The Scandal That Ruined Alexander Hamilton’s Political Career
“I have paid pretty severely for the folly”
Alexander Hamilton’s affair with Maria Reynolds was the dagger in his political career and has been popularized by Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. I loved the play, although doing more research into Hamilton’s affair with Reynolds, I understand that Lin-Manuel Miranda certainly took some creative liberties.
The Hamilton-Reynolds affair ended up being a scandal that ruined Hamilton’s political career. It would end up being one of the first scandals in American history.
In Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Aaron Burr confronted him about the affair, but in reality, James Monroe, Abraham Venable, and Frederick Muhlenberg were the first to hear about it. The three of them would confront Hamilton about possible corruption and the scandal.
The real historical unfolding of the events and the scandal, strangely, was more dramatic than the musical:
The start of the affair
According to Angela Serratore at Smithsonian, Hamilton had a visitor in the summer of 1791. It was a 23-year-old blonde woman named Maria Reynolds, who came to the Hamilton residence to ask for help. Her husband was abusing her, and Hamilton was then the…
