Blog Post 4- The Eaton Affair

The Eaton Affair had an important impact on society during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Kirsten E. Wood notes that women exhibited a significant amount of influence on politics and society. Moreover, in Kirsten Wood’s article, “‘One Woman so Dangerous to Public Morals’: Gender and Power in the Eaton Affair,” she discusses the powerful role women had in influencing men in positions of leadership.

Margaret Eaton is “known to history because of her infamous place in Jackson’s presidency, but her notoriety had its origins in her upbringing at the perimeter of the highest circles of Washington society” (p. 244). According to an article by J. Kingston Pierce, “Margaret Timberlake tended toward flirtatiousness, enjoyed serving men in her family's tavern, and shared her opinions and jokes too loudly and liberally-led others in the capital to presume that she was a wanton woman. Eaton, though, saw her quite differently” (p. 22).

Margaret O’Neale Timberlake Eaton, then, was considered a loose woman because she worked in her father’s tavern. Wood states that because “her father’s hotel was a favorite among the city’s officeholders, her family was well connected” (p. 244). After Margaret met John Eaton, later Jackson's Secretary of War, at her father’s tavern, they had some sort of relationship rumored to be an adulterous affair. To make matters worse for her reputation, she married John Eaton soon after her first husband’s death. This created much scandal, and the cabinet wives made certain that Margaret Eaton was not made to feel welcomed in their inner circle. Andrew Jackson defended Margaret Eaton. In What Hath God Wrought, Howe notes that Jackson “insisted that Margaret Eaton must be an innocent victim of slander, the same position he had taken in response to the accusations against Rachel (his wife). His argument was deductive rather than based on evidence” (p. 337).  

While reading about the Eaton Affair, I was reminded of an important truth found in Proverbs 31:30, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Had Margaret Eaton practiced this verse, she may have saved herself and many others some negative consequences.

Kirsten Wood conveys that the snubbing of Margaret Eaton by the wives of Jackson's cabinet members was a form of displaying power. Wood notes that these “women saw themselves as powerful moral agents influencing the social order, however, Jackson’s supporters preferred to see only men as significant actors on the national stage. Therefore, if Jackson could convince his audience in Washington and the nation that men alone should be the arbiters of political morality, women’s role in the political order would be severely curtailed. In the end, Jackson’s side won out, undermining the legitimacy of women’s claims to political significance or moral guardianship and truncating the national political careers of Margaret Eaton’s leading antagonists” (p. 242). Therefore, in spite of his cabinet member’s wives snubbing Margaret Eaton, Jackson demanded that the wives welcome Margaret Eaton into their political circle. Thus, through the Eaton Affair, Jackson was able to demonstrate his power in a dramatic way. This did not mean, however, that the wives did not demonstrate power also. Because of their ability to cause a reaction from the President, they too exhibited a powerful role in Jacksonian politics. Even though it was subtle, this form of power was enough to cause a swift reaction from Andrew Jackson.

In spite of not being able to vote, the women of Andrew Jackson’s day displayed power and influence over the political climate of their times. From What Hath God Wrought, Howe notes this as well, “Women, although legally disfranchised, were not necessarily politically apathetic or inert” (p. 342). Women can use their influence and power in a positive or a negative manner. One only has to turn the television on to notice the depraved way in which women think they have to gain power. Sexually exploiting themselves and lowering their standards is not the way positive change will happen. Christian ladies need to practice a lifestyle of morality. Keeping our moral standards high and proclaiming the truth, we can make a positive influence in our sinful world.

                                                            Works Cited:

Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America,
     1815-1848. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Pierce, J. Kingston. “Andrew Jackson and the tavern-keeper’s daughter.” American
     History 34, no. 2 (June 1999): 20-26.
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/docview/224076425/abstract?accountid=12085 (accessed September 26, 2013).

Wood, Kirsten E. “‘One Woman so Dangerous to Public Morals’: Gender and Power
     in the Eaton Affair.” Journal of the Early Republic 17, no. 2 (Summer 1997):
     237-275. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3124447 (accessed September 26, 2013).

Blog Post 3- Psychoanalysis and Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson is a complex man. The motivations of his actions remain curious and present quite a challenge to study. In Fathers & Children: Andrew Jackson and the Subjugation of the American Indian, Michael Rogin attempts to psychoanalyze Jackson to understand better some of his actions, mostly in regards to his Indian policies and opinions. Rogin notes, “Historians, however, have failed to place Indians at the center of Jackson’s life. They have interpreted the Age of Jackson from every perspective but Indian destruction, the one from which it actually developed historically” (p. 4).

In Fathers & Children, Rogin shows that Jackson personified a coming change in America. He notes, “Jackson’s own family life—father dead at birth, mother in adolescence, traumatic early speech difficulty—prefigured in exaggerated form the problems of Jacksonian society. Returning to childhood, in Indian war, Indian treaties, and Indian removal, Jackson mastered its regressive appeal. He infused American politics with regenerated paternal authority” (p. 15). Rogin clearly argues, “Jackson first developed, in Indian relations, the major formulas of Jacksonian Democracy” (p. 166).

