Although Hamilton's life had been filled with extraordinary
successes, the year 1797 marked a turning point in his life. From
this point on until his death, Hamilton's life was plagued with
scandal and political frustrations. His first pitfall struck in
1797, when James Monroe, who would later become president but was
at this time a prominent Congressman from Virginia, denounced Hamilton
as an adulterer. Monroe accused Hamilton of having an affair in 1791
and 1792 with Maria Reynolds while Hamilton's own wife was away
in Philadelphia with their children, and of trying to bribe Reynolds's
husband into keeping the affair quiet. Hamilton did, in fact, bribe
James Reynolds, but he argued that the money he paid came out of
his own pocket, and not out of the government's purse. Monroe had
earlier pledged to keep quiet about the affair, but chose for unknown
reasons to break his pledge in 1797. Hamilton wrote a public statement
admitting his involvement in the extramarital affair, but continued
to deny that he had used government funds to pay the bribe. Historians
have since determined that James Reynolds had actually encouraged
his wife to seduce Hamilton so that the family could make Hamilton
purchase their silence.
Hamilton's public humiliation, however, did not hamper
him from working. In the late 1790s, a conflict between France
and the United States seemed inevitable. French naval ships had
attacked hundreds of American merchant ships in the Caribbean Sea
and Atlantic, and in 1798, President John Adams asked George Washington
to resume his post as commander of the U.S. military. Washington
consented, on the condition that Hamilton be named as his second-in-command.
Adams agreed, and Hamilton eagerly accepted the assignment. He
had been a lieutenant-colonel in the Continental
Army but now served as a major-general.
Hamilton's primary duties as Washington's executive officer were
to organize the troops and prepare for war with France. He made
numerous recommendations to Congress on how best to improve the
military. The thought of leading his country to war as a great
military commander excited him greatly. He was sadly disappointed
when, in early 1799, President Adams sent a peace delegation to
France that ended the undeclared hostilities between the two countries.
In December of 1799, General Washington died. Hamilton
had always admired Washington as a general, father figure, and
friend, and the news of Washington's death stunned Hamilton. Without
an enemy to fight or general to follow, Hamilton resigned his commission
and returned to his law office in New York City.
As a lawyer, Hamilton focused his attention on his wealthier
clients, mostly because he needed to pay for his new house in Manhattan.
By this time, Hamilton had two daughters and five sons, but maintained
an active public life as well. He founded a Federalist newspaper
called the New York Evening Post, and later defended the
editor of this paper in a libel suit that helped validate American's First
Amendment, which grants freedom of speech.
Nor was Hamilton out of touch with the political scene, although
his involvement in national and state politics worked to his disadvantage
and disappointment. As the election of 1800 drew nearer, Hamilton
found against all three of the presidential candidates. He disliked
both Adams and Thomas Jefferson from his earlier political career,
but he was especially opposed to Aaron Burr, a former lawyer from
New York. Hamilton encouraged Federalists throughout the country
to abandon their candidate, John Adams, and vote for Charles Pinckney,
who had once served Washington. Hamilton's efforts against Adams
worked the the advantage of the other two candidates, and both
Adams and Pinckney were easily defeated, leaving Jefferson and
Burr with an identical number of votes. Under the Constitution
at this time, one of these remaining candidates was bound to become
President and the other Vice President, while both candidates from
Hamilton's own party were eliminated from holding either office.
Jefferson became the third president of the United States,
and Hamilton's misfortune continued. In November of 1801, Hamilton's
eldest son Philip was shot to death in a duel when he was only nineteen.
Philip had agreed to the duel after arguing with a classmate at
Columbia University about the virtues of his father versus those
of Aaron Burr. Philip's death deeply shook his parents, and drove
Hamilton's eldest daughter to insanity. When Mrs. Hamilton gave
birth to another son, their sixth, they named him Philip.
In 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr turned to New York's upcoming
gubernatorial election to make his next political mark. Under Jefferson,
Burr had little actual power, and decided that his career would
best be served by becoming Governor of New York. This appalled
Hamilton, not only because of his personal opinions but also because
he uncovered a plot by some Federalists in the northern states
to use Burr as their candidate to help them secede from the Union.
To ensure that Burr would not be elected, Hamilton published a series
of essays denouncing Burr and the dissolution of the United States.
These essays had little effect due to Hamilton's waning influence
in the Federalist Party, but Burr was defeated a strong Republican
campaign.
Burr's defeat could not be attributed to Hamilton, but
Burr blamed him nonetheless, and challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton
accepted Burr's challenge, although he privately confessed that
he did not intend to kill his rival. The two men and their seconds
met in New Jersey at seven in the morning on July 11, 1804. Hamilton
missed Burr, but Burr's bullet hit and fatally wounded Hamilton.
Hamilton was brought back to New York, where he died the next day.
He was only forty-seven years old.
