Known as a “radical abolitionist,” Thaddeus Stevens spent much of his life fighting to end slavery. As an American congressman, he paved the way for the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution after the Civil War.
Stevens was born in Vermont in 1792 to Joshua and Sarah Stevens, who were devout Baptists. Stevens’s mother insisted that her children pursue a quality education. Stevens attended Dartmouth College and graduated in 1814. Shortly after graduation, Stevens moved to Pennsylvania and took up teaching. During his time teaching at York Academy in York, Pennsylvania, Stevens studied law at night to follow his dream of becoming a lawyer.
After he was admitted to the bar, Stevens took up a law practice with a mission to end slavery. He defended several freed slaves in court and was an active supporter of the Underground Railroad, which helped escaped slaves flee north to Canada.
Stevens became involved in local politics and was soon elected a state legislator. In 1833, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives where he fought for free public education for all.
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
Stevens was seen as “radical” for ideas that other Republicans would not accept. He unsuccessfully proposed that the government take the land of slave owners and redistribute it to freed slaves. “Forty acres of land and a hut would be more valuable to [African-Americans] than the immediate right to vote,” Stevens said to the U.S. House of Representatives, according to “Social and Economic Forces in Alabama Reconstruction” written by Horace Bond in 1938.Stevens drafted the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery in all states, unlike the Emancipation Proclamation, which did so just in Confederate states. His arguments helped its passage. He then pushed the 14th Amendment, which used federal authority to guarantee all citizens’ rights, through Congress.
Stevens also staunchly believed that free slaves should have the right to vote and hold political office. Even though he didn’t live to see the passage of the 15th Amendment that gave free slaves the right to vote pass, historians say he was one of the main lawmakers who inspired it.
Stevens found himself engulfed in another political battle when President Andrew Johnson took office after President Lincoln’s assassination in 1865. Stevens immediately clashed with the new president because he thought Johnson was too soft on the South and didn’t do enough to protect the rights of free slaves.
Stevens led an effort to impeach Johnson, saying that he ignored the will of the people and took away the powers of other branches of government. In 1868, Stevens convinced his colleagues that the president should be impeached, and the measure passed in the House of Representatives 126 to 47.
During the impeachment trial in the Senate, Stevens served as one of the House impeachment managers, or prosecutors, to remove the president from office. However, when it came to a vote in the Senate, the impeachment effort failed to get the votes required.
Stevens passed away in 1868, and it was estimated that thousands attended the ceremony when his casket laid in state in the capitol rotunda.
