One Nation Under Sex How the Private Lives of Presidents, First Ladies and Their Lovers Changed the Course of American History

by Flynt, Larry; Eisenbach, David, Ph.D.

• ISBN13: 9780230105034
• ISBN10: 0230105033
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-04-26
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

Ben Franklin saved the American revolution by seducing French women. An early American sex scandal set the nation on the path to the Civil War. A gay love affair between James Buchanan and Senator William King aided the secession movement. The sex lives of America's most powerful leaders have been so whitewashed by historians that people think George Washington and Abe Lincoln were made of marble, not flesh and blood. Here, notoriousHustlerpublisher Larry Flynt and historian David Eisenbach reflect on the sexual mores of eras past and present, and the evolving role of the press as truth seekers and opinion makers, and discuss how America can reform its politics and begin addressing the real problems that threaten our nation. Along the way, they shed new light on key events like the American Revolution and the Civil War, showing that the root of political moralism is not religious conviction but cynical hypocrisy and revealing how Americans can fulfill the promise of the Pledge of Allegiance and truly secure liberty and justice for all.Did You Know? Ben Franklin's well-earned reputation as a ladies' man aided his effort to secure France's military assistance during the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson exposed Alexander Hamilton's affair with Maria Reynolds to foil his plans to modernize the banking system and industrialize the economy. James Buchanan's gay love affair with a slave owner made him a proslavery advocate who encouraged secessionists on the eve of the Civil War. During World War I, Warren G. Harding had an affair with a German spy who blackmailed the Republican Party when he ran for president. The FBI believed that John Kennedy had affairs with a Nazi spy during World War II and an East German spy during the Cold War. During the Lewinsky scandal, Larry Flynt used his sex files to help save Bill Clinton's presidency.

Author Biography

Larry Flynt is the legendary publisher of Hustler magazine and has been a famous crusader for First Amendment and privacy rights for over three decades. His landmark Supreme Court case, Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, is taught in law schools throughout the United States. A former political candidate, Flynt remains active in his longstanding campaign to expose sexual hypocrisy in politics and transform the national political dialogue. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

David Eisenbach, Ph.D., is an award-winning historian who teaches American political history at Columbia University. He was the creator and host of the two-hour History Channel special, The Beltway Unbuckled, about how presidential sex shaped American history. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Founding Flirts and Fornicators	p. 5
Sex and the Civil War	p. 37
Affairs of State	p. 65
The Ballad of Franklin and Eleanor	p. 101
America's Sex Czar	p. 133
The Nude Frontier	p. 169
Sex, Death and the Kennedys	p. 195
The Full Bill Clinton	p. 223
Conclusion Fulfilling the Pledge	p. 257
Notes	p. 265
Index	p. 284
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