The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-07-08
THE following card from Amos Kendall, appears
in Hdrper's Weekly of this week !:


in Harper's Weekly of this week
GENERAL JACKSON AND MRS. EATON.
WASHINGTON, June 2S, 1859
In your Weekly of the 25th instant | observe an
article headed ''Mrs Eaton and General Jackson
OF which the following is an extract, viz:
Through her influence land her husbands ad-
mitted abilities) General Eaton was appointed to
place in the Cabinet, and the lady became soon
after sort of semi-ofiicial lady of the White
House. Her influence finally became supreme and
of course created host of enemies The old Cen
eral became her partisan, and he went so far as to
make 1t a party measure, that Mrs. Eaton should
receive the most marked attention from all who
came to the White HOUSE, and more especially from
those VINO were dependant upon him for office, As
a general thing, the wives of the members of the
Cabinet who were especially expected to treat Mrs
Eaton with attention, performed their allotted task
with apparent sincerity at least; but Mrs. Calhoun
would not and did not conform to the usage and
from this little incident circumstances which
finally broke up the Generals Cabinet drove
Mr.. Calhoun into the opposition, and abso-
lutely changed the character of the Democratic
party"
This article does General Jackson great in
justice, and is inaccurate in many particulars viz
L. 1t was the personal friendship between Gene
raj jackson and Major Eaton which secured to the
latter place in the Cabinet.
2. Mrs Eaton never had any position in the
White House. The lady of the house was Mrs
Donaldson, wife of Major Donaldson, the Presidents
private secretary
o. 'Niici al ohIhsou new eF required as party
measure or otherwise, that any one should pay
.marked attention. any attention to Mrs
Eaton. Neither the lady of his own house nor one
of the ladies of his Cabinet officers with single ex
cepon, visited her. 1t is true that the Gene
raj believing that the tales circulated about Mrs
Eaton were utterly false and deploring the i'll feel
ing produced among his advisers by family aiena-
tons, attempted to satisfy them that those tales
were groundless, but in no instance did he require
that any one not his private secretary nor the
ladies of his own household, should associate with
Mrs. Eaton orpay her any attention.
4. General Jackson was not alone in the belief
that this family difficulty fostered by political
asplrants for the purpose of breaking up a cabinet
which was not so constituted as to promote their
views upon the succession. But the breach between
him and Mr.. Calhoun was wholly independent of
these petty feuds, and would doubtless have occur
red had Mrs. Eaton never existed. 1t grew out of
a course of events dating back as far as 1918 bnt
not fully developed until 1881
The brick story with which your article concludes
is believed to have no relation to Mrs Eaton
though it has this foundation, that when a hot
brick was urgently required for one of his own
family, he promptly loOsened one with the tonps
from the throat of the chimney and sent it to the
physician. Such is my recollection of an incident
mentioned at the time illustrating the prompt
tude of General Jackson's mind in meeting emer-
gencles. The inaccuracies of your article are
doubtless attributable to impressions made BY
newspaper misrepresentation during General
Jackson's administration and doubt not YOU will
DE as DESTROYS as | am that Justice shall be done to
MS memory by their correction.
r.ar With high respect,
AunS