The Petticoat Affair Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew...

History 217: U.S. History to 1865 Dr. Fuller November 30, 2003 Cynthia Mihay The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew Jacksons White House. By John F. Marszalek. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1997. viii, 296 pp.) John F. Marszalek, author of The Petticoat Affair argues in his book that the Margaret Eaton affair, which plagued the first Jackson administration, was a social situation that had political ramifications. The thesis is that the Jacksonian Presidency brought a change to the office. Bringing much more democracy than most would have thought and at the same time a woman who did not fit the mold of the normal submissive political wife in Washington or in Tennessee came to the forefront†¦show more content†¦Her overt personality coupled with two almost elopements, fueled her reputation which came into question when her husband died on ship and she married John Henry Eaton. This was done even before the required mourning period had ended. Another inattention to polite society. He had been a boarder at her fathers house and became Jacksons Secretary of War. She was the daughter of a Scot Irish boarding house owner she having never been admitted to society, as John Calhoun stated but when marriage to Mr. Eaton occurred she wanted entrance to Washington Society. Both her husband and herself wanted admittance to Washington society but were denied it as social rules had been bent or broken and the societys matrons had to protect their system from the change threatened by Mrs. Eaton. President Jacksons beloved Rachael was scandalized and when rumors were circulated about Margaret to keep her out of society and to publicly justify that exclusion Jackson supported Margaret with much passion. President Jackson saw conspiracy everywhere as he tried to help the innkeepers daughter. Mrs. Eaton was backed in her attempts to become socially accepted by the President, his friend s, the Globe Newspaper and of course her husband. President Jacksons obsession with Mrs. Eaton and his ideas that it was a political conspiracy by Calhoun or Clay put this scandal in a position to almost stopShow MoreRelatedThe Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, And Sex In Andrew Jacksons White House1237 Words   |  5 PagesHistory 217: U.S. History to 1865 The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew Jacksons White House. By John F. Marszalek. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1997. viii, 296 pp.) John F. Marszalek, author of The Petticoat Affair argues in his book that the Margaret Eaton affair, which plagued the first Jackson administration, was a social situation that had political ramifications. The thesis is that the Jacksonian Presidency brought a change to the office. Bringing