It’s an election year again. And the first time we aired this series – A Queer History of the United States – was the last election year, 2020. This year, we have a record-breaking choice between the two oldest men in the history of the presidential race. And four years ago, they set that record for the first time. But we’re not here to talk about today’s lackluster presidential choices. 

Historically speaking, there hasn’t been a lot of diversity when it comes to United States presidents. In fact, besides Barack Obama, the position has exclusively gone to older white men. One of those white men (JFK) was Catholic and that was a big deal. He was also one of the youngest at 42. Another old white guy (James Buchanan) was… gay? Maybe. Today we’ll talk about him, his companion, and their relationship in the years just before the Civil War.
 
Best-selling author and LGBTQ+ historian Dr. Eric Cervini is with us again this week as we dive into part 4 of our series on The Queer History of the United States.