Women in the Life of Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson is one of the most significant and controversial United States Presidents. This book follows Jackson’s life and death through the lives of six women who influenced both his politics and his persona. His mother, Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, introduced him to their Scots-Irish heritage. Jackson’s wife, Rachel Donelson Jackson provided emotional support and a stable household throughout her life. Emily Donelson, his niece, was the White House hostess for most of his presidency and was one of the few women to stand up to Jackson’s overbearing nature. She, along with Rachel Jackson and Mary Eaton (the wife of Jackson’s Secretary of War) was also involved in the Petticoat Affair, a historic scandal that consumed the early Jackson administration. His daughter-in-law, Sarah Yorke Jackson, and niece, Mary Eastin Polk, supported Jackson in his retirement and buttressed his political legacy. These six women helped to mold, support, and temper the figure of Andrew Jackson we know today.

Ludwig M. Deppisch, M.D., is a professor emeritus of pathology, Northeast Ohio Medical University. A native of New York, he lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Ludwig M. Deppisch, M.D.
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 247
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7991-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4285-7
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  viii
Preface: The Contradictions of the Man  1
I—Elizabeth Jackson: His Mother  5
II—Rachel Donelson: His Wife  18
III—Rachel Jackson: A Complicated Decade  33
IV—Rachel Jackson: Their Marriage Thrives  46
V—Rachel Jackson: Her Unwelcome Public Life  58
VI—Rachel Jackson: Her Distress and Demise  71
VII—Emily Tennessee Donelson: His Niece  84
VIII—Margaret Eaton: Wife of His Secretary of War  91
IX—Rachel, Emily and Margaret: The Eaton Affair  102
X—Emily and Margaret: The Eaton Affair Denouement  116
XI—Emily Donelson: Presiding Lady Again  131
XII—Margaret Eaton: Trials and Triumphs After the White House  148
XIII—Sarah Yorke Jackson: His “Daughter”  160
XIV—Mary Ann Eastin: His Favorite Niece and Other Favored Young Women  174
XV—Andrew Jackson’s Women: A Summary of Their Influence  186
Chapter Notes  191
Bibliography  221
Index  227