The purpose behind John Marszalek’s book, The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew Jackson's White House, is to thoroughly examine the Petticoat Affair, the notorious political sex scandal that plagued Andrew Jackson’s first term, and which historians claim led directly to the dissolution of President Jackson’s cabinet in 1831- and in 1832, “the worst split between a president and vice president in American history.” Marszalek offers a detailed account of the events leading up to- and consequences resulting from- President Andrew Jackson, Secretary of War John Henry Eaton, and John’s wife, Margaret O’Neale Timberlake Eaton forming what seems an inseparable bond, amidst the most famous debate over the meaning of womanhood in
