping below his position to respond to a pamphlet condemning his morality, he is hurting his “friends” or those who associate political allegiances with him. In reality, by publishing “The Reynolds Pamphlet” in response to the allegations made against him, he is damaging his own character. The only person deserving an apology is wife, Eliza Schuyler. Prior to the publication of the pamphlet, Eliza was not aware of Hamilton’s infidelity. By detailing the affair and publishing the pamphlet only weeks after his wife had given birth to their sixth child, he condemned his wife to public scrutiny but did not affect any of his other friends in any such way.

  2. Hamilton clarifies that his pride thwarted him from explaining his actions beforehand. He says that the present need to prove his innocence is greater than his previous pride and doubt. Hamilton was informed of the pamphlet through Oliver Wolcott who was present when he confessed to his affair and proved that he did not partake in speculation. Wolcott urged Hamilton that “there was nothing in the affair which could or ought to affect your character as a public officer or impair the public confidence in your integrity.” The public had confidence in Hamilton and respected him as an administrator. Thus, they would not believe what was published by an exiled journalist such as Callender. Wolcott believed that “it will be best to write nothing at least for the present” and said, “you may be certain that your character is not affected, in point of integrity & official conduct.” Despite the pressure of those around him to not respond to the weakly supported accusations of Callender’s novel, Hamilton responded to John Fenno, the editor of the magazine in which Callender’s pamphlet was published. He wrote him a letter saying that he already proved his innocence to three legislatures of important stature, two of whom were his political enemies, and therefore he could prove himself to the public. He then proceeded to publish a 95-page pamphlet detailing the summer of his affair, the blackmail, and its subsequent events.
          Oliver Wolcott, Jr.

  3. Hamilton believes that he now feels inclined to retaliate against the accusation of speculation but did not previously because he did not think he needed to provide evidence of his moral character. Before the publication of the pamphlet, the public held a positive view of Hamilton and believed him to be a principled man. Once he published the pamphlet detailing his affair, the public shunned and disavowed his integrity because of his infidelity. What Hamilton did not realize was that everyone but him valued family over their careers.

  4.      Maria Reynolds
    On a summer night in 1791, a young woman named Maria Reynolds appeared at the doorstep of Alexander Hamilton’s house in Philadelphia. She claimed that her husband abused her and cheated on her, leaving her penniless. She hoped he could loan her money to return to her friends in New York and “appl[ied] to [his] humanity for assistance” as he was from New York as well. In order to contradict accusations of speculation, Hamilton writes the Reynolds Pamphlet where he details his affair with Maria and the blackmail by the Reynolds that ensued.

  5. Hamilton explains that if this accusation had not been brought to his attention by such important men in society who gave it validation, he would not need to defend himself to the public. Given the men’s societal stature, the allegation would have tarnished his reputation. The three men Hamilton, Senator James Monroe, Speaker Frederick Muhlenbergh, and a member of the House of Representatives Abraham Venable, met on December 15, 1792 to discuss their belief of Hamilton’s involvement in embezzling government funds and participating in speculation. Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (Secretary of Treasury at the time) was also present. Hamilton presented them with letters communicated between himself and James Reynolds as well as documents, including records of money transactions and letters between himself and the Reynolds’ to prove that he did not engage in speculation. He admitted to his affair with Maria and explained James’ role as an extortionist.

  6. The prop refers to Callender’s pamphlet. Unless Monroe, Muhlenbergh, and Venable had not come to Hamilton with the accusation of speculation, Hamilton claims he would not respond to the pamphlet. The validity of this statement is unclear given that none of the men had publicly supported Callender’s pamphlet. Wolcott wrote to Hamilton, urging him not to respond to the pamphlet: “Mr. Venable I am told speaks of the publication as false & dishonourable.” Thus, Hamilton had no reason to respond to the accusation.

