Observations on Certain Documents Contained in no V & V! of The History of the United States for the Year 1796

Hamilton, Alexander (1755-1804) Observations on Certain Documents Contained in No. V & VI of "The History of The United States For The Year 1796," in which the charge of speculation against Alexander Hamilton, late Secretary of the Treasury, is fully refuted. Printed [by William Duane] Pro Bono Publico, Philadelphia, 1800. Rebound in the 1920s ? Green buckrum boards marbled endpapers. some foxing mostly at the rear of the book . Book label of Mr Henry B ledward, Henry Brockholst Ledyard Sr. (March 5, 1812 – June 7, 1880) was the mayor of Detroit, Michigan, and a state senator, briefly served as assistant secretary under Secretary of State Lewis Cass, and was the president of the Newport Hospital and the Redwood Library in Newport, Rhode Island. The second edition of the infamous "Reynolds pamphlet," in which Hamilton describes his affair with Maria Reynolds and admits to paying off a blackmailer. Hamilton had paid Mrs. Reynolds' husband to keep the affair secret, and in turn, Hamilton was blackmailed by her husband, who falsely implicated Hamilton in participating in Reynolds' own illegal speculation practices. In the pamphlet Hamilton takes the extraordinary step of admitting to adultery in order to clear his name of the financial scandal. While mostly successful in its purpose, it scuppered any chance of a political career on a wider stage, and provided salacious ammunition for Hamilton's enemies. This scarce edition was published by Hamilton's opponents to keep the scandal alive in the election of 1800, after the Hamilton family had purchased and destroyed most of the original 1797 edition. At the height of conflict between Federalists and anti-Federalists, Hamilton's enemies reprinted the pamphlet and capitalized on these accusations to generate a smear campaign against him. Evans 37571; Howes H120; Sabin 29970; Ford 65. Exceedingly Rare