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Floride Calhoun
Floride Bonneau Calhoun (née Colhoun; February 15, 1792 – July 25, 1866) was the wife of U.S. politician John C. Calhoun. She was known for her leading role in the Petticoat affair, which occurred during her husband's service as vice president of the United States. In that role, Mrs. Calhoun led the wives of other Cabinet members in ostracizing Peggy Eaton, the wife of Secretary of War John Eaton, whom they considered a woman of low morals. The affair helped damage relations between John C. Calhoun and President Andrew Jackson, and effectively ended any legitimate chance of John Calhoun becoming president of the United States.
Floride Bonneau Colhoun was born to Floride Bonneau and John E. Colhoun, who served as a U.S. Senator from 1801 to 1802. She was a niece of Rebecca Colhoun Pickens, wife of Andrew Pickens. On January 8, 1811, she married John C. Calhoun, her first-cousin-once-removed (her father's first cousin). Soon after their marriage, her husband was elected to Congress, leaving his wife in charge of his plantation, Fort Hill in present-day Clemson, South Carolina. Within the next eighteen years, she gave birth to 10 children, five daughters, of whom three died in infancy, and five sons,
Her fourth child, Anna Maria married Thomas Green Clemson, founder of Clemson University in South Carolina.
In 1817, Floride Calhoun accompanied her husband to Washington upon his appointment as Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President James Monroe.
Eight years later in 1825, Calhoun became Second Lady of the United States, following her husband's election as vice president, serving in that role until his resignation in 1832.
During her tenure as Second Lady, she took the lead in a social war against Peggy Eaton, the wife of Secretary of War John Eaton, in what became known as the Petticoat affair.
Calhoun had organized a coalition among the wives of Jackson cabinet members against Peggy Eaton, who Calhoun believed had committed adultery and was acting irresponsibly in Washington. Historian John F. Marszalek explains why Washington society found Eaton unacceptable:
President Jackson was opposed by Vice President Calhoun and most of his own cabinet. The result was the resignation of all but one Cabinet member in 1831. It permanently destroyed friendly relations between Vice President Calhoun and President Jackson, and changed the trajectory of John Calhoun's career.
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Floride Calhoun
Floride Bonneau Calhoun (née Colhoun; February 15, 1792 – July 25, 1866) was the wife of U.S. politician John C. Calhoun. She was known for her leading role in the Petticoat affair, which occurred during her husband's service as vice president of the United States. In that role, Mrs. Calhoun led the wives of other Cabinet members in ostracizing Peggy Eaton, the wife of Secretary of War John Eaton, whom they considered a woman of low morals. The affair helped damage relations between John C. Calhoun and President Andrew Jackson, and effectively ended any legitimate chance of John Calhoun becoming president of the United States.
Floride Bonneau Colhoun was born to Floride Bonneau and John E. Colhoun, who served as a U.S. Senator from 1801 to 1802. She was a niece of Rebecca Colhoun Pickens, wife of Andrew Pickens. On January 8, 1811, she married John C. Calhoun, her first-cousin-once-removed (her father's first cousin). Soon after their marriage, her husband was elected to Congress, leaving his wife in charge of his plantation, Fort Hill in present-day Clemson, South Carolina. Within the next eighteen years, she gave birth to 10 children, five daughters, of whom three died in infancy, and five sons,
Her fourth child, Anna Maria married Thomas Green Clemson, founder of Clemson University in South Carolina.
In 1817, Floride Calhoun accompanied her husband to Washington upon his appointment as Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President James Monroe.
Eight years later in 1825, Calhoun became Second Lady of the United States, following her husband's election as vice president, serving in that role until his resignation in 1832.
During her tenure as Second Lady, she took the lead in a social war against Peggy Eaton, the wife of Secretary of War John Eaton, in what became known as the Petticoat affair.
Calhoun had organized a coalition among the wives of Jackson cabinet members against Peggy Eaton, who Calhoun believed had committed adultery and was acting irresponsibly in Washington. Historian John F. Marszalek explains why Washington society found Eaton unacceptable:
President Jackson was opposed by Vice President Calhoun and most of his own cabinet. The result was the resignation of all but one Cabinet member in 1831. It permanently destroyed friendly relations between Vice President Calhoun and President Jackson, and changed the trajectory of John Calhoun's career.