  7. James Callender, born in Scotland, fled to America after the British government charged him with sedition (speech that turns people against the authority). He was known for his writing of hearsay as “an ugly, misshapen man who made a career of spewing venom” (Chernow). He accused Hamilton of forging the letters written to him by Maria Reynolds, claiming that the childlike spelling was misleading in that no one would suspect it to be written by such a prolific and embellished writer. Hamilton could not possible have been paying the Reynolds for sex, especially considering he was married, mused Callender. Historians through history have also agreed with Callender on this note, wondering why Hamilton could not foresee the blackmail and surrendered to it for so long. Based on Callender’s background, he was noted as a delusive and unreliable journalist. Given this credibility in addition to James Reynolds’ trivial social standing and lack of power, Hamilton need not have responded to Callender’s pamphlet as it would, as he says himself, “defeat itself by intrinsic circumstances of absurdity and malice.” Yet his inability of knowing when to stop encouraged him to retaliate with his own tell-all pamphlet.

  8. In the song “The Reynolds Pamphlet” in Hamilton: An American Musical, the company and Alexander Hamilton sing “The charge against me is a connection with one James Reynolds! For purposes of improper speculation.” Callender and the three legislatures Monroe, Muhlenbergh, and Venable accused Hamilton of “financial impropriety” (Brockenbrough). The charge of speculation entailed that he engaged in the unlawful act of buying and selling commodities to profit from the economic rises and falls.

  9. In the song “The Reynolds Pamphlet” in Hamilton: An American Musical, the company and Alexander Hamilton sing “My real crime is an amorous connection with his wife, for a considerable time with his knowing consent.” James Reynolds discovered that Hamilton was involved in an extramarital affair with Maria Reynolds on December 15, 1791. James wrote to Hamilton asserting that he “took the advantage [of] a poor Broken harted woman”, leaving James “Robbed of all happiness”. James and Maria both wrote Hamilton several letters in the week following the discovery of the affair before Hamilton responded. After paying James with a thousand dollars of hush money, Hamilton was invited by both Reynolds to begin visiting Maria again, as she was feeling lonely. Maria lamented “I can rite no more do something to Ease My heart or Els I no not what I shall do”. She begged Hamilton to return to her side while James commented that Hamilton’s visits kept her happy, so he should consider resuming the affair. They continued to hound him for visits and money for the next few months to which he obliged, lest they expose his unfaithfulness.

  10. Some historians believe that Maria Reynolds was a part of a scheme proposed by James Reynolds in order to extort money from Hamilton and to help him acquire a job that would leave him in a position to gain more money. They perceived Maria’s letters with their naïve perspective to be another ploy by the Reynolds’ to manipulate Hamilton. Additionally, after the affair ended and the Reynolds were paid, Maria Reynolds told Jacob Clingman that she did not have an affair with Hamilton; instead, she told him that her husband and Hamilton were engaged in speculation. When Clingman asked if she was involved in an extramarital relationship with Hamilton, she was shocked and lamented that her husband and Hamilton were conspiring together and using her to conceal their true actions of speculation.

  11. What Hamilton saw that night in 1791 was a helpless woman abused and abandoned by a man and begging for his help. His mother Rachel Faucette was abused by her first husband before being abandoned by her second husband who fathered Alexander Hamilton. He saw himself in a position to help a woman in need and would not leave her helpless and alone like his father had his mother. Hamilton always needed to prove himself to be more than just a bastard, immigrant, and orphan. By helping Maria, he believed he could refute the labels he had been branded with at birth.

  12. Hamilton became emotionally attached to Maria Reynolds, seemingly forgetting his loyal wife, Eliza Schuyler. He truly believed Maria to be smitten with him and considered their time together romantic. When his affair with Maria was beginning, Eliza had just left Philadelphia for Albany with their children. With their house all to himself now, he invited Maria over where they continued to rendezvous. Meanwhile, Hamilton urged Eliza to stay in Albany to care for her father and their child Philip who had recently fallen ill: “I am so anxious for a perfect restoration of your health that I am willing to make a great sacrifice for it.” The “great sacrifice” was him living without Eliza for an extended period of time, while he instead slept with another woman in their house. After the affair ended, Hamilton felt guilty and became closer to his family. He spent more time at home due to the shame of his infidelity.

