Reply #3: I don't really care

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

about Lincoln's sexuality, but I do wonder when people put a 21st century spin on 19th century habits. Lincoln stayed with Speed for four years because he was too poor to afford his own lodging. Speed was known to frequent 'fancy women', and there is a story I've read about how he even recommended one to Lincoln, who went and was honest enough to tell the lady he didn't have enough money to pay her, whereupon, supposedly, she let him have "IT" on credit. Speed later married and had a family.

In the 19th century, it wasn't unusual for people of the same sex to share beds. It was also common for members of the same sex to have ardent friendships, even saying they loved one another-but it is believed it never went beyond the friendship stage. Homosexuality was not necessarily a reason to freak out-apparently Whitman got into trouble only when he was teaching school and was suspected of becoming too friendly with some of his students. He stopped teaching school, but wasn't run out of Long Island.