15. The Original Tabloid Celeb

Nowadays, it seems like every male U.S. politician gets embroiled in some kind of scandal or another. Things were kept a little more hush-hush back in the days of the Founding Fathers, which is why Alexander Hamilton caused quite a stir with the scandalous Hamilton-Reynolds affair. If you’ve seen or listened to the famous Hamilton musical, you probably know all about it. 

The Hamilton-Reynolds affair is the first major sex scandal in American history. Hamilton had an affair with Maria Reynolds. Both of them were married at the time of their relations, and Reynolds’ husband blackmailed Hamilton with the threat of outing their affair if he didn’t pay up. Hamilton decided to publicly admit all the unsavory details of his affair instead of paying the bribe. While some people respected his truthfulness, it led most people to view Hamilton as untrustworthy and it soiled his reputation.