from Jon Meacham's 'American Lion' on Andrew Jackson
J 0 H N QUI N C Y A DAM s liked to think of himself as a man removed from the strife of party and the scramble for power. Yet for all his scholarly
interests-his readings in the classics, his writing of poetry, his medita- tions on scripture-Adams could never fully control his addiction to poli-
tics and public intrigue. His diaries and correspondence are replete with rumors and reports about the White House and the Capitol, the depart- ments and the drawing rooms. In his diary in early 1829, Adams noted that a friend of his was "much scandalized by the ascendancy of Mrs. Eaton;
lately Mrs. Timberlake." Writing his son about the Calhouns and the Eatons, Adams said that the vice president "forsooth was a Man of Morals,
and his wife had been the first to exclaim ... 'I so hate a whore.''' (Adams
marked through the word "whore," but not so much that it could not be
read.) At the time of the inauguration in 1829, in the aftermath of the Eaton call, Adams added, Floride gave "public notice ... that sooner than submit to the contamination of [Margaret's] society, she would not show her face
at Washington."
interests-his readings in the classics, his writing of poetry, his medita- tions on scripture-Adams could never fully control his addiction to poli-
tics and public intrigue. His diaries and correspondence are replete with rumors and reports about the White House and the Capitol, the depart- ments and the drawing rooms. In his diary in early 1829, Adams noted that a friend of his was "much scandalized by the ascendancy of Mrs. Eaton;
lately Mrs. Timberlake." Writing his son about the Calhouns and the Eatons, Adams said that the vice president "forsooth was a Man of Morals,
and his wife had been the first to exclaim ... 'I so hate a whore.''' (Adams
marked through the word "whore," but not so much that it could not be
read.) At the time of the inauguration in 1829, in the aftermath of the Eaton call, Adams added, Floride gave "public notice ... that sooner than submit to the contamination of [Margaret's] society, she would not show her face
at Washington."
Louisa Adams, the former president's wife, was even more explicit.
"War is declared between some of the ladies in the city, and ... ladies' wars
are always fierce and hot," she wrote their son.
are always fierce and hot," she wrote their son.
SUCH WAS THE atmosphere when Martin Van Buren arrived at the White
House on his first evening in Washington on Sunday, March 22, 1829. Greeting Jackson in the shadows of the president's office-there was just
one candle burning-Van Buren, in town to begin his work as secretary of
state, thought Jackson's health "poor, and his spirits depressed as well by
his recent bereavement of his wife." He was right on both counts. Intuitive
about the intricacies of power, Van Buren assessed the reality of life in the White House. "The cast of the Cabinet carried a suspicion to the minds of
many ... that Eaton and Lewis had exerted a preponderating influence in its
construction," Van Buren recalled. The result: "Jealousies and enmities ac- cordingly sprang up ... many of which were never healed." Andrew D,onel- son, Van Buren added, "partook largely of this feeling."
House on his first evening in Washington on Sunday, March 22, 1829. Greeting Jackson in the shadows of the president's office-there was just
one candle burning-Van Buren, in town to begin his work as secretary of
state, thought Jackson's health "poor, and his spirits depressed as well by
his recent bereavement of his wife." He was right on both counts. Intuitive
about the intricacies of power, Van Buren assessed the reality of life in the White House. "The cast of the Cabinet carried a suspicion to the minds of
many ... that Eaton and Lewis had exerted a preponderating influence in its
construction," Van Buren recalled. The result: "Jealousies and enmities ac- cordingly sprang up ... many of which were never healed." Andrew D,onel- son, Van Buren added, "partook largely of this feeling."
