A new documentary explores President Abraham Lincoln's relationships with other men. The documentary, Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, features interviews with historians, photographs, and letters to and from Lincoln not just to dissect Lincoln's sexuality, but to "fill in an important missing piece of American history and challenge the audience to consider why we hold such a limited view of human sexuality," according to a synopsis of the film.
The 16th US President's relationship with one man in particular stands out.
Lincoln shared a bed with Joshua Speed, the co-owner of a general store, for four years, around 20 years before he became president of the United States. Per People, on the day that Lincoln learned Speed would be moving out, he was "devastated." After Speed left in 1841, Lincoln reportedly slipped into "the period of his darkest depression."
In a letter to a law partner at the time, Lincoln wrote, "I am the most miserable man living," per People.
Lincoln reportedly struggled with depression for much of his life, but when Speed left, Lincoln was reportedly having thoughts of suicide, per People.
An expert in the documentary said that those who were close to Lincoln started "a kind of suicide watch" at this point, according to the outlet.
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Letters studied by historians and scholars appear to provide more evidence of Lincoln's intimate relationships with men. Some of the letters suggest that he he didn't really like spending time with women. Others seemed more intimate in nature. In one letter, one man wrote about Lincoln's thighs, which he described as "as perfect as a human being could be," per NBC.
While the film does dive into Lincoln's relationships with other men, it serves another purpose as well: to draw attention to "the profound differences between sexual mores of the nineteenth century and those we hold today," according to the synopsis.
Director Shaun Peterson told NBC News that "we are in a very, very conservative time" and Lincoln's behavior "was extraordinarily common at the time."
The film will be in select theaters starting September 6, 2024. The film's producer, Robert Rosenheck, told Variety that, "Equality is at the heart of the American dream, and it is equality that guided Lincoln’s vision."
