James Monroe

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James Monroe (1758-1831). [Letter] 1797 July 21 [with addenda on August 4 and October 9], Philadelphia [to] Alexander Hamilton.

Monroe regards Hamilton’s recent public remarks as “indelicate and improper” as Monroe was merely fulfilling his duty to the public in conducting an inquiry; after all, what could be worse than an officer in charge of his country's finances committing speculation?

This is one of a series of letters in the collection referring to Hamilton's involvement in the “Reynolds scandal.” In 1797 accusations were brought against Hamilton by James Monroe and others, alleging that Hamilton had bribed James Reynolds to cover up financial misconduct during his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury.

The recipient of the letter, James Monroe would become the fifth President of the United States; he also served in the Revolution, as a Senator from Virginia (1790-94), as a member of the Continental Congress (1783-86), as Minister to France under Washington (1894-96) and Jefferson (1803, also England 1803-07), as Madison’s Secretary of State (1811-17), and as Secretary of War (1814-15).

 

The series of letters of James Monroe's correspondance is available on the digital library project I Remain.