Congress must create Throughout this period Stevens urged that Southern plantations be taken from their owners and that part of the land be divided among freedmen, with proceeds of the balance to be used toward paying off the national war debt; this confiscation plan failed, however, to gain congressional support. Stevens had a long history of opposition to slavery and was outraged over the secession of the South. If we do not furnish them with When Congress met in December 1865, Stevens took the lead in excluding the traditional senators and representatives from the South. I deny that there is any understanding, expressed or implied, that upon the adoption of the amendment by any State, that such State may be admitted, (before the amendment becomes part of the Constitution.? As a leader in Congress, Stevens fought to end slavery and promote civil rights and racial equality. 2 April 1865-August 1868 (Pittsburgh: There are several good reasons for the passage of this bill [Military Reconstruction Act]. . He argued that, since the Confederate states had divorced themselves from the Union, there was no arrangement so proper for them as territorial governments. Neither the president nor the judiciary had the power to create states out of unincorporated territories before the Civil War, nor should they have the power to do so now, according to Stevens. In either case, it is very plain that it requires the action of Congress to enable I them to form a State government and send representatives to Congress. LibGuides: American History: The Civil War and Reconstruction Viewing Pres. Are such men fit to sit in the places of statesmen? They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Against our will they have been absent for four bloody years; against our will they must not come back until we are ready to receive them. With the basis unchanged the 83 Southern members, with the Democrats that will in the best times be elected from the North, will always give a majority in Congress and in the Electoral college. . . Stevens entered the political sphere in 1833, serving for four years in the state legislature as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party. . During the war, as the powerful chair of the Ways and Means Committee, Stevens pushed Lincoln for emancipation of the slaves. Early in his career, he developed a hatred for bondage and, subsequently, defended many fugitives without charging them legal fees. In Territories Congress fixes the qualifications of The law of nations then fixed their condition. Congress and in the Electoral college. True, some of those governors were illegally appointed, being civilians. The leader of the Radical Republicans in the House, Stevens was a lawyer, politician, and staunch abolitionist. practice justice to all men, and accustom themselves to make Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Rather than debate the presidential plan, Stevens took a different tack, questioning the very propriety of having the executive branch direct Reconstruction policy. The President could not even create bureaus or Departments to facilitate his executive operations. - wrapinknot No said he , I claim the right to chastise the scoundrel. He followed the colored man, took out his revolver, and deliberately shot him dead in the presence of that community. It is obvious from all this that the first duty of Congress is to pass a law declaring the condition of these outside or defunct States, and providing proper civil governments for them. if we leave them to the legislation of their late masters, But I never dreamed that all punishment could be dispensed with in human society. But if full justice could not be obtained at once I would not refuse to do what is possible. Stevens was also a staunch opponent of President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies.]. Explore our new 15-unit high school curriculum. 20072023 Blackpast.org. acting in the Union, or of being counted as valid States, until power, we shall deserve and receive the execration of The law of last session with regard to Territories settled the principles of such acts. Congress denies that any State lately in rebellion has any government or constitution known to the Constitution of the United States , or which can be recognized as part of the Union. 3 which possibly now, on looking at it, I might deem intemperate, but which I then deemed necessary to rouse the public attention and cast odium upon the worst institution upon earth:. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Stevens's Reconstruction efforts were resisted by President Andrew Johnson, which frustrated the congressman and prompted him to fight back against the president; Stevens introduced the resolution for President Johnson's impeachment and chaired the committee responsible for drafting impeachment articles. our republican Government firm and stable forever. [Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens was a Congressman from Pennsylvania who long opposed slavery and advocated for black suffrage. and whether the election and returns are according to (The Free Soil Party had dissipated by the mid-1850s, and was largely absorbed by the new Republican Party, of which Stevens was a member.) Such shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.Constitution United States, art.I, sec. If we fail in this great duty now, when we have the power, we shall deserve and receive the execration of history and of all future ages. Nearly six years ago a bloody war arose between different sections of the United States. He was an early and ardent supporter of abolition of slavery. . Thus much I have said at the outset of my remarks, which shall not be very long. . Stevens was an opponent of slavery before the war and after the war sought to secure the rights of the newly freed population in the former Confederacy. Combining patriotic and religious imagery, it depicted Americans rebuilding a pavilion representing the United States. Stevens successfully prevented the first few new state governments implemented under Lincoln and Johnson's