
American Scoundrel John Eaton
From True Crime Historian by Richard O Jones
April 23, 2026 · 10 min · Episode 10422
About this episode
The episode explores the scandalous life of John Eaton, Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War, and the political fallout from his controversial marriage.
Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War spent a decade courting a married woman, arranged her husband's convenient posting to the Mediterranean, and married her six weeks before the 1829 inauguration. The Cabinet collapsed. Calhoun was destroyed. Jackson never recovered. John Henry Eaton walked away clean. Washington City's most elegant arsonist. Jump to the AD-FREE Safe House Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support . You can pay more if you want to, but rent at the Safe House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require. We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts: If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES , telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything! For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZINES with two new stories every week.
People in this episode
Host: Richard O Jones
Topics covered
- political scandal
- historical figures
- 19th century politics
- marriage and infidelity
- government collapse
Keywords
- John Eaton
- Andrew Jackson
- political scandal
- 19th century
- marriage
- infidelity
- Cabinet collapse
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Washington City, PULPULAR MEDIA
Books & works: CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, PULP MAGAZINES
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