First Ladies of the United States: Rachel Jackson

Although First Lady Rachel Jackson passed away a few months before the inauguration of President Elect Andrew Jackson, their marriage deeply affected Jackson-era Washington and the presidency itself. Rachel's legacy of a folksy, pioneer woman who loved home and church became an archetypal American image after her death, but the scandal of her failed first marriage and possibly premature remarriage to Andrew haunted her in life. Biographers’ treatment of Rachel has changed drastically over the nearly two centuries that have passed since her death, yet certain themes of marriage, morality, and class persist. Scholars agree that the scandals that surrounded Rachel and Andrew set the tone for a new kind of politicking in America. Rachel's successor and daughter-in-law Emily Donelson also faced scandals of marriage and morality, since she was a significant player in the Petticoat Affair—a political upheaval that rocked Jackson's Cabinet during his first presidential term. She, too, died before Jackson's presidency was through. A second daughter-in-law, Sarah Yorke Jackson, continued the duties of White House hostess until the end of Jackson's term.

Using letters, documents, and historians' expertise, this PBS program explores the legend of Andrew Jackson -- the original "self-made man"--His wife Rachel's seldom-heard point of view.

Historians and biographers who have immortalized Andrew Jackson as a statesman and military genius, have invariably touched on the vital influence exerted on one of the greatest figures in American history by his beloved wife, Rachel. In the belief that only close readers of history or biography are aware of the full beauty of her personality and character, the Board of Directors of the Ladies’ Hermitage Association (organized in 1889 to preserve the Jackson home near Nashville, Tennessee) offers this short biography of Rachel Jackson, by Nellie Treanor Stokes. Residing in early childhood at Tulip Grove, a plantation adjacent to the Hermitage, the author was a frequent visitor in the Hermitage mansion during those years, and has since continued an intimate association with members of the Jackson family. Thus, her biography incorporates first-hand knowledge of family traditions along with careful historical research concerning the life of Rachel Jackson.

Jackson explains that while he and his wife have been attacked viciously during this campaign, it has only made him more resilient. "All the slander that wickedness can suggest & falsehood invent, have been levelled against me, & my family, by the panders of power and corruption - this will recoil upon its own head - truth is mighty & will ultimately prevail - and when it does - I feel secure from the multiplied shots of slander." Also states that he is pleased with the support he has received from Philadelphia. Most of the attacks on Jackson focused on the fact that he married Rachel before she had technically been divorced from her previous husband. Besides the charge of adultery, however, were many other nasty accusations.