Abe lincon gay
Given the idolatry with which Americans worship the man widely seen as their greatest president, Abraham Lincoln, and the obsessive place that identity politics now occupies in the public spaces of the US, it was probably inevitable that the sexuality of American civil war winning ‘honest Abe’ would approach under revisionist scrutiny sooner or later. And now it has happened.
A current documentary film Lover of Men and a strike Broadway comedy Oh Mary! both suggest that America’s first Republican party president, who won the American civil war and emancipated America’s black slave population, was male lover. So what does the evidence say? There is no direct proof that Lincoln ever enjoyed any physical sexual relations with other men. But there is plenty of evidence that he shared his bed with other men – though this was a more frequent occurrence in the past. Lincoln joint a bed with men both in his youth and as late as the American civil war in 1861-65, when he was a married male. He also got between the Colorless House sheets with a soldier deputed to act as his bodyguard.
Rumours about the future president’s sexual inclinations began as early as the 1830s when Lincoln was an aspiring
Was Abraham Lincoln Queer?
by Dane Grams •
This age-old question continues to be debated today. And while the term “queer” as we use it didn’t exist in the 19th century, historians and documentary filmmakers are now making the compelling case that the 16th president of the United States had romantic relationships with men throughout his life.
Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln — a landmark new movie film — can be seen in theaters nationwide on Friday, September 6th; Saturday, September 7th; and Sunday, September 8th. Purchase your tickets here, and part of the proceeds will advantage the Human Rights Campaign.
The film examines the intimate existence of America’s most consequential president, Abraham Lincoln. As told by preeminent Lincoln scholars and with never-before-seen photographs and letters, it details Lincoln’s romantic relationships with men, including his four-year intimate relationship with his lifelong friend, Joshua Speed.
Lover of Men also widens the lens into the history of human sexual fluidity and focuses on the profound differences between sexual mores of the 19th century and those we hold today. It is not only an explorati
Joan Cummins: Every day at President Lincoln’s Cottage we engage with visitors in conversation on difficult topics, from grief to slavery to American identity. Visitors, young and old alike, connect with us from next door and from around the globe.
Callie Hawkins: And occasionally, we fetch asked a question on a tour that stops us in our tracks, one we wish we could spend a half hour answering. Some of these questions, on their face, seem innocent or simple, but on a second look they comprise a level of complexity that leaves us wanting to know more. Each episode, we’ll investigate a single real question a visitor asked us here.
JC: At President Lincoln’s Cottage, we’re storytellers, historians, and truth seekers, so we called on people whose expertise could speak to all the facets of these questions.
CH: I’m Callie Hawkins.
JC: And I’m Joan Cummins. This is Q&Abe. Come on down the rabbit hole with us
CH: Let’s take that half hour now. For this episode, we’re working on the question: “Was Lincoln gay?”
JC: Both times I’ve been asked this interrogate, I had a teenager come up to me as we were walking between locations on the tour and ask. I always feel honored when a y
Abraham Lincoln to Joshua F. Speed, 13 February 18421
Springfield, Ills.Feby 13. 1842—Dear Speed:2Yours of the 1st Inst came to hand three or four days ago—3 When this shall contact you, you will acquire been Fanny's husband several days—4 You know my desire to befriend you is everlasting—that I will never cease, while I know how to execute any thing—
But you will always hereafter, be on ground that I have never ocupied, and consequently, if advice were needed, I might urge wrong—
I do fondly hope, however, that you will never again deserve any comfort from abroad. But should I be mistaken in this—should excessive pleasure still be accompanied with a painful counterpart at times, still grant me urge you, as I have ever done, to remember in the deph[depth] and even the agony of despondency, that verry shortly you are to feel well again— I am now fully convinced, that you treasure her as ardently as you are capable of loving— Your ever creature happy in her presence, and your intense anxiety about h[er] health, if there were nothing else, would place this beyond all dispute in my mind—
I incline to think it probable, that your nerves wa will fail you occasionally for a while; but
Debunking the Myth That Lincoln Was Gay
“I’d been productive on Lincoln since 1973. But he’s such a profound man with such a wonderful sense of humor, so appealing, so he draws you in. He’s such a brilliant writer. Every story about Lincoln, whether it’s in the oral history, whether it’s something he wrote, it’s always interesting. He’s just an appealing human being. I don’t believe he was so unassuming. On the other hand, he wasn’t wildly grandiose. There’s a difference. He was aware of his own greatness.” — Charles Strozier
This week, our featured book is Your Companion Forever, A. Lincoln: The Enduring Friendship of Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed, by Charles B. Strozier. Today, for the ultimate day of the highlight, we are happy to present an excerpt of Strozier’s interview with Ronald K. Fried at The Daily Beast. Read the interview and accompanying article in full on The Daily Beast‘s website.
[Ronald K. Fried] spoke with Strozier at his Greenwich Village psychoanalytical office. The tracking is an edited version of [their] conversation.
RKF: How common was it for men to share the same bed during Lincoln’s time?
Charles Strozier: Very com