Gay American History

"Unique among books about Gay people, this pioneering work brings together for the first time a large group of historical chronicals of American Lesbian and Gay life, coupled with the heterosexual attitudes of the era. Intended for an audience of all sexual persuasions, these selections reflect a new, historical view of this once-silent, invisible minority and a dramatic reappraisal of American life, from Alexander Hamilton's love letters to John Laurens, to the forgotten autobiography and insane asylum records of a feminist transvestite of the 19th century, to lesbianism in the life of blues great Bessie Smith, and to the present in a 1976 report of the first Gay liberation organization of American Indians." -- Back cover.