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[[File:Margaret Peggy O'Neal Eaton 2.jpg|thumb|Peggy O'Neill Eaton, in later life]]

 

 

 

Margaret "Peggy" Eaton was the eldest daughter of William O'Neill, owner of the Franklin House, a boarding house and tavern located in [[Washington, D.C.]] a short distance from the [[White House]] that was a well-known social hub popular with politicians and military officials. Peggy was well-educated for a woman of that era – she studied French and was known for her ability to play the piano.<ref name=historynet>[http://www.historynet.com/andrew-jackson-the-petticoat-affair-scandal-in-jackons-white-house.htm/4 "Andrew Jackson: The Petticoat Affair, Scandal in Jackson's White House"], History Net, accessed August 4, 2009.</ref> [[William T. Barry]], who later served as [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]], wrote "of a charming little girl ... who very frequently plays the piano, and entertains us with agreeable songs."{{sfn|Marszalek|2000|p=1835}} As a young girl, her reputation had already begun to come under scrutiny, due to being employed in a bar frequented by men as well as her casual bantering with the boarding house's clientele. In her elder years, Peggy reminisced, "While I was still in [[pantalettes]] and [[hoop rolling|rolling hoops]] with other girls, I had the attention of men, young and old; enough to turn a girl's head."<ref name="One Woman">{{cite journal | jstor=3124447| title=One Woman so Dangerous to Public Morals | author=Wood, Kristen E. | journal=Journal of the Early Republic | date=March 1, 1997 |volume=17 | issue=2 | pages=237–275 | doi=10.2307/3124447}}</ref>

 

Once Timberlake told Eaton of his financial troubles, Eaton unsuccessfully attempted to have the Senate pass legislation that would authorize payment of the debts Timberlake had accrued during his Naval service. Eventually, Eaton paid Timberlake's debts, and procured him a lucrative posting to the U.S. Navy's [[Mediterranean Squadron (United States)|Mediterranean Squadron]]; many [[Rumormonger|rumormongers]] asserted that Eaton aided Timberlake as a means to remove him from Washington, in order for Eaton to socialize with Peggy. While with the Mediterranean Squadron, Timberlake died on April 2, 1828. This served to fuel new rumors throughout Washington, suggesting he had taken his own life, as the result of Eaton's supposed affair with Peggy.<ref name="The Long" /> Medical examiners concluded Timberlake had died of [[pneumonia]], brought on by [[pulmonary disease]].<ref name="historynet" />

 

Jackson was elected president [[1828 United States presidential election|in 1828]], with his term set to begin on March 4, 1829. He was reportedly fond of Peggy Timberlake and encouraged Eaton to marry her.<ref>{{cite book |last=Humes |first=James C. |date=1992 |title=My Fellow Americans: Presidential Addresses that Shaped History |url=https://archive.org/details/myfellowamerican00hume |url-access=registration |location=New York, NY |publisher=Praeger |page=[https://archive.org/details/myfellowamerican00hume/page/41 41] |isbn=978-0-275-93507-8}}</ref> They were wed on January 1, 1829;<ref>{{cite book |last=Grimmett |first=Richard F. |date=2009 |title=St. John's Church, Lafayette Square: The History and Heritage of the Church of the Presidents, Washington, DC |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qKQKhVMFUAwC&pg=PA40 |location=Minneapolis, MN |publisher=Mill City Press |page=40 |isbn=978-1-934248-53-9}}</ref> only nine months after her husband's death. Customarily, it would have been considered "proper" for their marriage to have followed a longer [[mourning|mourning period]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Nester |first=William |date=2013 |title=The Age of Jackson and the Art of American Power, 1815-1848 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AWquAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA107 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Potomac Books |page=107 |isbn=978-1-61234-605-2}}</ref>

{{external media | width = 210px | align = right | headerimage= | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?99247-1/petticoat-affair ''Booknotes'' interview with John Marszalek on ''The Petticoat Affair'', March 8, 1998], [[C-SPAN]]}}

Eaton took his revenge on Calhoun. In 1830, reports had emerged which accurately stated that Calhoun, while [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]], had favored censuring Jackson for his 1818 invasion of Florida. These reports infuriated Jackson.{{sfn|Cheathem|2008|p=29}} Calhoun asked Eaton to approach Jackson about the possibility of Calhoun publishing his correspondence with Jackson at the time of the Seminole War. Eaton did nothing. This caused Calhoun to believe that Jackson had approved the publication of the letters.{{sfn|Remini|1981|pp=306-307}} Calhoun published them in the ''Telegraph.''<ref name="John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President (1825–1832)">{{cite web |url= https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_John_Calhoun.htm |title= John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President (1825–1832) |publisher= United States Senate |access-date= May 7, 2016}}</ref> Their publication gave the appearance of Calhoun trying to justify himself against a conspiracy, which further enraged the President.{{sfn|Remini|1981|pp=306-307}}

 

The dispute was finally resolved when Van Buren offered to resign, giving Jackson the opportunity to reorganize his cabinet by asking for the resignations of the anti-Eaton cabinet members. Postmaster General [[William T. Barry]] was the lone cabinet member to stay, and Eaton eventually received appointments that took him away from Washington, first as [[List of Governors of Florida|governor of Florida Territory]], and then as [[United States Ambassador to Spain|minister to Spain]].

