As we creep closer to the Civil War, the presidency of Zachary Taylor shows that the absence of a First Lady leaves room for gossip and speculation to run rife. 

Bibliography: 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-ladies/margaret-mackall-smith-taylor/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/zachary-taylor/
American National Biography Database
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-enslaved-households-of-president-zachary-taylor
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/press-room/press-timelines/decorating-the-white-house
Zachary Taylor National Cemetry
https://millercenter.org/president/taylor/essays/taylor-1849-firstlady
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Taylor
Pierre-Marie Loizeau, “First Lady But Second Fiddle” or the rise and rejection of the political couple in the White House: 1933-today,’ European Journal of American Studies, Vol. 10 No. 1 2015 pp. 1-11
http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=13