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Presidential
Advisor
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As a leading figure of a political committee called the Nashville
Junto, John Overton labored to put the first Western figure and
Tennessean in the White House: Andrew Jackson. Overton and Jackson
first met in 1789 when they boarded together at Mrs. John Donelson’s
home in Nashville. This is also where Jackson met his future wife
Rachel Donelson Robards. Believing wrongly that her husband had
obtained a divorce, Rachel married Jackson in 1791. The mistake
was soon recognized, but the scandal allowed Jackson’s enemies
to label him as an adulterer and bigamist. Overton was Jackson’s
principle defender in the matter and led the “whitewashing
committee” that responded to negative attacks by Jackson’s
opponents. Jackson became president in 1828, and Overton remained
a close advisor during his terms in office.
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