One of the definitive features of Rogin’s work deals with Jackson’s Indian policies and removal. He details at great length how Jackson made the Indians feel childlike, which caused them to want his help and allowed him to have the power as a father figure to protect them from the white people wanting to move into their land. Thus, Jackson placed himself in a position to remove the Indians without feeling guilty for his actions. According to Rogin, Jackson’s plan of removal gave the Indians little agency because Jackson viewed the Indians as children. However, Rogin fails to mention the nativist uprisings in the Indian culture. In Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America, Daniel Richter notes that, “Whatever may have been their attitudes toward the British, nativists among both Creeks and Shawnees had no doubts about who their real enemies were. Tenskwatawa insisted that Indians ‘were not to know the Americans on any account, but to keep them at a distance.’ Red Sticks called for the obliteration of ‘everything received from the Americans, [and] all the Chiefs and their adherents…friendly to the customs and ways of the White people’” (p. 230). Therefore, this picture shows that Indians did indeed exhibit some agency, unlike Rogin’s portrayal of Jackson’s paternalistic perspective of the Indians being like children.

The main weakness in Fathers & Children is Rogins use of psychoanalytical terms. I studied some psychology in my undergraduate studies, and even I had difficulty remembering some of the terms Rogin used. He should have described some of the terms, such as the superego and id, to help a reader not informed in psychological language better understand his arguments.

Moreover, Fathers & Children presents a negative description of Jackson. Although the man was certainly flawed, he has many admirable characteristics that are not necessarily adverse to his personality. For example, Rogin does describe his strength of character, but he presents it from a psychoanalytical point of view that makes Jackson seem reactive and harsh. Consequently, Rogin’s persistent attempt to psychoanalyze the motivations and actions of Jackson in dealing with the Indians did not settle well with me. It is very difficult to determine a person’s sole motivation in determining actions because people are complex. Albeit, Rogin had a plethora of facts and evidence for his research, it seemed as if he forced his information to fit his thesis.

Regardless of whether Jackson’s motives were psychoanalytical in removing the Indians from their land, he certainly did not live up to the Biblical principle found in Matthew 25:40, “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” This is an excellent biblical truth for us today, and we should remember it especially as it applies to some important social and political issues in our day. Human trafficking and abortion are horrible atrocities committed every day in our country. As Christians, we need to defend these innocent victims.

                                                            Works Cited:

Richter, Daniel K. Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early
     America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001.

Rogin, Michael Paul. Fathers & Children: Andrew Jackson and the Subjugation of the
     American Indian. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2009.  

Blog Post 2- James Madison’s Dedication to a Legacy of Freedom

Youth has become an obsession of almost unattainable reach to many people in our modern American society, and this is unfortunate. An emphasis on the older generation and their wisdom can be quite useful for leading and directing our country through different stages of its existence. An example of an older man instructing and using his age as a benefit to posterity is James Madison. In The Last of the Fathers: James Madison & The Republican Legacy, Drew R. McCoy tries to convey this point.

Instead of presenting the typical presentation of Madison, as he is known in his early career as an important promoter of republican ideals, McCoy states that his portrayal of Madison “focuses instead on a relatively neglected phrase of Madison’s republican odyssey, the period between his retirement from public office in March 1817 and his death on June 28, 1836” (xiii). Moreover, McCoy expresses that Madison truly did leave a legacy: “His two decades of retirement were fascinating and important years, both for him and for the republic whose history seemed inseparable from his own” (xiii). I think it important to note that in these last two lines, Madison should be viewed as someone who actually lived out his ideas and saw them expand to the next generation of Americans. Thus, he still had a place in society to make sure these republican ideals, understood correctly by the newer generation, were still being carried out.

Madison’s early career is quite remarkable. He started his political career at such a young age, and even then exhibited a significant dedication to espousing his views of republican government. In Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 Pauline Maier states, “Although Madison was short, shy, and relatively young (he was thirty-six in 1787), his intellect and learning had won him respect among his more senior colleagues, including Washington. He helped write the plan of government that the Virginia delegation prepared while it waited for the Convention to meet, and he would later be called ‘the father of the Constitution,’ a title he had the grace to decline since it was, as he said, the work of ‘many heads & many hands’” (p. 36). Although this portrayal of Madison displays him as a young, capable politician, he still at this time commanded an air of respectability, which would carry on even to his later years. Madison, therefore, left a lasting legacy for posterity to glean important insights into the ideas of republican government.

The Bible speaks about hard work and dedication in Ecclesiastes 9:10, when it says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” This verse aptly fits Madison’s life because he was devoted to the cause of promoting his views of republican government. This dedication drove him at many times and in various ways throughout his service to his country to pursue ideals of republican government. McCoy in The Last of the Fathers mentions several of these incidents in his later life. One example that portrays Madison in his later years fighting for his principles is his role in the nullification crisis. In the brewing years before the crisis over the tariff issue exploded into the nullification crisis, James Madison responded.  Dew McCoy notes that “as the election of 1828 drew near, Madison broke his public silence only to urge his fellow citizens to conduct their political discussions ‘in a spirit and manner, neither unfavorable to a dispassionate result, nor unworthy of the great and advancing cause of Representative Government’” (p. 126).

An individual who presently has shown a dedication to his craft is Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimming champion. Watching the Olympics last summer with my family, we were amazed at the dedication this young man has to his craft. He woke up early in the morning, practiced swimming until he swam each stroke just right, ate well, exercised, and he did all of those things because he loves his sport and is committed to playing it correctly. This reminds me of James Madison as well. He was committed to his form of republican government and wanted to make sure that future generations correctly understood the principles he espoused throughout his life. We, therefore, have a choice: will we promote these ideals of freedom handed down to us from our Founding Fathers like James Madison, or will we forget them and walk in ignorance? The choice is ours. I hope we will choose to dedicate our lives to the causes of freedom as James Madison did and pass our recognized freedom down to posterity.

                                                             Works Cited:

Maier, Pauline. Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. New
     York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.

McCoy, Drew R. The Last of the Fathers: James Madison & The Republican Legacy.
     New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.