 

On June 17, the day before Eaton formally resigned, a story appeared in the ''Telegraph'' stating that it had been "proved" that the families of Ingham, Branch, and Attorney General [[John M. Berrien]] had refused to associate with Mr. Eaton. Eaton wrote to all three men demanding that they answer for the article.{{sfn|Snelling|1831|p=199}} Ingham sent back a contemptuous letter stating that, while he was not the source for the article, the information was still true.{{sfn|Snelling|1831|pp=199-200}} On June 18, Eaton challenged Ingham to a duel through Eaton's brother in law, Dr. Philip G. Randolph, who visited Ingham twice and the second time threatened him with personal harm if he did not comply with Eaton's demands. Randolph was dismissed, and the next morning Ingham sent a note to Eaton discourteously declining the invitation,{{sfn|Snelling|1831|p=200}} and describing his situation as one of "pity and contempt." Eaton wrote a letter back to Ingham accusing him of cowardice.{{sfn|Parton|1860|p=366}} Ingham was then informed that Eaton, Randolph, and others were looking to assault him. He gathered together his own bodyguard, and was not immediately molested. However, he reported that for the next two nights Eaton and his men continued to lurk about his dwelling and threaten him. He then left the city, and returned safely to his home.{{sfn|Snelling|1831|p=200}} Ingham communicated to Jackson his version of what took place, and Jackson then asked Eaton to answer for the charge. Eaton admitted that he "passed by" the place where Ingham had been staying, "but at no point attempted to enter ... or besiege it."{{sfn|Remini|1981|p=320}}

 

[[File:Mvanburen.jpeg|thumb|Secretary of State Martin Van Buren supported the Eatons, aiding in his rise to the presidency.]]

In 1832, Jackson nominated Van Buren to be Minister to Great Britain. Calhoun killed the nomination with a tie-breaking vote against it, claiming his act would "...kill him, sir, kill him dead. He will never kick, sir, never kick."{{sfn|Latner|2002|page=108}} However, Calhoun only made Van Buren seem the victim of petty politics, which were rooted largely in the Eaton controversy. This raised Van Buren even further in Jackson's esteem.{{sfn|Meacham|2008|pp=171–175}} Van Buren was nominated for vice president, and was elected as Jackson's running mate when Jackson won a second term in [[1832 United States presidential election|1832]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?year=1832 |title=Election of 1832 |last1=Woolley |first1=John |last2=Peters |first2=Gerhard |publisher=American Presidency Project |access-date=July 20, 2017}}</ref> Van Buren thus became the ''de facto'' heir to the presidency, and succeeded Jackson in 1837.

According to historian [[Daniel Walker Howe]], the episode influenced the emergence of feminism. The Cabinet wives insisted that the interests and honor of all women were at stake. They believed a responsible woman should never accord a man sexual favors without the assurance that went with marriage. A woman who broke that code was dishonorable and unacceptable. Howe notes that this was the feminist spirit that in the next decade shaped the woman's rights movement. The aristocratic wives of European diplomats in Washington shrugged the matter off; they had their national interest to uphold, and had seen how life worked in Paris and London.<ref>{{cite book|title=What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848|last=Howe|first=Daniel Walker|author-link=Daniel Walker Howe|series=[[Oxford History of the United States]]|isbn=978-0-19-507894-7|year=2007|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whathathgodwroug00howe/page/337 337–339]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|title-link=What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848}}</ref>

 

Historian [[Robert V. Remini]] says that "the entire Eaton affair might be termed infamous. It ruined reputations and terminated friendships. And it was all so needless."{{sfn|Remini|1981|p=320}} Historian Kirsten E. Wood argues that it "was a national political issue, raising questions of manhood, womanhood, Presidential power, politics, and morality."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mrs. Eaton Affair|url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-mrs-eaton-affair/|last=Wills|first=Matthew|date=2019-12-20|website=JSTOR Daily|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-05}}</ref>

 

The 1936 film ''[[The Gorgeous Hussy]]'' is a fictionalized account of the Petticoat affair. It featured [[Joan Crawford]] as Peggy O'Neal, [[Robert Taylor (actor)|Robert Taylor]] as John Timberlake, [[Lionel Barrymore]] as Andrew Jackson, and [[Franchot Tone]] as John Eaton.<ref>Nugent, Frank S., "[https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0CE3D7143CE53ABC4D53DFBF66838D629EDE The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)] Democratic Unconvention in 'The Gorgeous Hussy,' at the Capitol -- 'A Son Comes Home,' at the Rialto," movie review, ''The New York Times,'' 5 September 1936. Retrieved 29 December 2015.</ref><ref>Schwarz, Frederic D., "[https://www.questia.com/library/p437046/american-heritage/i3099776/vol-57-no-2-april-may 1831: That Eaton Woman]," ''American Heritage,'' April/May 2006, Vol. 57. No. 2 (Subscription only.) Retrieved 29 December 2015.</ref>

 

 

* {{cite book |last=Cheathem |first=Mark Renfred |date=2008 |title=Jacksonian and Antebellum Age: People and Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wjCVfr4oxUC&pg=PA17 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-017-9 |ref=harv}}

* {{cite book |last=Latner |first=Richard B. |chapter=Andrew Jackson |editor-last=Graff |editor-first=Henry |date=2002 |title=The Presidents: A Reference History |edition=7th |chapter-url=http://www.presidentprofiles.com/Washington-Johnson/Jackson-Andrew.html |ref=harv}}