Little Known First Ladies: Jackson's Hostesses Quiz

Answer: Andrew Jackson Donelson

Although Emily was Andrew Jackson's niece, he always felt like she was a daughter he never had. He and Rachel frequently looked after Emily in her younger years and provided for her when they had the opportunity. Andrew and Rachel had several adopted sons, both official and unofficial. One of these sons was Andrew Jackson Donelson, another relative of Rachel's who was named for the future president. Andrew Jackson Donelson and Emily married in 1824 after a courtship.

The president always felt as if Emily was his own daughter and is said to have treated her as such.

Answer: True

Rachel Jackson died after her husband was elected president but before he took office. Before this happened however, Rachel had decided to cede much of the duties to Emily. Rachel and Andrew's marriage was unknowingly bigamous because Rachel's divorce was never finalized as was believed.

This was used a vicious attack by John Quincy Adams and his supporters during the election. Rachel had decided because of the scandal, she would only host events in which she personally knew all in attendance while Emily would meet with the strangers and other people Rachel did not trust.

When Rachel died of a heart attack, Andrew blamed these vicious attacks for killing her. Emily became the official full time White House hostess as a result. This was only natural as Emily had served as the official hostess at the Jacksons' residence, the Hermitage.

Answer: George Washington

George Washington died about eight years before Emily was born so the two never met. Being from a politically well-connected family, Emily had been to the White House many times in her young life. As a young girl, she met James and Elizabeth Monroe in the White House and even befriended her uncle's predecessor, John Quincy Adams.

Her friendship with Adams irritated her uncle because Jackson hated Adams. She also knew future presidents well. She even named Martin Van Buren, who served in Jackson's Cabinet, and James Polk as godfathers to her children.

Answer: The Peggy Eaton Affair

Emily Donelson was heavily involved in the Peggy Eaton Affair and her failure to stop its escalation led to Andrew Jackson firing almost his entire Cabinet. Peggy Eaton was the wife of War Secretary John Eaton. Peggy was rumored to be having an affair with Eaton while she was still married to someone else who allegedly committed suicide when he discovered the affair. When this rumor began circulating, the other Cabinet wives, led by Second Lady Floride Calhoun, ostracized Peggy from their circle and refused to attend events that she was present at. The president found the treatment of Peggy eerily similar to the treatment of his own wife and demanded Peggy be treated with respect. The Cabinet wives refused to go along with this and their husbands sided with them against the President.

Jackson asked Emily to step into the situation. Emily also treated Peggy horribly and only made the bare minimum effort to appease her uncle when he asked. However when Emily realized the Cabinet wives were never going to go along with the plan, she went back to her old ways. Martin Van Buren, the lone Cabinet member to side with the president, told Jackson that Emily's youth was being taken advantage of by the more experienced wives who were exerting control over her. Jackson asked Emily not to return to the White House when they were visiting the Hermitage. Emily agreed and her poor health was a convenient excuse. However, she did return soon afterward to resume her duties once John Eaton was made Ambassador of Spain and left the country with his wife.

Although the Eaton Affair ended in 1831, the bitter feelings still existed in 1834 and the tensions between uncle and niece remained. Emily left her position as First Lady in 1834 when the tensions became too much to bear and her ill health left her not wanting to fight.

Answer: Poplar Grove

Poplar Grove, now called Tulip Grove, is located nearby the president's home of the Hermitage. Emily's illness worsened dramatically and she was confined to her home. She died at her bedroom window, watching and waiting for her husband. When she died at the age of 29, she was the shortest-lived "First Lady".

After her death, her husband married Elizabeth Randolph a widow who was once married to Thomas Jefferson's grandson.

Answer: Andrew Jackson

Sarah's husband was also named Andrew Jackson, though he usually went by Andrew Jackson Jr. or A.J. He too was one of Rachel Jackson's nephews whom the president and his wife adopted. They married in 1831 during Jackson's presidency and Sarah and Emily shared many of the traditional First Lady duties. Emily was called White House Hostess and Sarah was called Mistress of the Hermitage.

Answer: False

Although the president feared that there would be competition between Sarah and Emily, nothing serious ever arose. The women were given different titles and duties so as they would not interfere with each other. The president was concerned the public would prefer one over the other but that did not happen either. Generally speaking, Emily hosted events while Sarah handled the more personal affairs until Emily left the White House.

After that Sarah, handled both positions.

Answer: Heavily in debt

After Andrew Jackson died in 1845, he left behind a considerable debt caused by his lavish spending and lack of income. Andrew Jackson Jr. was also a heavy spender much to his wife's chagrin. Sarah and her husband were forced to sell the Hermitage to the state of Tennessee and eventually rented the Hermitage from the state, an event Sarah found to be humiliating.

Answer: Mississippi

Sarah and Andrew left Tennessee so he could start a real estate business in Mississippi. Unfortunately for the couple, the business did not go well. Severe weather destroyed many of the buildings Andrew Jr. had hoped to sell and the outbreak of the Civil War further hindered them. After this failure, they moved back to the Hermitage and rented it from the state.

Answer: Confederacy

Not many of Sarah's writings exist from this time in American history. However, it is known that Sarah and her husband supported the South during the Civil War and their son Samuel served in the Confederate Army and was killed in 1865 at the Battle of Chickamauga.

It is known that Sarah preferred the Union stay together but she was a Southerner from Tennessee and remained loyal to her state which left the Union. It is not commonly believed that Sarah had strong feelings as to the outcome of the war but that she only wanted her son to return home safely.