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Was Abraham Lincoln both America’s greatest president and a queer man? A new documentary argues, yes.
Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, out in theaters Sept. 6, aims to be the definitive documentary about Lincoln’s sexuality, featuring excerpts of loaded language in letters and, to put them in context, several scholars of Lincoln and experts on the history of sexuality, particularly in the 19th century.
The academics featured in the film argue that the former president, who led the United States out of the Civil War, battled an identity crisis throughout his life: he was married because he had to be at the time to advance politically, but he also had intimate relationships with men. (The film has no relation to Oh, Mary!, the Broadway play out now that depicts Lincoln as a closeted gay man.)
Lincoln’s sexuality was perhaps more widely known during his lifetime than it is now. “In the 19th century, people were very familiar with the fact that Lincoln slept with men, and it was not considered shocking,” says John Stauffer, a professor of English and of African and African American Studies, who is featured in the film.
Here’s how Lover of Men makes the case that Lincoln had intimate relationships with men and why this scholarship is not more widely known.
Tracing all of the evidence that Lincoln loved men
Lincoln’s first love is thought to be Billy Greene, who tutored Lincoln in grammar when he moved to New Salem, Illinois in 1831 at the age of 22. They shared a cot together for 18 months, and at one point Greene wrote in a letter that Lincoln’s “thighs were as perfect as a human being could be.”
Scholars in the film argue that Lincoln’s soulmate was Joshua Speed, who owned a general store in Springfield, Illinois. When Lincoln moved there in 1837—as a young lawyer—he was looking for the materials to build a bed and was directed to Speed’s store. He ended up sharing a bed with Speed for four years, even when he reached…
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