Was Abe Lincoln Gay?

By : Will Foster

When I think about the sixteenth president of the United States, I think of civil rights. I think of the Emancipation. I think about probably fifty things when Abe Lincoln is mentioned, but never has his sexuality crossed my mind. All I had ever known was that he was married to Mary Lincoln, and they had four kids. I have never heard of speculation about Lincoln’s sexuality until I began this class, and I must say that it interested me. It is very intriguing to think that after all of these years, people have begun to make this assumption. Was Abraham Lincoln actually gay?

            Suspicion of Abe Lincoln’s sexuality first came to light around the beginning of the twentieth century. Historians were weary of Lincoln’s sharing of the bed with his male friends. However, these claims were dismissed, because it was assumed that men sharing a bed was common.[1]

The subject was pretty much left alone after that, until 2005. An author by the name of C.A. Tripp wrote a book called The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln. The book dug into the topic of Abraham Lincoln’s sexual life, and his relationships.[2]

The main idea that Lincoln was gay, stems from his relationship with friend Joshua Speed. Speed and Lincoln lived together for four years, and slept in the same bed. There are still people who believe that the situation is explainable by the lack of beds in this time period. However, there are more attributions to this assumption.[3]

Tripp’s book takes a unique approach into Abe Lincoln’s relationships. It turns out that (according to Tripp’s research) there were more relationships that Lincoln had with men , similar to his relationship with Speed. Lincoln had another friend by the name of David Derickson that was his bodyguard. It is described in the book, that whenever Mary Lincoln was not home, Derickson and Lincoln would supposedly sleep in the same bed. It is also a popular story that Abe Lincoln was awkward around women, and especially around single women.[4] According to blogger Sylvia Rhue, Abraham Lincoln was a “Kinsey 4.” Basically that means that he most likely had more homosexual activity than a person who is strictly heterosexual, or just has homosexual experiences on an accidental accord.

After fully getting into this issue that I had previously no know knowledge of, I think that it is really difficult to say whether Abe Lincoln was gay or not. It seems that people really want to say he was one hundred percent gay, or he was one hundred percent straight. As for me, I think that it honestly does not matter in the big scheme of things. People can do all of the research they want, but I feel that we should leave it alone. Lincoln is regaurded as one of the best presidents that we ever had. He may have done bizarre things in his personal life, but everyone has parts about them that are weird. We should let him rest in peace and focus on his accomplishments within our nation.

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[1] Harris, Paul. Guardian Newspapers Ltd., "Common Dreams : Building Progressive Community." Last modified December 19, 2004. Accessed February 27, 2014.

[2] Harris, Paul. Guardian Newspapers Ltd., "Common Dreams : Building Progressive Community." Last modified December 19, 2004. Accessed February 27, 2014.

[3]Rhue, Sylvia. "A Family History Provides More Proof Lincoln Was Gay." Truth Wins Out (blog), November 13, 2012. http://www.truthwinsout.org/opinion/2012/11/31824/ (accessed February 28, 2014).

[4] Tripp, C.A. The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln. New York, New York: Free Press, 2005