  13.      Eliza Schuyler
    Eliza Schuyler, Hamilton’s wife, is this bosom, which represents Hamilton’s heart. She had always been faithful no matter how flirtatious and untrue Hamilton has been. He realized that this pamphlet will hurt her but believes that protecting his career is more important than protecting his family. “He was prepared to sacrifice his private reputation to preserve his public honor” (Chernow). He was always too caught up in his own work and career to recognize how his actions affect those around him, especially how The Reynolds Pamphlet affected his wife. His claim that he can never cease to condemn himself for his actions is later proved to be genuine. After the pamphlet was published, Hamilton spent more time with his family. His letters to Eliza made it clear that he felt guilty for his infidelity.

  14. When the rumors of the affair first arose, Eliza refused to believe them and remained loyal to Hamilton. Even after the publication of the pamphlet, Eliza stayed by Hamilton’s side. It is unclear whether Eliza know about the affair before the pamphlet was published but based on the correspondence between Hamilton and Eliza afterwards, it seems like she was unaware. Hamilton was known to be flirtatious and unfaithful in his affections. His letters to Eliza spoke of emotions of love which was also paralleled in letters to Angelica Schuyler, Eliza’s older sister, and John Laurens, a soldier who fought by Hamilton’s side in the Revolutionary War. He tells Angelica “I seldom write to a lady without fancying the relation of lover and mistress.” He is also rumored to have had an amorous connection with Laurens, which is illustrated by when he wrote “You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent.” While Eliza always remained steadfast, Hamilton was known for his unfaithfulness.

  15. Hamilton was born in Nevis in the British West Indies, a small island off the coast of the Caribbean. From a young age, he was determined to make his way out and create a long-lasting legacy. Since most of his family died at a young age, Hamilton’s focus growing up was on his career. “Denied the affection of a close family circle… he developed in his early teens a habit of focused, unremitting work” (McCraw). Therefore, when he released this pamphlet, his mind was on his career rather than his family. Hamilton believes that the accusation of him engaging in speculation is more serious than the truth of him having an affair because of his lack of family growing up.

  16. Hamilton is relying on the fact that the public will justify his actions, considering he writes himself as the victim. However, without knowing the perspectives of James or Maria Reynolds, the validity to Hamilton’s story is limited. Maria could have been part of James’ plan to extort money from Hamilton; as Secretary of Treasury, Hamilton was in a position of wealth and power and therefore could prove to be a very useful instrument if manipulated properly. Some historians look at Maria’s life growing up to justify her role in the affair and portray her as the victim instead. Maria married James at the age of fifteen who then abused her throughout her life. When she finally asked someone for help and he obliged, she repaid him in the only way she knew possible: with her body. Her husband must have discovered the affair and forced his wife to continue it so that he could extract money from Hamilton. By pimping out his wife, James was able to extort money from Hamilton and effectively blackmail him.

  17. Again, Hamilton reiterates the fact that he holds his political reputation as more important than his moral reputation. He couldn’t bear for the public to think that he was an untrustworthy official but could not predict the extent to which they denounced his character once he admitted to the affair. Ferling writes “Hamilton understood that Callender’s publication threatened him with enormous personal and political damage. He yearned for public vindication. He was clearly worried that the allegations, and revelations, would ruin his public aspirations.”

