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).