She was known for her leading role in the Petticoat affair, which occurred during her husband's service as vice president of the United States.

Soon after their marriage, her husband was elected to Congress, leaving his wife in charge of his plantation, Fort Hill in present-day Clemson, South Carolina.

In 1817, Floride Calhoun accompanied her husband to Washington upon his appointment as Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President James Monroe.

Eight years later in 1825, Calhoun became Second Lady of the United States, following her husband's election as vice president, serving in that role until his resignation in 1832.

[2] According to historian Daniel Howe, the revolt against Eaton and the president led by Floride Calhoun influenced the emergence of feminism.

[3] Following her husband's resignation as vice president and election to the United States Senate in 1832, Mrs. Calhoun returned to Fort Hill, resuming her former status as a plantation mistress, leaving the role of Second Lady of the United States vacant until 1841 because both of her husband's two immediate successors as vice president, Martin Van Buren and Richard Mentor Johnson, were unmarried during their time in office.