Small in stature-he was about five feet six inches tall-Van Buren was
the son of a tavern keeper and farmer in Kinderhook, New York, near Al- bany. Born in 1782, he grew up around the politicians who gathered in his
father's establishment-guests included Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr-and, after training as a lawyer, he entered politics himself, serving as
a state senator and New York attorney general before becoming a U.S. sen- ator in 1821. A careful dresser, Van Buren was also careful about revealing too much of his own thinking or convictions; it was as though the son of the tavern keeper always wanted to keep his doors open and please as many
people as he could. With his gift for building alliances, Van Buren engi- neered the Jackson-Calhoun victory in 1828 by, as he put it, uniting "the
planters of the South and the plain republicans of the North."
father's establishment-guests included Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr-and, after training as a lawyer, he entered politics himself, serving as
a state senator and New York attorney general before becoming a U.S. sen- ator in 1821. A careful dresser, Van Buren was also careful about revealing too much of his own thinking or convictions; it was as though the son of the tavern keeper always wanted to keep his doors open and please as many
people as he could. With his gift for building alliances, Van Buren engi- neered the Jackson-Calhoun victory in 1828 by, as he put it, uniting "the
planters of the South and the plain republicans of the North."
VAN BUREN WAS a practical man, and his pragmatism faced an immedi- ate test when he arrived in the capital. "You might as well turn the current of
the Niagara with a ladies' fan as to prevent scheming and intrigue at Wash- ington," he once said, and many intriguers were thinking about life after
Jackson.
the Niagara with a ladies' fan as to prevent scheming and intrigue at Wash- ington," he once said, and many intriguers were thinking about life after
Jackson.
The president himself was the architect of the constant campaign: he had
begun running for 1828 on his way home from Washington in 1825. In pol-
itics, as in so many other spheres of life, success breeds imitation. As 1829
began, many expected Jackson to be a one-term president, if that. He was an old, wounded warrior, scarred, bullet-ridden, susceptible to all sorts of sick- ness. He suffered intermittent hemorrhages, which he would relieve by cut- ting his arm with a penknife to bleed himself. It was entirely possible he would not live to see 1833. The rumors of his death before the inauguration
had been plausible enough, and he often referred to his own poor health, calling on Providence to see him through.
begun running for 1828 on his way home from Washington in 1825. In pol-
itics, as in so many other spheres of life, success breeds imitation. As 1829
began, many expected Jackson to be a one-term president, if that. He was an old, wounded warrior, scarred, bullet-ridden, susceptible to all sorts of sick- ness. He suffered intermittent hemorrhages, which he would relieve by cut- ting his arm with a penknife to bleed himself. It was entirely possible he would not live to see 1833. The rumors of his death before the inauguration
had been plausible enough, and he often referred to his own poor health, calling on Providence to see him through.
Calhoun, Van Buren, and Clay were three of the men who longed for the presidency, obsessed over it, and judged what they did in the light of Whether a given issue or question would advance or hinder their path to ul-
timate power. For them, succession was all. Clay would use any weapon that came to hand, including gossip, in hopes of winning the presidency four years hence. The current administration, Clay believed, was dangerous and usurping; Clay thought Jackson's election "a calamitous event," he wrote
privately, and Jackson himself to be "feeble in body and mind, and irres- Olute." If he was to lead a restoration campaign, Clay knew he had to keep
himself before the people. "We must never forget that we cannot make them
lose sight of me," Clay wrote an ally. "I cannot withdraw from the gaze of
the public eye."
timate power. For them, succession was all. Clay would use any weapon that came to hand, including gossip, in hopes of winning the presidency four years hence. The current administration, Clay believed, was dangerous and usurping; Clay thought Jackson's election "a calamitous event," he wrote
privately, and Jackson himself to be "feeble in body and mind, and irres- Olute." If he was to lead a restoration campaign, Clay knew he had to keep
himself before the people. "We must never forget that we cannot make them
lose sight of me," Clay wrote an ally. "I cannot withdraw from the gaze of
the public eye."
