The solution was presented to Jackson in April 1831 by Van Buren, when he offered to resign and suggested that John Eaton do likewise. This would permit the president to ask the remainder of the cabinet to do the same and allow for a reorganization. Though a few members resisted, later protesting their departures in print, they all relinquished their seats.

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The capital reeled at this turn of events, and some people predicted that it portended governmental collapse. Newspapers were quick to trace the cause of the cabinet's fall to Margaret Eaton. One publication likened the event to 'the reign of Louis XV when Ministers were appointed and dismissed at a woman's nod, and the interests of the nation were tied to her apron string.' Henry Clay figured Calhoun could now 'take bolder and firmer ground against the president,' dooming Jackson's chances of reelection in 1832 and maybe improving Clay's own chances of winning the White House. Others hoped that John Eaton's resignation would finally end talk of his blackballed wife, giving rise to that season's most popular toast: 'To the next cabinet–may they all be bachelors–or leave their wives at home.'

Elected to a second term, Jackson was eager to end the debate that had threatened to bring down his first administration. He hustled John Eaton and his wife off to the Florida Territory, where John became governor. Two years later Jackson appointed Eaton as the United States' minister to Spain, and Margaret and John enjoyed life in Madrid for four years.

Bitter over the decline of his political fortunes, Vice President Calhoun sought revenge against Martin Van Buren. In 1832, Calhoun cast the tie-breaking vote against the New Yorker's confirmation as U.S. minister to Great Britain. This rejection, Calhoun told a colleague, 'will kill him, sir, kill him dead.' On the contrary, it won Van Buren sympathy with the American public. In 1832 Van Buren became Jackson's running mate for the upcoming presidential election, and in 1836 he was voted into the White House himself. Calhoun, meanwhile, resigned the vice presidency in 1832 to return to the Senate.

Amazingly, despite their history, Eaton eventually turned on Jackson. In 1840, when President Van Buren recalled Eaton from Spain for failing to fulfill his diplomatic duties, Eaton announced his support for Van Buren's presidential rival, William Henry Harrison. Jackson was infuriated by Eaton's political disloyalty, claiming that 'He comes out against all the political principles he ever professed and against those on which he was supported and elected senator.' The two men didn't reconcile until a year before Jackson's death in 1845.

John Eaton died in 1856, leaving a small fortune to his wife. Margaret lived in Washington and, after her two daughters married into high society, finally received some of the respect she craved. She didn't enjoy it for long. At age 59, the once-vivacious and now wealthy tavern-keeper's daughter married her granddaughter Emily's 19-year-old dance tutor, Antonio Buchignani. Five years later, Buchignani ran off to Italy with both Emily and his wife's money.

Margaret died in poverty in 1879 at Lochiel House, a home for destitute women. She was buried in the capital's Oak Hill Cemetery next to John Eaton. A newspaper commenting on her death and on the irony of the situation editorialized: 'Doubtless among the dead populating the terraces [of the cemetery] are some of her assailants [from the cabinet days] and cordially as they may have hated her, they are now her neighbors.'

This article was written by J. Kingston Pierce and originally appeared in the June 1999 issue of American History magazine. For more great articles, subscribe to American History magazine today!

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