How Do You Know About The Petticoat Wars?!!

I want to take just a moment today to commemorate the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Regardless of where you stand when it comes to politics, it is important that we do not forget what it means to be a patriot. 

It is also important that we do not forget the debt of gratitude that our nation owes to the heroes who laid their own lives on the line on this day eight years ago in order to save the lives of others. So if you see a soldier, a member of the police force, a firefighter, or an EMT today, take time out of your routine to thank them for the service they provide to our communities.

That being said, here's this week's article!

It seems that lately there have been several scandals in Washington D.C. that have had people all over the country up in arms. Scandals of a sexual nature seem to be more and more prevalent.  From the Lewinsky affair while President Clinton was in office, to Elliot Spitzer's latest embarrassment in being exposed as part of a prostitution ring, many consider this behavior in Washington to be a sign of the times and unparalleled throughout the history of our country.

However, in the early 1800's there was a scandal in Washington to rival those making headlines today. This one did measurable damage. Enough, in fact, that an entire Cabinet was overturned.

The newspapers called it "The Petticoat Wars." Never heard of it? Well, that's what I'm here for.

Margaret O'Neal, or Peggy as she preferred to be called, was the daughter of a Washington D.C. tavern-keeper. The tavern also served as a boarding house and was known as The Franklin House.

Peggy worked in the Franklin House as a barmaid. She was well-known and popular with the regular patrons as she was very beautiful. Her reputation for not having the strictest of morals may have had something to do with her popularity as well.

One regular patron of the Franklin House was a wealthy young Senator by the name of John Eaton. While it was hardly spoken of in polite company, it was not exactly a secret that Peggy and Senator Eaton had been settling more than his bar tab for quite some time.

Then Eaton's wife passed away. This left Eaton widowed at the young age of 28. He and Peggy married not long after on January 21, 1829. This was scandal enough in it's own right considering that social codes dictated that a much longer mourning period should be observed before remarrying. 

However, it was not long after they were married that President Andrew Jackson appointed Eaton to the position of Secretary of War. This catapulted the former barmaid to the status of Cabinet wife, the pinnacle of Washington society.

The other Cabinet wives resented the new Mrs. Eaton's sudden elevation in social status. Especially Second Lady Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun.

Mrs. Calhoun, with the support of her husband, began to instigate an "Anti-Peggy Coalition" with the intent of freezing her out of their  circle. They refused to include Mrs. Eaton in any of their social functions at all.

This infuriated President Jackson, who may have been more sympathetic to the Eaton's situation due to the fact that his own wife had recently passed away and she too, had been the subject of innuendo.

Jackson called a special meeting of the Cabinet and their wives to defend his appointment of Eaton and call for an immediate stop to the malicious behavior towards Eaton's wife. And when the Cabinet wives continued to ostracize Peggy, Jackson chose to put a stop to it by purging the entire Cabinet, replacing everyone except for Postmaster General William Barry.

Due to his wife's intransigence, Vice President Calhoun's hope to ride Jackson's coattails into the Presidency had been put to an end. Jackson instead elevated Secretary of State Martin Van Buren as his favorite and chose him as a vice-presidential running mate in his re-election campaign.

Some speculate that Jackson chose to favor Van Buren because he had  managed to remain friendly with the Eatons throughout the Petticoat wars due to the fact that he was unmarried himself.

Van Buren replaced Calhoun as Vice President during Jackson's second term and then succeeded Jackson to the Presidency in 1837.

Calhoun and his wife returned to South Carolina where he won a seat in the U.S. Senate. He advocated states' rights, slavery, and economic issues affecting the South. Some historians say that had Calhoun become president instead of Van Buren, a northerner, he may have been able to ease some of the North-South tensions that lead to the outbreak of The Civil War in 1860.

Later in life, John Eaton became Minister to Spain and he and Peggy became the toast of Madrid. After Eaton passed away, leaving Peggy widowed in her sixties, she married a twenty-something Italian dance instructor, only to watch him run off with her granddaughter and most of her money.

So there you you have it. A short article for a short week.

Also, I would like to add a personal note to this week's post:

I love Tom "Dego" Dowers because he is so super awesome. He is genuinely a good person. And he's a good friend.

And that's all I have to say about that.