United States of America

From LGBTQIA+ Archives Wiki

This page provides an overview of LGBTQIA+ history in the United States, including key events, legal milestones, and social movements. It highlights both progress and challenges while preserving historical records for research and education. Some materials may reflect outdated or discriminatory views, included here to document the historical context in which they existed.


19th Century

The 19th century had strict gender roles, but historical records show people living beyond those expectations. Newspaper articles from the 1830s describe women wearing breeches instead of dresses, facing criticism and being labeled "unsexed." Some accounts mention women who lived as men, sometimes for survival or better opportunities, and other situations of transgender men who lived authentically despite legal and social barriers.

Some publications in the 1850s discussed a "third sex," often in response to women wearing shorter skirts and loose trousers known as bloomers. This style, popularized by women's rights activists, challenged expectations of how women should dress and behave. By the 1860s, newspaper articles reference Macintosh balls, gatherings where drag performers and gender expression played a central role, reflecting early forms of ball culture.

One well-documented figure from this period was James Barry (1789–1865), a transgender man and respected surgeon. Historical records like these show that transgender and gender-diverse people have always existed, even if history has not always recognized them.

20th Century

Throughout the 20th century, LGBTQIA+ people faced both growing visibility and increasing government restrictions. In the 1920s, queer culture thrived in underground spaces, but public depictions were censored. Mae West’s play The Drag, which openly portrayed gay life, was banned before it could reach Broadway.

In the 1930s, governments around the world cracked down harder. In Nazi Germany, LGBTQIA+ people were targeted through book burnings and police raids. Many were sent to concentration camps, marked with pink triangles, and subjected to brutal treatment. Reports of these horrors spread in the 1940s as American troops liberated the camps, revealing the extent of Nazi persecution. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., LGBTQIA+ service members faced discrimination and were discharged from the military under "blue discharges," stripping them of veterans’ benefits.

At the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, the U.S. government claimed LGBTQIA+ people were a national security threat. Thousands were fired from government jobs in a wave of discrimination. Yet, despite censorship, LGBTQIA+ voices pushed back. One: The Homosexual Magazine won a Supreme Court case protecting its right to publish, marking one of the first legal victories for LGBTQIA+ rights.

By the 1960s, activists fought harder to claim public space. The Mattachine Society, one of the first LGBTQIA+ rights organizations, battled in the courts for legal recognition and stood up to Congress. Though challenges remained, their efforts paved the way for future activism, proving that LGBTQIA+ people would not be silenced.


US Records

Related Pages

State and Territory Archives

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