A new documentary presents the case that Abraham Lincoln had intimate relationships with men throughout his life - “Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln”. It’s directed by Shaun Peterson (release date September 6, 2024). That’s sure to trigger outrage from conservatives and Republicans.
The film will be in limited released and probably not be available to everyone. The Vanity Fair article at the link below provides a summary of the case for Presidential Homosexuality. The three most likely lovers were:
William Greene:
In 1830, when Lincoln was 22, he moved to New Salem, Illinois (then considered a frontier town). He opened a general store and hired Billy Greene (then 19). They also shared a bed. In a letter Greene describe the situation:
“… slept on the same cott & when one turned over the other had to do likewise”
Greene later said of Lincoln:
"His thighs were as perfect as a human being could be."
Joshua Speed:
In 1837, Lincoln met Joshua Speed in Springfield, Illinois where Speed owned a general store. Per Wikipedia: “Lincoln sublet Joshua's apartment above Speed's store, becoming his roommate, sharing a bed with him for four years, and becoming his lifelong best friend.”
Four years later Speed announced he was selling the store and moving back to Kentucky.
Lincoln became upset and soon became severely depressed. He would refer that date day as “the fatal first of January”. He wrote in a letter:
“I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth.”
The depression didn’t lift until Lincoln was able to visit Speed in Kentucky.
In Carl Sandburg’s 1926 biography of Lincoln, he described Lincoln’s friendship with Joshua Speed:
“streak of lavender, and spots soft as May violets.”
David Derickson:
A third possible lover was Captain David Derickson. He served under Lincoln as a bodyguard and companion between September 1862 and April 1863. More than one sourced described the two men sharing a bed as:
“(Derickson) advanced so far in the president's confidence and esteem that in Mrs. Lincoln's absence he frequently spent the night at his cottage, sleeping in the same bed with him, and -- it is said -- making use of his Excellency's night shirt!"
And a friend of the Lincolns wrote in her diary:
“… there is a Bucktail soldier here devoted to the President, drives with him, and when Mrs. L. is not home, sleeps with him.’ What stuff!”
BTW, Lincoln's own stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, once wrote:
“(He) never took much interest in the girls".
Of course this is all circumstantial. For historical figures before, it would be very unusual to find a smoking gun, especially considering it was common practice to destroy or burn any increminating letter that might besmirch someone memory after death. And the distinctions between gay or bisexual weren’t made before the modern era.
In a new documentary, more than a dozen scholars come together to argue that Lincoln had sexual relationships with multiple men. As one puts