Redefining American history

To commemorate October as LGBT History Month, PGN is running a series of articles each week showcasing men and women who were a part of the founding of this country or fought to unite it during the Civil War. Members of the LGBT community and allies were integral to creating the United States as we know it. From presidents to artists, from military leaders to songwriters, gays and lesbians were accepted, tolerated and welcomed.

This week, we focus on President James Buchanan and Vice President William Rufus King. Buchanan (1791-1868) was in office as the tensions between the North and the South escalated ahead of the Civil War. Often categorized as a weak president, Buchanan failed to reconcile the differences over slavery and avoid the secession. Whether or not his actions forestalled the war, historians still disagree. But he was the only president who never married.

Indeed, Buchanan lived with King (1786-1853), vice president to President Franklin Pierce, for some 17 years in Washington, D.C. At the time, King was a senator from Alabama and Buchanan was a senator from Pennsylvania, and then he became Secretary of State.

Though neither the term nor the concept of homosexuality was used until the late 1800s, there were certainly men and women who preferred the company of those of the same sex.

While the strict Merriam-Webster definition of “homosexuality” is “a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex” and “of, relating to, or involving sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex,” one could argue that it would also include having passion, love and close non-sexual relationships with those of the same sex.

For many historical figures, it’s difficult to prove that sexual relations may have occurred, but not impossible. Often, historians paint everyone heternormatively — assuming heterosexuality even if there is scant supporting evidence, or the evidence is inconclusive or very open to interpretation.

For instance, in Buchanan’s case, he was engaged in his late 20s, but his fiancée broke off the engagement and died later the same year. After that, a few records note that Buchanan pursued other women.

However, there are references to his close relationship with King. His postmaster referred to “Buchanan and his wife;” Buchanan wrote of his “communion” with his housemate.

In an 1844 letter to Mrs. James J. Roosevelt, following King’s appointment as minister to France, Buchanan wrote: “I am now solitary and alone, having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone, and I should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick, provide good dinners for me when I am well and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection.”

Hardly absolute, but certainly open to interpretation.

Newsletter Sign-up