Lover of Men The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln

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Lover of Men The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln Documentary Movie Trailer HD - Plot synopsis:  Lover of Men examines the intimate life of America’s most consequential president, Abraham Lincoln. As told by preeminent Lincoln scholars, historical recreations and never before seen photographs and letters, the film details Lincoln’s romantic relationships with men.  Lover of Men widens its lens into the history of human sexual fluidity and focuses on the profound differences between sexual mores of the nineteenth century and those we hold today. The film fills in an important missing piece of American history and challenges the audience to consider why we hold such a limited view of human sexuality.  ‍Lover of Men is not only an exploration of gender roles and sexual identity, but also serves as an examination of American intolerance.  Directed by Shaun Peterson Starring Thomas Balcerski, Michael Bronski, Jack Halberstam, John Stauffer, Craig Tichelkamp

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00:00He is considered a sacred figure

00:04by both Republicans and Democrats.

00:06He led the nation through its greatest crisis.

00:08He's on our currency.

00:10We build monuments to him.

00:11He's the greatest president the United States has ever had.

00:14Today, the big question that people are asking is,

00:19was Abraham Lincoln gay?

00:22In the 19th century, for many men,

00:24their closest relationships were other men,

00:26and same for women.

00:27Men could live with another man when they're single

00:30and often did in shared beds.

00:31Lincoln probably slept in the same bed with men

00:34more than he did with women.

00:35One of the things that fascinates scholars

00:38is his bedding down with Joshua Speed for four years.

00:43There is love between those two men.

00:45When you put together all of the evidence,

00:48it's really startling.

00:50Lincoln has a type, dashing, daring.

00:53We have this notion that if you have an attraction like that,

00:57boom, that's your orientation.

00:59Sexuality through the mid-19th century

01:02was far more fluid.

01:04But for someone who wanted a political career,

01:07it was mandatory that you have a wife.

01:09Dear Speed, I shall be very lonesome without you.

01:12Yours forever, Lincoln.

01:15What you have in the 19th century

01:17was very strict marriage culture.

01:19Get married, and then everything is possible.

01:22Captain David Derrickson became friends with Lincoln

01:24while they were living here at the cottage.

01:26There is a soldier here devoted to the president,

01:28and when Mrs. L is not home, sleeps with him.

01:32What stuff.

01:33He was seen wearing the president's nightshirt.

01:36If you want a smoking gun, here it is.

01:38But then you see all these shifts

01:40to the end of the 19th century.

01:43Freud was devastating to sexuality,

01:46defining very rigid categories.

01:50And they're saying, if a man loves another man,

01:52it's unnatural.

01:53Homosexuality is a mental illness.

01:56It was not only wrong, it was punishable.

01:59If Lincoln were to look down today,

02:01he would see the United States

02:03at a particularly fragile moment.

02:05History is so important because it allows us

02:07to understand who we were, who we might become.

02:10Lincoln's legacy is the insistence on equality.

02:13We have been in hustle power.

02:15If you can accept a queer Lincoln,

02:17you can accept queer people overall.

02:19He should inspire us to achieve a true democracy

02:24for everyone.

02:47.

02:50.

02:53.

03:02.

03:09.

03:12.

03:15.

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