Reconstruction plan from being recognized, refusing to seat the senators and representatives elected by those states. outside or defunct States, and providing proper civil How absurd that a mere executive officer should claim creative powers! Thaddeus Stevens was a Radical Republican leader and one of the most powerful members in the U.S. House of Representatives. They would merely misrepresent their constituents. The legislative power is the sole guardian of that sovereignty. . Mr. Speaker, that charge, as I have stated, is. Thaddeus Stevens, "Reconstruction" Speech, September 6, 1865. Thaddeus Stevens seen as one of the fathers of 14th Amendment Stevens completed his undergraduate education and moved to York, Pennsylvania, where he taught classes at a one-room school during the daytime and studied law in the evenings. The third section may encounter more difference of opinion here. The states of the entire southern half of the nation had seceded, but they were again under federal jurisdiction after the Union victory. Radical Republican congressional leader during Reconstruction (1865-77) who battled for freedmen's rights and insisted on stern requirements for readmission of Southern states into the Union after the Civil War (1861-65). There they can learn the principles of freedom and eat the fruit of foul rebellion. We may not aspire to fame. The policy of Congress forbids him to exercise any power therein. Radical Republican Plan for Reconstruction - In the particular speech Astrological Sign: Aries, Death Year: 1868, Death date: August 11, 1868. x\YF~W$cGGH-Ky41}@P v>~{"_-(LlQUQXkga_QU The Southern territories could have non-voting representation, and it would be Congress, which would ensure that they could not exercise any power until Congress was convinced they would pose no further threat to the Union. If they do not enfranchise the freedmen, it will give to the rebel States but thirty-seven Representatives. The white Union men are in a great minority in each of those States. . As a politician in Pennsylvania, he supported free public education and suffrage for African Americans. Congressional Globe, December 18, 1865, p. 72. . Updates? Thaddeus Stevens, Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, gave a speech before Congress that articulated his vision for the period following the Civil War, known as Reconstruction. In the meantime, the freedmen would become more enlightened, and more fit to discharge the high duties of their new condition. . Thaddeus Stevens was a leading Radical Republican who championed such Reconstruction measures as harsh punishment for Confederate leaders and a strong federal role in reconstructing the governments of the former Confederate states and in ensuring equal rights for all in the south. Excerpts from Henry Carey The Harmony of Interests Agricultural, Manufacturing & Commercial 1851, Excerpts from Henrey Carey The Slave Trade Domestic and Foreign 1853, Excerpt from Frederick Law Olmsted A journey in the Seaboard Slave States 1856, The Constitution of the Confederate States of America 1861, McClellan Letter to Lincoln on His Evacuation from the Penninsula Campaign 1862, Thaddeus Stevens speech of December 18 1865, Address of a convention of Negroes held in Alexandria Virginia August 1865, Alexander Stephens on Reconstruction April 11 1866, Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction June 20 1866, Charles Sumner Opinion on the trial of Andrew Johnson 1868, Exerpt from James W. Grimes Opinion on the Trial of Andrew Johnson 1868, Resolutions of a meeting of the Illinois State Farmers' Association April 1873. What madness! Let us at least escape that condition. This Congress is bound to provide for them until they can The second section I consider the most important in the article. We An Address Delivered to the Citizens of Lancaster, Sept. 6, 1865. As a member of the joint Committee on Reconstruction, he played an important part in the preparation of the Fourteenth (due process) Amendment to the Constitution and the military reconstruction acts of 1867. However, he also urged colleagues to remember the crimes of the Confederacy. It were better to shelter the household and trust to the advancing progress of a higher morality and a purer and more intelligent principle to underpin the defective corner. April 11, 1835: Thaddeus Stevens Gives Speech in Defense of Free But it will be said, as it has been said, This is negro equality! What is negro equality, about which so much is said by knaves, and some of which is believed by men who are not fools? There is more reason why colored voters should be admitted in the rebel States than in the Territories. what its framers intended; and so as to secure perpetual Stevens had a long history of opposition to slavery and was outraged over the secession of the South. In 1867 Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens and Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner led the campaign for full voting rights for African Americans across the nation. Thaddeus studied at Caledonian Secondary School in Vermont, entered the University of Vermont, but was suspended in the second year and entered Dartmouth College to study law-related studies and delivered the commencement speech as a commencement speaker at the 1814 . UJxCA**]=#TSWr];227~|}&Y&QHV +JG{4ef1R+2#{2yTy$H. Thaddeus Stevens - Quotes, Lincoln & Reconstruction - Biography After the war Stevens emerged as one of the most militant of the Radical Republicans, consistently striving for justice for the black masses. If the doctrine enunciated in that decision be true, never were the people of any country anywhere, or at any time, in such terrible peril as are our loyal brethren at the South, whether they be black or white, whether they go there from the North or are natives of the rebel States. Sarah Stevens took care of the farm and raised four Stevens brothers. 4 0 obj Though the President is Commander-in-Chief, Congress is his commander; and, God willing, he shall obey. All Rights Reserved. Thaddeus Stevens review: the Radical Republican America should remember