Hamilfacts Part 6: Alexander's Folly

For Father's day several years ago, my wife gave me a book called Alexander Hamilton's Guide to Life. One fun thing about the book is that it's organized by category. For example, there's a section on Self-Improvement, Career Advancement, Money, & Romance that all give examples and quotes of how Alex lived. The smallest section is on the topic of Leisure. Here I will quote this portion of the book in it's entirety: 

"Hamilton had nothing to say about leisure."

Alex was a hard worker, there is no doubt. As we established before, he wrote incessantly and always pushed to prove his worth and value. One downside to this workaholic nature was a lack of self-care. Hamilton did not rest, and this left him vulnerable. During a long hot summer in the city, while his family was vacationing (whilst Eliza was having a difficult pregnancy no less), he fell into an adulterers trap. Maria Reynolds showed up at Hamilton's door presenting herself as a damsel in distress. Hamilton always responsive and had a soft-spot for single women who were struggling. Perhaps it was compassion for his late mother that motivated him, but he frequently gave money to women in need even when he was stretched thin and barely had enough money for his own family (Eliza & Alex ended up having 8 children, so times were usually lean around the house of Ham). Mrs. Reynolds said her husband had abandoned her, was abusive, and Alex provided financial care. In return, she gave him physical affection and romance. Once their sexual relationship started, it lasted for about a year. Maria's letters to Alex proclaimed deep love and affection for him, and they had rendezvous in both of their homes. Alex compelled his wife & kids to stay at their summer retreat for extended time, to help facilitate these summer encounters. When Mr. Reynolds started writing Alexander, he quickly jumped into the blackmail game and Alex started paying the couple off. In typical Hamilton fashion, he kept meticulous records of all his payments. For someone who defended his honor and legacy with such fervor, it's amazing how blink he was to this affair and blackmail. For hot intelligent Alex was, it's astounding that he thought he had this blackmailing affair under control. Chernow states, "It is baffling that Hamilton, having worked to achieve a spotless reputation as treasury secretary, did not see that he was now courting danger and would be susceptible to blackmail." 

Repeatedly Hamilton said, "This is the last time," but he kept going back to Maria. Mr. Reynold's even facilitated the rendezvous between his wife and Alexander, under the condition that the payments kept coming. As is often the case with addictions, the fanciful notion of a "gradual discontinuance only provided a comforting pretext for more sustained indulgence." Here is the song from the musical about the affair; it's an incredibly powerful moment and a key transition in the show. It does a great job providing the struggle and paradox of temptation, give 'Say Not to This' a listen if you aren't familiar:

Fun Fact: Aaron Burr (The Damned fool that shot him) served as Mrs. Reynolds lawyer for her divorce from her husband. I suspect that Burr picked up some insider information about Hamilton's affair with her that lead to his greater motivation to confront Alex.

Fun Fact #2: The actress who play Peggy has a dual role of also playing Mrs. Reynolds.