HST 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 38: Peggy Eaton, Cabinet Of The United States, Petticoat Affair
Document Summary
The term was derived from the phrase "to the victor belong the spoils" by. New york senator william l. marcy, referring to the victory of the jackson. Democrats in the election of 1828, with the term spoils meaning goods or benefits taken from the loser in a competition, election or military victory. When margaret"s first husband died unexpectedly, rumors abounded that he had committed suicide over his wife"s alleged affair with eaton. Margaret married shortly after her first husband"s death, the ladies of washington society ostracized the new couple. Jackson sympathized with and supported his friend eaton because he supported jackson when he had unwittingly married rachel before her divorce from her first husband was final. People advised jackson against making eaton his secretary of war because of margaret"s reputation. Jackson"s first term, his opponents used the eaton affair or petticoat affair, as it was known, to attack the president"s moral judgment and, by extension, his administration"s policies and appointees.