  18. The charge against Hamilton is that he engaged in speculation with James Reynolds and Jacob Clingman. In November 1792, James Reynolds and Jacob Clingman were arrested on charges of fraud. Reynolds had a previous history with speculation. Oliver Wolcott Jr, who took over as Secretary of Treasury after Hamilton, pressed charges against the men. They spoke with Muhlenbergh and asked if they could have a more lenient punishment if they told the legislatures of corrupt dealings occurring in the Treasury. It was decided that if they disclosed the identity of their accomplice in the Treasury who supplied them with money, their charges would be dropped. James and Clingman told Muhlenbergh that Hamilton was their inside source who speculated government funds with them. James and Clingman provided letters written by Hamilton in disguised handwriting where he complied to paying them the fees James extracted from him as blackmail, which represent the documents Hamilton will analyze.

  19. Hamilton knows how intelligent he is, and he reminds the public of it before their view of him is tarnished. He graduated from King’s College at the young age of nineteen. He wanted to fast-track through college but was unable to because a student in the previous year had tried to complete college courses quickly but collapsed from a nervous breakdown due to the stress. This student was James Madison.

    Here Hamilton says that due to his quick mind, he is qualified enough to analyze his documents (letters between him and the Reynolds’) and denounce the claims made in Callender’s pamphlet.

  20. What angered Hamilton the most about Callender’s pamphlet was that Monroe, Muhlenbergh, and Venable had assured him that they believed his account of the affair but based on the publication of the pamphlet, they had not. He asked the men to publicly denounce the pamphlet and support him. Muhlenbergh and Venable informed Hamilton that Monroe had an aide (John Beckley) make copies of all the documents, which may have been how the information was leaked. Monroe also sent copies of the documents to a “Friend in Virginia”, who was Thomas Jefferson. It is unclear whether Jefferson or Beckley leaked information to Callender about the affair. By publishing his own pamphlet in retaliation, Hamilton drew attention towards the affair and led to his own downfall. Ferling described it in saying “an air of madness characterized his behavior, as he fought yet again to lay rest to all suspicions of financial malfeasance.”

  21. When Monroe, Muhlenbergh, and Venable visited Hamilton with the belief that he engaged in speculation, Hamilton showed them documents proving his affair and disproving any deceitful activity as a government official. The documents included letters of communication between Hamilton and the Reynolds’ as well as papers Hamilton kept of the money transferred between the men. The letters James Reynolds wrote to Hamilton also disclosed how much money he asked of Hamilton under the guise of loans.

  22. After meeting with Hamilton, the three legislatures asked John Beckley, a Virginian and clerk of the House of Representatives, to make copies of the documents Hamilton gave them to confirm his affair and deny any role in embezzlement. In addition, Monroe send a copy of the documents to a “Friend in Virginia”: Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson and Hamilton were known political rivals. By giving him documents denouncing Hamilton’s character, Monroe gave Jefferson power over his rival’s success. The affair proved to be a thorn in Hamilton’s side as he was blackmailed by the Reynolds’ and could potentially have been blackmailed by those who later found out about his affair as well, including Monroe, Muhlenbergh, Venable, Beckley, and Jefferson.

  23. Hamilton mocks the legislatures’ view of him for believing him senseless enough to work with a man with such little power and societal importance for speculation. He later assures the public that if he were to engage in speculation, his accomplice would be someone trustworthy and of importance. While he claims that the matter of which he is accused of is insignificant, he continued to write a 95-page pamphlet explaining that he did not partake in speculation but did have an adulterous affair.

  24. Louis Phillipe Joseph d’Orléans, also known as the Duke of Chartres, was a Frenchman against the rule of King Louis XVI and in support of the French Revolution of 1789. In 1793, the National Convention, which served as the government of France during the French Revolution, mandated that anyone with connections to the enemies of France would be punished. The son of the Duke of Chartres and General Dumouriez visited Austrians, who were enemies of France. This connection between his son and French enemies condemned the Duke, who was then imprisoned before being sentenced to death. By saying that his enemies have portrayed him as a Chartres, Hamilton means that they have made him seem unfaithful in morality. Hamilton was not faithful to his wife as he flirted with countless other women and had an affair while married to Eliza Schuyler. On this note, his enemies were right to portray him as a Chartres as he was disloyal to his wife.