Inside the administration, the Van Buren-Calhoun contest was obvious to the political world even before Jackson's inauguration. "Disguise it as we
may, the friends of Van Buren and those of Calhoun are becoming very jeal- ous of each other," Pennsylvania congressman James Buchanan said on Thursday, January 22,1829. Van Buren, meanwhile, was hearing from sym- pathetic South Carolinians that Calhoun might be vulnerable on the home
front if attacked in Washington. "A display there [in Washington], adverse
to him, will enable us to triumph over him and his friends there," a foe of Calhoun's, David R. Williams, wrote Van Buren in 1829. It was interesting intelligence for Van Buren, a rival of Calhoun's.
may, the friends of Van Buren and those of Calhoun are becoming very jeal- ous of each other," Pennsylvania congressman James Buchanan said on Thursday, January 22,1829. Van Buren, meanwhile, was hearing from sym- pathetic South Carolinians that Calhoun might be vulnerable on the home
front if attacked in Washington. "A display there [in Washington], adverse
to him, will enable us to triumph over him and his friends there," a foe of Calhoun's, David R. Williams, wrote Van Buren in 1829. It was interesting intelligence for Van Buren, a rival of Calhoun's.
But Van Buren fought his wars with subtlety. He would begin his cam-
paign for supremacy indirectly. Seeing the side the Calhouns had chosen,
Van Buren-a widower-made the politically rational decision to take up
the Eatons' cause. James Parton looked back from the vantage point of the
1860s and, seeing that Van Buren had made it to the White House while
Calhoun, and the South, were ruined, wrote that "the political history of the
United States, for the last thirty years, dates from the moment when the soft
hand of Mr. Van Buren touched Mrs. Eaton's knocker."
paign for supremacy indirectly. Seeing the side the Calhouns had chosen,
Van Buren-a widower-made the politically rational decision to take up
the Eatons' cause. James Parton looked back from the vantage point of the
1860s and, seeing that Van Buren had made it to the White House while
Calhoun, and the South, were ruined, wrote that "the political history of the
United States, for the last thirty years, dates from the moment when the soft
hand of Mr. Van Buren touched Mrs. Eaton's knocker."
As Jackson saw things, Margaret was a convenient target for enemies
who resented the president and the secretary of war. "If I had a tit for every
one of these pigs to suck at, they would still be my friends," Jackson said of
Eaton's foes. "They view the appointment of Eaton as a bar to them from of- fice, and have tried here, with all the tools of Clay helping them on, to alarm
and prevent me from appointing him." Jackson's interpretation of the Eaton affair was that he was acting for the common democratic good while aristo- cratic elites, jealous of his power in Washington, did everything they could
to stop him. To Jackson, it was a matter of honor (he would not have his friend's wife assaulted as his own wife had been) and of power, and he would not be moved.
who resented the president and the secretary of war. "If I had a tit for every
one of these pigs to suck at, they would still be my friends," Jackson said of
Eaton's foes. "They view the appointment of Eaton as a bar to them from of- fice, and have tried here, with all the tools of Clay helping them on, to alarm
and prevent me from appointing him." Jackson's interpretation of the Eaton affair was that he was acting for the common democratic good while aristo- cratic elites, jealous of his power in Washington, did everything they could
to stop him. To Jackson, it was a matter of honor (he would not have his friend's wife assaulted as his own wife had been) and of power, and he would not be moved.
It was a political affair, but its sexual elements also raised important
questions for the women of the age. Cultural interpretations of the Eato~ af-
fair emphasize the significance of sexual purity to women in the early eigh- teenth century. Margaret Eaton was, fairly or not, a symbol of promiscuity-
She was a threat to the domestic realm-the realm in which the women of
Washington held power. She was a threat to the domestic realm-the realm in which the women of
From "The Driver's Seat":
"The disc comes to an end. A girl with long brown
pigtails is hopping about in front of Lise, continuing the
rhythm with her elbows, her blue-jeans, and apparently
her mind, as a newly beheaded chicken continues for a
brief time, now squawklessly, its panic career."
Also:
An Irreverent Curiosity on the search for the foreskin of Jesus Christ, by David Farley
Christopher Plummer's autobiography, In Spite of Myself.
and others I have now forgotten.
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