Was Abraham Lincoln Gay? New Documentary ‘Lover of Men’ Explores Issues Surrounding His Sexuality

Debates about Abraham Lincoln’s private life have raged for years, but an upcoming documentary A lover of menwhich hits theaters on September 6, takes the discussion to a new level.

Using historical letters, expert analysis, and bold reconstructions, the film argues that one of America’s most revered presidents — a man who effectively ended slavery — engaged in passionate affairs with men throughout his life. While some historians argue that the 16th U.S. president was heterosexual, others in the film argue that Lincoln was a queer icon erased from history.

“He’s the greatest president of the United States that ever ruled, but he also loved men and his wife (Mary Todd Lincoln),” director Shaun Peterson told Yahoo Entertainment. Peterson learned about Lincoln’s potential relationships with men after reading Gore Vidal’s 2005 Vanity Fair article about the biography of C.A. Trip The Intimate World of Abraham Lincolnwhich was met with resistance from scientists when it was published posthumously the same year.

Despite the large amount of what experts in the film describe as Lincoln’s “love letters,” and corroborating notes from alleged lovers and eyewitnesses, Peterson admits there were always risks in making such claims.

“Fifty years ago, it would have been incredibly risky and dangerous for historians to say something like that,” said Harvard professor John Stauffer, who stars in the film and wrote the book Giants (2008) faced criticism for suggesting Lincoln was bisexual, he told Yahoo Entertainment. Now, he feels audiences are more open to acceptance.

Thomas Balcerski, a professor at Occidental College and Eastern Connecticut State University, agrees. “Knowledge can be lost very quickly, and it takes a lot longer to build a historical case with scientific consensus,” he told Yahoo Entertainment. “What’s changed now is that we have queer scholars like me who are very engaged.”

Despite the potential backlash, Peterson is confident that today’s LGBTQ population — more than 1 in 5 Generation Z adults and 7.6% of the U.S. adult population, according to Gallup — is ready to accept Lincoln as a queer figure.

“I think it’s a risk worth taking,” he said. “It’s time to accept it and embrace it.”

Men in Lincoln’s Life

A lover of men explores Lincoln’s intimate relationships with four key men: Billy Green, Joshua Speed, Elmer Ellsworth, and David Derickson.

After moving to New Salem, Illinois, in 1831, Lincoln quickly bonded with Greene, historians say. They shared a small bed above the store where they both worked, an intimate abode they say may have been Lincoln’s first sexual experience.

Several years later in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln allegedly shared a bed with store owner Joshua Speed ​​every night for about four years, even though Lincoln, then a practicing lawyer, could afford his own place.

According to Peterson, in Lincoln’s day, practices such as sharing a bed with another man were common, and physical intimacy was an almost expected part of male friendships.

“You were intimate with each other, even turned on by each other, and that was part of the culture,” Peterson said. But Lincoln and Speed ​​were different. Described in the film as “lust at first sight,” their relationship lasted their entire lives, and they exchanged many affectionate letters over the years.

“There is a heart and soul and beauty and intimacy in these letters that is not in Lincoln’s other letters, a deep sympathy for another human being,” Stauffer said.

Historians say Speed, who came from a wealthy slave-owning family, was not only Lincoln’s first love but also had a major influence on his political ambitions. When Lincoln visited Speed’s family home in Kentucky, he later wrote how witnessing the brutal reality of slavery up close left an indelible mark.

Moreover, their letters touch on their mutual fear of sex with women, a fear that some historians in the film believe led to Lincoln temporarily breaking off his engagement to Mary Todd. The engagement was only resumed after Speed ​​assured him that “the roof didn’t fall in” on his own wedding night.

Their letters continued through the 1850s and 1860s, and some were intended to remain private. In one instance, Lincoln sent Speed ​​two separate notes: one deeply intimate, with explicit instructions not to share it with his wife; and a more elaborate “covering letter” written for Speed ​​to show to Fanny, Peterson explained.

Speed ​​died in 1882, nearly two decades after Lincoln’s assassination, but their relationship is well-documented.

“The men who knew about Lincoln’s connection never changed their story,” Balcerski noted, referring to letters from family and friends, including Lincoln’s son, Robert, who described Speed ​​as his father’s “closest” friend.

“He had his type”

The film also explores his relationships with Colonel Ellsworth, the first Union soldier killed in the Civil War, and Captain Derickson, who served as both his bodyguard and bedfellow, although they were not as close as Lincoln’s bond with Speed. In the film, both are described by historians as handsome, strong, and handsome, as were Greene and Speed.

“He had a type,” Balcerski observed. “But Abraham Lincoln’s loves have different meanings, times, and places. Ellsworth is in a transitional situation for Lincoln, when he is the presidential candidate. At that time, Lincoln attracted all sorts of people, and Ellsworth was one of them.”

Ellsworth was killed in 1861 while removing the Confederate flag from the roof of the Marshall House Inn in Alexandria, Virginia. After his death, Lincoln reportedly exclaimed, “My boy! My boy! Was this sacrifice necessary?” and spent some time in mourning.

In 1862, while Lincoln was working on the Emancipation Proclamation in a cottage outside Washington, D.C., he became especially close to Derickson. The film features eyewitness accounts in letters suggesting they shared a bed when Mary Todd was not home, and Derickson was often seen allegedly wearing Lincoln’s nightgowns.

Lincoln historian Harold Holzer, who does not appear in the film, dismisses claims that Lincoln had intimate relationships with men, telling Yahoo Entertainment that “there is insufficient evidence.”

Holzer referred to a letter in which a woman claimed to have “heard” that Lincoln had been seen in bed with Derickson and remarked, “What nonsense,” which he believed could simply have meant “nonsense and nonsense,” a common expression of the time.

But Peterson says there is ample evidence, including first-hand accounts from guards, pointing to Lincoln’s involvement.

“For four years, enough people saw Lincoln and Speed ​​going to their bedroom, or Lincoln and his bodyguard, where everyone knew they were sharing a bed and nightgowns,” Peterson said.

He added that such interactions were so common during Lincoln’s era that they did not raise suspicions in subsequent decades, as societal views on sexual identities became more rigid and strictly defined.

“Queer Hero”

Despite the film’s controversial subject matter, Stauffer hopes the documentary will change perceptions of American history and acceptance of LGBTQ people.

“A large number of Americans consider the United States to be a heterosexual country, so calling Lincoln gay is a threat to them,” he said.

Peterson welcomes that discomfort, saying the film aims to “reach out to the haters” as a way to open the door to greater LGBTQ acceptance.

“He’s a queer hero in a way,” Peterson said of Lincoln. “His example shows that democracy, inclusiveness and equality are possible, and hopefully that will help us accept queer people in a way that feels threatened today.”

Holzer, while disagreeing with the film’s conclusions, says Lincoln’s legacy transcends these debates.

“Whoever he really was, whoever he really loved, he saved the country and ended slavery – that remains the most important inscription on his epitaph,” he said.