Thaddeus Stevens: Nineteenth-Century Egalitarian

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Univ of North Carolina Press, 2000 M11 9 - 336 páginas
One of the most controversial figures in nineteenth-century American history, Thaddeus Stevens is best remembered for his role as congressional leader of the radical Republicans and as a chief architect of Reconstruction. Long painted by historians as a vindictive 'dictator of Congress,' out to punish the South at the behest of big business and his own ego, Stevens receives a more balanced treatment in Hans L. Trefousse's biography, which portrays him as an impassioned orator and a leader in the struggle against slavery.

Trefousse traces Stevens's career through its major phases: from his days in the Pennsylvania state legislature, when he antagonized Freemasons, slaveholders, and Jacksonian Democrats, to his political involvement during Reconstruction, when he helped author the Fourteenth Amendment and spurred on the passage of the Reconstruction Acts and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Throughout, Trefousse explores the motivations for Stevens's lifelong commitment to racial equality, thus furnishing a fuller portrait of the man whose fervent opposition to slavery helped move his more moderate congressional colleagues toward the implementation of egalitarian policies.

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Contenido

New England Youth
1
Rising Pennsylvania Lawyer
10
Budding Politician
24
Legislative Leader
37
AntiMason in Trouble
48
Reluctant Coalitionist
62
Antislavery Whig
73
Emerging Republican
87
Lincolns Critic and Eulogist
150
Radical Reconstructionist
161
Fugleman of the Joint Committee
174
Leader of the ThirtyNinth Congress
189
Thwarted Congressional Manager
200
Archfoe of the President
210
Defeated Radical
224
Epilogue
239

Unionist Advocate
100
War Leader
111
Republican Firebrand
124
Radical of Radicals
137
Notes
247
Bibliography
287
Index
301
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Hans L. Trefousse (1921-2010), whose many books include a biography of Andrew Johnson and a study of the radical Republicans, was Distinguished Professor of History at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

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