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'''Thaddeus Stevens''' (1792 – 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 – 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>
[[Image:Stevens-T.jpg|thumb|250px]]
==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]].