“History will assign to Thaddeus Stevens his proper place...”
Obituary from The Lancaster Intelligencer 1868
Obituary from The Lancaster Intelligencer 1868
His contributions to American rights should earn him a notable place in history but Stevens’ place is unclear. Historians, authors, and filmmakers have shown him as either a nasty, vengeful politician or an egalitarian. Whichever he was, his work helped define the rights of all Americans.
"Thaddeus Stevens' legacy is contested -- some always love and admire him while others always fear and loathe him. He has always been a divisive figure because he had strong opinions and fought hard for his beliefs." (Matthew Pinsker, 2014) Stevens saved Pennsylvania public education, which now enrolls over 1,800,000 students. "When I remember that I gave free schools to Pennsylvania ... I think my life may have been worth the living." (Thaddeus Stevens 1868)
Stevens and the Freedmen's Bureau changed black education forever, allowing colleges like Howard, Fisk, and Clark Atlanta to exist today.
"In 1865 ... trained educators were teaching 90,778 children; by 1870 ... there were 4,239 'schools of all kinds', 9,307 teachers, and 247,333 pupils." (Denise Henderson, The American Almanac 1993) |
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments happened because of Thaddeus Stevens. While Stevens’ amendments did not accomplish his goals immediately, these amendments strengthened legal rights for all and continue to define American civil rights today. Stevens’ 14th Amendment has been the basis for many landmark Supreme Court decisions.
“From black Americans’ equal rights; to birthright citizenship; to applying nearly all rights in the Bill of Rights to all states; to outlawing separate but equal public facilities, gender discrimination, and race-based redistricting; to advancing privacy, women’s, immigrants’, interracial marriage, anchor babies’, and same sex marriage rights, the 14th Amendment is the cornerstone of American civil rights." (Matthew Johnson Public Policy Analyst 2012)
Stevens destroyed most of his papers, making it impossible to know why he was so driven. He spent his lifetime fighting for educational and equal rights that he believed America had a responsibility to guarantee.
“From my earliest youth I was taught to read the Declaration of Independence and revere its’ sublime principles.” (Thaddeus Stevens 1865).
Perhaps, Thaddeus Stevens understood the responsibility passed to future generations when the Founding Fathers endorsed these words in that document:
“From my earliest youth I was taught to read the Declaration of Independence and revere its’ sublime principles.” (Thaddeus Stevens 1865).
Perhaps, Thaddeus Stevens understood the responsibility passed to future generations when the Founding Fathers endorsed these words in that document:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...”
The Declaration of Independence 1776
The Declaration of Independence 1776