Essay Example on Thaddeus Stevens: The Iconic American Citizen

Thaddeus Stevens was an American citizen, born in 1792, 0n 4th April, in Danville, Vermont. He was the second born son to Sarah and Joshua Stevens, although his dad disappeared when he was still young (McCall, 1899). He was left to live with the mother, under conditions of abject poverty. He attended the Peacham Academy, where he performed well and was admitted to Dartmouth College for his higher education. Later, after moving to Pennsylvania, he was admitted to the bar where he was practicing in Gettysburg. He made known his stand about his hatred for bondage; hence he defended many people without charging them for the services. Thus, his education and personality laid the foundation for his political career and legacy that is under his name over the time he lived.

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In 1833, after several years of serving as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party in the legislature, he started his political career. In 1838, he contested for legislature, banking on the support of the other Anti-Masonic Party supporters. However, he did not achieve his ambition, and a democrat was elected as the governor in a contest that was best described as dirty; because of the stiff competition. In the 1830s, what he is known to do was advance his interests of an abolitionist. That was informed by his childhood that was characterized by poverty. The poor had no representation in court, and in most cases, they did not get justice during a trial. Later, in 1948, he ran again for Congress in the 8th congressional district of Pennsylvania. However, he was met by resistance among the party members. That was because they were against his stand on slavery, and as a newcomer, they were not ready to support his ambitions at that time. Stevens took his seat in 1849 and was later denominated and reelected easily in 1850, although he fell out of favor with some of the people in his party (Trefousse, 2000). In his capacity, he continued to advance his interests in helping the less fortunate members of society get justice. Because of his stance on slavery and treason trial, he was bound to fail at the nomination in the next election; hence he chose his successor.

After the civil war, Stevens worked on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, where he helped drafting the reconstruction act as well as drafting the 14th amendment. The 14th amendment was aimed at prohibiting the state and the federal government from abusing the rights and freedoms of the citizens (Stevens, 1997). One of the greatest highlights of Stevens' career is the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. However, the president was not impeached, as at voting, the article failed in favor of the defense. After the failed impeachment, he was described as a black that was filled with disappointment and rage. Besides his political career, that was the highlight of his life; he also had a personal life. There was no official record of him marrying; through there is information regarding a relationship with his housekeeper, who was widowed. Later in his life, he had health issues, which persisted for a long time. Finally, in 1868, on 11th August, he died. He had a wish, whereby he was to be buried in Lancaster, at the Shreiner-Concord Cemetery. That was because the cemetery allowed for the burial of people from all races; hence there was equality. Given that all through his life, he was fighting for equality, he wanted to be buried inequality too. In his honor, the people from his district elected his former student Oliver J. Dickey to succeed him so that he could advance his interests in society through leadership.

References

McCall, S. W. (1899). Thaddeus Stevens (Vol. 31). Houghton, Mifflin. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ZjjGBkhvO2sC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Thaddeus+Stevens&ots=GBRFOBRqQ5&sig=6w2WYVXkI-_e1_swRWsZOpDhUy0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Thaddeus%20Stevens&f=false

Stevens, T. (1997). The Selected Papers of Thaddeus Stevens, Volume 2: April 1865-August 1868 (Vol. 2). University of Pittsburgh Pre. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=_IjlJeXn0UAC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Thaddeus+Stevens&ots=XVjtDYv4hw&sig=anyckBXoWSV2KGnJsuQHUvhkk04&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Thaddeus%20Stevens&f=false

Trefousse, H. L. (2000). Thaddeus Stevens: Nineteenth-Century Egalitarian. Univ of North Carolina Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vUPqCQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Thaddeus+Stevens&ots=A4y8Om1Ffo&sig=iuZJnQ5r2sg7oxwRN1VyL8eGp6A&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Thaddeus%20Stevens&f=false