American History Figure. Floride Bonneau Calhoun received a place in American history as the wife of John C. Calhoun, a politician, who would eventually become the Vice President of the United States under President John Quincy Adams and President Andrew Jackson. Her notoriety was gained for her part in what became known as the "Petticoat Affair" or "the Peggy Eaton Affair." With the support of all the wives of President Jackson's cabinet, she led a crusade to ostracize Peggy Eaton, the wife of John Eaton, the Secretary of War. She elected the assistance of Emily Donelson, Jackson's niece and acting First Lady. Eaton was snubbed from social events as the wives of the cabinet stated that Peggy Eaton failed to meet the "moral standards of a Cabinet Wife". Many of the cabinet members became involved with this crusade with their wives. Although Peggy Eaton did not have the purest reputation when she came to the White House, Jackson had compassion for her, remembering the ordeal that his own wife had faced. To correct the situation, President Jackson asked for the resignation of all but one of his cabinet members and appointed men loyal to his agenda. At this point, her husband resigned from the office of Vice President with three months remaining in his term, filling a vacant seat in the United States Senate representing South Carolina. This ended her husband's hope of ever becoming President of the United States. Born into wealth as the daughter of a United States Senator, Floride Bonneau Colhoun married her first-cousin-once-removed, John C. Calhoun, on January 8, 1811. Shortly after the wedding, she was thrust into political life as the wife of a United States Congressman. By the age of twenty-five, she had four children: Andrew Pickens, Floride Pure, Jane, and Anna Maria. When President James Monroe appointed her husband to the office of Secretary of War in 1817, her family relocated from South Carolina to Washington D.C. She was accepted into Washington society and enjoyed socializing and entertaining. In 1824, she was placed in the spotlight of Washington society as her husband was a candidate for the office of President of the United States, but John Quincy Adams won this election. Her husband was made Vice President under Adams. In 1829 her husband would again become Vice President; this time under Andrew Jackson. During this time, she had six more children making a total of ten children: Elizabeth, Patrick, John Jr., Martha Cornelia, James Edward, and William Lowndes. When her husband returned to the Senate, they separated. She left society of Washington D.C. returning to Fort Hill, their plantation in South Carolina to live the somber life with her children. In early April of 1850, she received the tragic news that her husband of 39 years had died of tuberculosis in Washington on March 31st. During the decade that followed before the American Civil War, a daughter and four sons would die. She sold Fort Hill to her surviving son Andrew, who died in 1865 and her death followed a year later. Eventually, Fort Hill would become the campus of Clemson University. Out of 10 children, she was only survived by one, her daughter Anna. She was not buried next to her husband but in the same cemetery with her nine children who predeceased her.