  25. After the death of Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison tried to erase his legacy. Jefferson and Hamilton were known political rivals. In one of their clashes, Hamilton threatened to reveal Jefferson’s affair with his slave Sally Hemmings. Hamilton knew that Jefferson was aware of his affair with Maria Reynolds, as Monroe sent him copies of the letters between James Reynolds and Hamilton. By referencing the affair publicly, Hamilton pressured Jefferson to remain silent about his affair and, in return, Hamilton wouldn’t speak out about Jefferson’s affair. Brookhiser described it well in saying “Hamilton’s rhetorical style was also opposed to silence. Silence can be cunning, silence can be patience.”

    In 1802, James Callender published a pamphlet revealing Jefferson’s affair with Sally Hemmings. Unlike Hamilton, Jefferson did not respond to it, resulting in the public not denouncing him.

  26. Hamilton believes that his talents of writing do not have much influence. However, as Secretary of the Treasury and a Founding Father, Hamilton wielded much influence and power. He established the Federalist Party, the first political party in the US. He wrote a majority of the Federalist Papers alongside John Jay and James Madison to gather public support for the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, he founded the National Bank, proposed a centralized government, and persuaded President George Washington to assume state debts in order to unify the nation. He wrote many of Washington’s documents throughout the latter’s presidency, including much of his farewell address. Although he claims that his writing has no influence, he could not foresee the impact of the foundation he built for a new nation.

  27. Hamilton believed that the accusation of speculation with James Reynolds made him seem foolish and evil. What truly incited Hamilton to publish the Reynolds Pamphlet was the letter he received from James Callender in response to the letter Hamilton wrote to John Fenno, the editor of the magazine in which Callender’s pamphlet was published. In the letter written by Callender, he quoted Hamilton on several instances and refuted each claim with what he believed was the correct information. He claimed that the documents Hamilton provided as proof of his affair were false documents that told a “confused and absurd story… of which [Monroe, Muhlenberg, and Venable] did not believe a single word.” He agreed with Hamilton’s intention to explain himself to the public, feigning that they had doubts about the truth.

  28. James held no power in society at the time. By clarifying this, Hamilton intends to say that if he embezzled money, he would not work with James. However, as “obscure, unimportant, and profligate” as James was, Hamilton was still more frightened of him that any of his political rivals, including Jefferson or Madison. In attempts to distance himself from James, Hamilton disguised his handwriting so that if James went public with the blackmail, Hamilton could have some leverage over James.

  29. Hamilton discredits James by claiming that he was a powerless man. If he were to engage in speculation, he would have used someone with more power and someone trustworthy. Hamilton believes that by explaining what he would do if he were to engage in speculation, he will be able to clear his name. “Again and again in his career, Hamilton committed the same political error: he never knew when to stop, and the resulting excesses led him into irremediable indiscretions” (Chernow).

    As much as Hamilton tried to disparage James Reynolds, he was a very effective blackmailer. He was known to send Hamilton during key points in his career, including the financial panic of 1792 and the arrest of William Duer (assistant Secretary of Treasury). His collaboration with his wife made Hamilton believe that Maria was truly smitten with him and, even while writing the pamphlet, Hamilton was unable to decide whether the affair was a set-up from the beginning or turned into blackmail midway through.

