Was our president gay?

Who was Abraham Lincoln? 

By Jackie Turner

There have been a lot of research held about our history and pondering the secret lives of our president. We all want to know the story behind one of the most important presidents in the United States. He changed the entire way we all lived and we wouldn't have the rights and freedoms he fought for, without him. Though could you imagine he may have been gay? I couldn't either but after looking into research and documentation on it. There are real accusations saying other wise. Many reports have been made through documented information that he would stay with men while his wife was away. Men named Captain Derickson, and Joshua Speed. William Herndon was infamous in the history of lincoln. He was his partner in law for nearly 20 years. [1]* In documented letters of Lincoln's and Speed's, Lincoln would end them with, "yours truly". Many skeptics over the years have discussed this as well as being conveyed by many writers in books. [2]* In Lincoln's marriage of Mary Todd who was his wife and mother of his four children, complained that while physically there, he was not. Mary Owens who was his previous wife also states similar behavior by Lincoln. She quoted, "reaching forward while sharply leaning back" was how she described Lincoln's reactions to her. While many interpret these signs by women as having closer and more intimate relationships with men than women. It's still a pretty big assumption to make. The accusation that stood out to me was one  that was made by a family member. To me a family secret is far more trustworthy bond than hears say from spectators. After all the facts do prove that young Lincoln had shared a bed with Joshua Speed for four years. Or maybe the reason it's so hard to determine the truth is due to the time period. During Lincoln's presidency the term 'gay' was not something of question among people. While it was common for men to sleep in beds together while remaining appropriately heterosexual due to economics of that era. It is something that seems extremely foreign to today's society. Two males sleeping in the same bed much older than toddlers is considered gay by the current day and age. Maybe our current mindset is what makes this theory of Lincoln so foreign and hard to imagine. With the current idea of straight being great among a vast majority people, it is hard to accurately asses wether it was possible for a person in Lincoln's time to be anything other than our idea of 'great'. 

1*. Brookhiser, . New York Times, "Was Lincoln Gay?." Last modified january 09, 2005. Accessed January 22, 2014. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9f05e5d61439f93aa35752c0a9639c8b63.

2*.Rhue, . The Huffington Post, "A Family History Provides More Evidence That Lincoln Was Gay.." Last modified November 26, 2012. Accessed January 22, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sylvia-rhue-phd/a-family-history-provides-more-evidence-that-lincoln-was-gay_b_2169482.html.