Contact: Kay Fike Jones
Mississippi State University history professor and author John F. Marszalek will discuss his latest book on a presidential sex scandal during a Feb. 12 campus lecture.
The award-winning author's talk will begin at 6 p.m. in the Mitchell Memorial Library auditorium. A book signing session will follow the discussion.
"The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny and Sex in Andrew Jackson's White House," details the scandal surrounding Margaret Eaton, wife of President Jackson's secretary of war, John Henry Eaton, during the first of Jackson's two terms (1829-1837).
Snubbed by 19th century Washington, D.C., society for perceived sexual improprieties, Mrs. Eaton had Jackson, America's seventh president, as one of her staunchest defenders. However, one of her biggest detractors was the wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun.
The bitter and escalating dispute led to a split between Jackson and Calhoun. Ultimately, Jackson forced the resignation of his entire cabinet, in the process nearly ruining his first term.
A Buffalo, N.Y., native, Marszalek is the author of several books dealing with the Civil War and civil rights. He joined the MSU faculty in 1973.
His appearance is sponsored by the Friends of the MSU Libraries and the MSU Bookstore.
For more information, contact Gail Peyton at (601) 325-7671.