  30. Another way James kept his control over Hamilton was to ensure that on many occasions that they met clandestinely, they were seen by Clingman. This guaranteed that the word of not only the Reynolds’ would be able to condemn Hamilton for making shady dealings with his money and potentially the government’s money. While Hamilton didn’t believe that he had anyone he could trust by his side, he may have misinterpreted Maria’s role in protecting him. In the letter written to Hamilton the day James Reynolds found out about the affair, Maria Reynolds urged Hamilton to take caution as James now had power over Hamilton and could defame him. Based on the child-like spelling of most of the words in the letter, Maria seemed to have been in a rush and worried while writing this letter. It appears she was trapped while James was home and could only have a sliver of freedom to write her true thoughts when he left. She informed Hamilton of the threat of James, conveying that she did care about him more than she did about her husband or herself. She says “[I] wish I had never been born to give you so much unhappiness”, believing that she was solely at fault for the affair and the trouble it would cause Hamilton (a man of great political power and stature). She urged Hamilton “do not write to him no not a line” and “Do not send or leave anything in his power” to prevent him from making a rash decision that would leave James with more power to blackmail him.

  31. Along with his disguised handwriting, Hamilton asked Maria and James to burn the letters that he had sent them of him complying to their requests for “loans” and other arrangements concerning money. When James Reynolds and Clingman were charged with speculation, they successfully evaded the charges by blaming Hamilton for providing them with money from the treasury. Monroe, Muhlenberg, and Venable also met with Maria who showed them some letters of correspondence between her husband and Hamilton, but states that she burned the rest as per Hamilton’s orders. When Hamilton presented with them with proof of his affair, he showed them letters James sent him asking for money and Maria sent him asking for him to visit.

    After Hamilton’s pamphlet was published, Maria wrote her own pamphlet illustrating her perspective on the affair and the events that ensued. However, it was never published because women were not given a voice at the time. If women had more rights at the time and were valued in history, more insight would be provided on Maria’s view of the affair as well as Eliza’s reaction to the affair.

  32. James falsely passed information of Hamilton’s speculation to Clingman in order to arise suspicions in him. Based on the secret meetings Hamilton had with Maria and James, Clingman believed that Hamilton was embezzling money with the Reynolds. James claimed that “Hamilton was an unscrupulous official who had given William Duer money for speculation and secretly made thirty thousand dollars from their illicit relationship.” While Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury, William Duer was Assistant Secretary. His most prominent legacy was the large amounts of money he speculated, which caused the Panic of 1792. The panic accumulated a loss of three million dollars at the time, which equates to about seventy-six million dollars now.

  33. Hamilton is the “head of the money department of the country” as he was the Secretary of the Treasury from 1789-1795. As Secretary of Treasury, he controlled the financials of the government, a fact that Callender used against him in the accusation that he was embezzling government funds.

    Ironically, Hamilton mocks the public for thinking he would “sacrifice his trust and integrity” in the same document in which he admits to betraying the trust of his wife by having an affair. He had no reason to describe in meticulous detail his relationship with Maria Reynolds as doing so pained Eliza more than he already had. However, he was more focused on the reputation of his career than of his moral character. According to Freeman, while the public did respect his work for the government, they didn’t trust him completely. With this in mind, Hamilton decided to publish the pamphlet detailing his affair in efforts to transform his unpopularity. In writing the pamphlet, he desired to obviate any suspicions the public and government officials had of his legal conduct.

  34. Again, Hamilton assures the public that he was in a position to have received money on his own or could have worked with more important men, with which there was more safety and he was less likely to be caught. If he had acted against his duties as a government official and secretly schemed with an individual to purloin money, he would have chosen a better accomplice than James Reynolds. By painting himself as the victim and the Reynolds’ as rapacious extortionists, he hoped “to convince the public that his part in the affair had been driven by carnal lust, not by greed” (Ferling).

  35. Hamilton ridicules Callender and Clingman for thinking that he would work with a “reptile” like James Reynolds. He asserts that nothing would drive him to conspire with Reynolds, a man driven only by his greed. James Reynolds was not known to be an ethical individual. He had a history of run-ins with the law. In addition to his arrest with Jacob Clingman on the charge of fraud, he had been charged several times for speculating his debts. When he was arrested in 1792, he put the blame of speculation on Hamilton in order to escape his indictment.

