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'''Thaddeus Stevens''' (1792 &ndash; 1868), was a dominant leader of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] during the [[American Civil War]] and [[Reconstruction]].  He was best known for his intense devotion to victory in war, and after the war to support for equal rights for the Freedmen (freed slaves), and harsh treatment of the ex-Confederates. He and Senator [[Charles Sumner]] were the powerful leaders of the [[Radical Republican]]s. Stevens' biographer characterizes him as, "The Great Commoner, savior of free public education in Pennsylvania, national Republican leader in the struggles against slavery in the United States and intrepid mainstay of the attempt to secure racial justice for the freedmen during Reconstruction, the only member of the House of Representatives ever to have been known, even if mistakenly, as the 'dictator' of Congress."<ref>Trefouse p. xi</ref>  

 

'''Thaddeus Stevens''' (1792 &ndash; 1868), was a dominant leader of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] during the [[American Civil War]] and [[Reconstruction]].  He was best known for his intense devotion to victory in war, and after the war to support for equal rights for the Freedmen (freed slaves), and harsh treatment of the ex-Confederates. He and Senator [[Charles Sumner]] were the powerful leaders of the [[Radical Republican]]s. Stevens' biographer characterizes him as, "The Great Commoner, savior of free public education in Pennsylvania, national Republican leader in the struggles against slavery in the United States and intrepid mainstay of the attempt to secure racial justice for the freedmen during Reconstruction, the only member of the House of Representatives ever to have been known, even if mistakenly, as the 'dictator' of Congress."<ref>Trefouse p. xi</ref>

 

==Early life==

==Early life==

Stevens was born in [[Danville, Vermont]], and suffered from many hardships during his childhood, including a [[club foot]]. His father was an alcoholic who was unable to hold a steady job and who abandoned the family before dying in the [[War of 1812]].

Stevens was born in [[Danville, Vermont]], and suffered from many hardships during his childhood, including a [[club foot]]. His father was an alcoholic who was unable to hold a steady job and who abandoned the family before dying in the [[War of 1812]].

During the Civil War Stevens was one of the three or four most powerful men in Congress, using his slashing oratorical powers, his chairmanship of the Committee on Ways and Means (which set taxes), and above all his single-minded devotion to victory. As a member of the critical "Joint Committee on Reconstruction" his power grew during [[Reconstruction]] as he dominated the House and helped to draft both the Fourteenth Amendment and the [[Reconstruction Act]] in 1867.

During the Civil War Stevens was one of the three or four most powerful men in Congress, using his slashing oratorical powers, his chairmanship of the Committee on Ways and Means (which set taxes), and above all his single-minded devotion to victory. As a member of the critical "Joint Committee on Reconstruction" his power grew during [[Reconstruction]] as he dominated the House and helped to draft both the Fourteenth Amendment and the [[Reconstruction Act]] in 1867.

===Radical Republicanism===

===Radical Republicanism===

In his will he left $50,000 to establish Stevens, a school for the relief and refuge of homeless, indigent orphans. This original bequest has now evolved into [[Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology]].  His will stated:

In his will he left $50,000 to establish Stevens, a school for the relief and refuge of homeless, indigent orphans. This original bequest has now evolved into [[Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology]].  His will stated:

:"They shall be carefully educated in the various branches of English education and all industrial trades and pursuits. No preference shall be shown on account of race or color in their admission or treatment. Neither poor Germans, Irish or Mahometan, nor any others on account their race or religion of their parents, shall be excluded. They shall be fed at the same table."

:"They shall be carefully educated in the various branches of English education and all industrial trades and pursuits. No preference shall be shown on account of race or color in their admission or treatment. Neither poor Germans, Irish or Mahometan, nor any others on account their race or religion of their parents, shall be excluded. They shall be fed at the same table."

Historians' views of Stevens have swung sharply since his death as interpretations of Reconstruction have changed.  The [[Dunning School]], which viewed the period as a disaster and held racist views of blacks, saw Stevens as a villain for his advocacy of harsh measures in the South, and this characterization held sway for most of the 20th Century.  Austin Stoneman, the corrupt congressman in [[D.W. Griffith]]'s ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'', was modeled on Stevens.  The congressman's reputation has been rehabilitated since the rise of the [[neo-abolitionist]] school in the 1960s, and Stevens has been praised for his far-sighted views on race relations.

Historians' views of Stevens have swung sharply since his death as interpretations of Reconstruction have changed.  The [[Dunning School]], which viewed the period as a disaster and held racist views of blacks, saw Stevens as a villain for his advocacy of harsh measures in the South, and this characterization held sway for most of the 20th Century.  Austin Stoneman, the corrupt congressman in [[D.W. Griffith]]'s ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'', was modeled on Stevens.  The congressman's reputation has been rehabilitated since the rise of the [[neo-abolitionist]] school in the 1960s, and Stevens has been praised for his far-sighted views on race relations.

==Bibliography==

==Bibliography==

==External links==

==External links==

*[http://www.stevenstech.org/about/history.htm Thaddeus Stevens's Legacy]

*[http://www.stevenstech.org/about/history.htm Thaddeus Stevens's Legacy]

*[http://www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com/11BiographiesKeyIndividuals/ThaddeusStevens.htm Biography from Impeach-AndrewJohnson.com]

*[http://www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com/11BiographiesKeyIndividuals/ThaddeusStevens.htm Biography from Impeach-AndrewJohnson.com]

==References==

==References==

 

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Thaddeus}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Thaddeus}}

[[Category:United States History]]

[[Category:United States History]]

[[Category:American Civil War]]

[[Category:American Civil War]]

[[Category:Reconstruction]]

[[Category:Reconstruction]]

[[Category:Slavery]]

[[Category:Slavery]]

[[Category:Black History]]

[[Category:Black History]]

[[Category:Abolitionists]]

[[Category:Abolitionists]]