Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1860-07-19
WASHINGTON. June Z. 1850.

To THE EDITOR OF THE BALTIMORE Sun =
| Your notice of the death of the Hon. S. D
! Ingham, contained in your issue of this morn
| ing, does incidentally great injustice both to
| Gen. Jackson and Mr.. Van Buren,. In rela.
| ton to the causes which broke up Gen. Jack.
! sons first Cabinet, your article says 81 In
| 1881 occurred the famous rupture between
john G. Calhoun, Vice President. and Martin
Van Buren, Secretary of State. This quar-
| rel doubtless originated. in a larg measure
| from the conflicting political aspirations OF
| those two celebrated leaders. Much of it.
| however, though it was then, and is yet, inn
| possible to say how much, was caused by The
| refusal OF the wives OF some IN, mbers of tn {
| Cabinet, and of other Washington dignitaries
| to recognize and visit Mrs. Edton''
Your article then proceeds to say "Gen-
eral Jackson wa warm friend both of that
| lady aud her husband. who was then Secre-
| tary of War. Exercising his iron will on
| this, as On all OCCASIONS, he determined that
| she should be recognized. Tn Sc two causes,
| the rivalry of Calhoun and Van Buren,, and
the quarrel about Mrs. Eaton, III whatever
proportions they may have been combined
did, together, result in breaking Up the Cabi
net," DC.
The rupture of 1881 was not between Mr.
| Calhoun and Mr.. Van Buren,, as here repre-
sented, but Was between MIR. Calhoun and
General Jackson. 1t is true that Mr.. Cal
houn and his friends attempted unsaccessfully
to hold Mr.. Van Buren, Responsible for the
rupture in face OF his denial and of conc III
sive testimony that it was brought about by
] facts and agencies over which he had no con.
troll.
AS to the Mrs. Eaton affair, it is not true
| that General Jackson determined that she
should be recognized" She was not recog-
nized by the lady of his own household, nor
did he require that the wives OF his Cabinet
should recognize her. 1t is true that be be-
| lieved the tales circulated about her to be
| false, aud, deprecatIng the discord generated
| between members OF his Cabinet 10y this at
| far, he was extremely ANXIOUS to convince
| ,hem ali that Mrs. Eaton was not unworthy
| OF the society of their families.
His OBJECT was harmony and unity in his
Cabinet. To produce that he resorted to no
Iron will, !" but to the chivalry and sense of
| Justice of the members of the Cabinet aud
their families. Tue refusal of the ladies 10
| recognize Mrs. Eaton would never OF itseli
| have broken up the Cabinet; but it Was the
personal hostility of the members towards
| each other, generated, no DOUBT, in part, by
| the private quarres .artluliy fostered by de-
| siguing politicians which psOdaced that re-
| suit. In short, it was The quarrel of the men
| aud not of the women, which produced the
catastrophe, though the former was in de-
| Mr.. Ingham was AN upright and honest
man, with strong prejudlces and Will as
.iron" as General Jackson's. He introduced
| some important reforms into the Treasury
| Department, for which he never received due
| credit.
| write this to enable you, by its publica-
| ton or otherwise, to correct the error allud
ed to, and to do justice to two eminent pub.
| lie men. AMOS KENDALL.
Commenting on this letter, the New Or,
leans Delto says:
| The death of Mr.. Ingham leaves but two
| survivors of the actors in this only chapter
of court scandal, in the history OF the Re
| public. Oae is the venerable ex-Presidenl
| Martin Van Buren,, VINO still maintains his
mental vigor at his famous country seat. neal
Kiuderhook, on the Hudson river. He ii
| said 10 be engaged in the preparation of q
history Of the political events in which he
/ acted u part, TO be published after his death
which will embrace the history or our politics
| TOR the whole period of his active agency
| therein. This will be, indeed, history d
our politics almost from the foundation O
| the Republic, or at least from the beginning
OF the Republican aud Democratic Parties.
1
The other survivor of the great drama o
the Cabinet Rupture has been making u bet
ter use OF her old age than her contemporary
the ex-President. The heroine OF the AFFAIR
the lovely and graceful and piquant widow