  36. Hamilton stresses the fact that, as Secretary of the Treasury, he had millions of dollars at his disposal. The accusation Callender makes that he “made thirty thousand dollars by speculation” is a trivial amount for a man in his position. He explains that if he had embezzled money from the government, he would steal more than a few thousand dollars and “would not have passed along relatively petty sums of fifty dollars” (Chernow).

  37. Clingman and the Reynolds’ were very close. So close, in fact, that in 1792 Maria Reynolds began living with Jacob Clingman and married him after filing for divorce from James Reynolds in 1793. However, before their marriage, Clingman was close friends with both Reynolds. The first time Jacob Clingman suspected Hamilton of having an affair with Maria Reynolds was when he saw Alexander Hamilton leaving the Reynolds household, presumably at time when James Reynolds was not at home. A few days later, Clingman was meeting with Maria Reynolds when Hamilton walked in and handed her a note, likely a letter he wrote her, or a payment being made to the extortioners, the Reynolds. Hamilton claimed that Reynolds (Hamilton’s inferior) commanded him to give the note the Maria, which Clingman found an unlikely situation. He later confronted James and Maria Reynolds about their connection to Hamilton and they informed him that they were involved in a speculation scheme with him.

  38. In a letter to Hamilton, James Reynolds states “am I a person of Such a bad Carector. that you would not wish to be seen in Coming in my house in the front way.” In the Reynolds Pamphlet, Hamilton says “The husband there forbids my future visits to his wife, chiefly because I was careful to avoid publicity. It was probably necessary to the project of some deeper treason against me that I should be seen at the house. Hence was it contrived, with all
    the caution on my part to avoid it, that Clingman should occasionally see me.” Through both documents, it can be seen that James Reynolds controlled how Hamilton was seen outside his house. At this point, Hamilton realized that his “accidental encounter” with Clingman was probably a setup for Reynolds to further blackmail him (Chernow). Clingman once observed James visit Hamilton’s residence and ask him for $100; soon after, he left with the cash in his possession. By having a bystander who happened to be a close friend of Reynolds’ witness Hamilton surreptitiously visit the Reynolds’ household and be seen carrying large amounts of cash, Hamilton could more easily be charged for suspicious activity, if not speculation.

  39. When James first discovered Hamilton’s involvement with his wife Maria, he forced Hamilton to pay him $1000 for his silence. He later invited Hamilton to reignite his relationship with Maria but charged him for those visits under the guise of loans in their letters. Overall, James Reynolds collected $2300 from Hamilton.

    Hamilton claims that James Reynolds’ and Clingman’s collaboration was futile as Hamilton was not charged for embezzlement, regardless of the accusations made in Callender’s pamphlet. However, Callender’s pamphlet was not unsuccessful considering Hamilton soured the public’s view of him and harmed his relationship with his wife.

  40. When Clingman asked of the connection between the Reynolds and Hamilton, Maria Reynolds claimed that Hamilton was paying her husband “upwards of eleven hundred dollars”, as stated in Callender’s pamphlet. According to Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton, Clingman and Reynolds once spied on Hamilton and watched him leave his house with a hundred dollars. Reynolds had also told Clingman on numerous occasions “that he had it in his power to hang Colonel Hamilton; that if he wanted money, he was obliged to have it” as well as saying that “Colonel Hamilton had supplied him with money to speculate.” These incidents led Clingman to believe that Hamilton was working with Reynolds to engage in speculation. Clingman took his suspicions to Monroe after the legislators had met with Hamilton. He had asked Maria Reynolds about her thoughts after reading Callender’s pamphlet and she seemed “‘much shocked’ at the news that she’d had an affair with Alexander” (Brockenbrough). She claimed that James and Alexander were scheming together, and she was their cover up, matching the story her husband told about Hamilton speculating money.

  41. As Hamilton explains later in the Reynolds Pamphlet, the first amount of money James Reynolds asked Hamilton for was a thousand dollars, which would be worth around $27,000 today. A year after the affair began and half a year after the affair was discovered by him, James Reynolds sent a letter to Alexander Hamilton asking for fifty dollars. In the letter, James seems like a friend asking for a loan rather than a blackmailer forcing Hamilton to pay him. He says: “Your Goodness will I hope overlook the present application you will infenately Oblige me if you Can let me have the Loan of fifty dollars.” James realized that by pimping out his wife to a wealthy man with such a prominent position in society, he could extract as much money as he wanted.

  42. Most of the information on the affair prior the release of The Reynolds Pamphlet was in James Callender’s pamphlet. In Number IV of the pamphlet, Clingman recounted what he knew about the Reynolds’ and Hamilton, where he claimed that both men were involved in a speculation scheme. Although it would not affect James Reynolds’ reputation if he were found guilty of speculation, Hamilton’s career and public approval would be ruined if he were charged for embezzling government funds. For this reason, Hamilton published the Reynolds Pamphlet in response as he would not allow an accusation (albeit insignificant) to sully his name.

  43. A few days after James Reynolds politely asked (with a subtext of mandating) Hamilton for fifty dollars, he send another letter saying that he was “under the necessity” of three hundred dollars, but still considered it a loan. By the tone change in the letter, it is clear that James realized he was in control over an otherwise powerful man and he was determined to wield that power. However, Hamilton was not able to provide that money at the time as he said, “It is utterly out of my power I assure you ’pon my honour to comply with your request.” Later in his pamphlet, Hamilton says that as seen by his refusal to pay James, it should be clear that he did not speculate money.

  44. In Callender’s pamphlet, Clingman states that when he offered James a loan, James always responded by saying that he could make Hamilton repay him. At one point, Clingman lent Reynolds two hundred dollars. To prove that Hamilton was his source of money, James told Clingman to follow him to Hamilton’s house where he emerged from a little while later with half of the money. A few days later, he received the other half once Hamilton returned from a conference, proving that James was in control of Hamilton.

  45. Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury from 1789 to 1795. According to Callender, James Reynolds told Clingman that “Hamilton had made thirty thousand dollars by speculation.” Callender muses that as Secretary of Treasury, Hamilton could have speculated government funds and based on the testimonies of James Reynolds and Jacob Clingman, he must have. Through the pamphlet published by Callender detailing Hamilton’s affair and potential speculation, Hamilton worried that the public’s view of him would turn negative. By responding to Callender, Hamilton actually drew attention towards himself and publicly denounced himself.

  46. Here Hamilton explains that the charge he is accused of is inflation of the national debt in order to personally profit from it. Callender asserts that the real national debt, at the time, was approximately ten to fifteen million dollars but as Secretary of Treasury, Hamilton was in a position where he could change it. He allegedly changed the national debt to forty million dollars and took the remainder of the money (about twenty-five to thirty millions dollars) for his personal use, and therefore engaged in speculation.

    In the 1790s, the national debt was around $80 million based on funds of the Continental Army and foreign, domestic, and state debts. George Washington appointed Hamilton to solve the crisis of the national debt. As seen in the “Cabinet Battle #1” of Hamilton: An American Musical, Secretary Hamilton wanted to assume state debts, which Jefferson opposed to as he claimed that it was an “outrageous demand” that solely benefited “the very seat of government where Hamilton sits.” Hamilton argued that by assuming state debts, the government would be fortified. His character in the musical sings, “If we assume the debts, the union gets a new line of credit, a financial diuretic” to convince Washington and Jefferson that assumption of state debts will benefit the government more than harm it. Jefferson counteracted by accusing Hamilton of trying to fulfill his personal pecuniary interests. If the government undertook the state’s debts, they would have more power over the nation’s funds. That power would be in the hands of the Department of Treasury, specifically Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Callender takes the same stance as Jefferson in his pamphlet by saying that Hamilton intended to speculate government money and profit from the debts personally.

 

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