Even that is not left to the Commander-in-Chief. The Economy also feel with the panic of 1854. We have turned, or are about to turn, loose four million slaves without a hut to shelter them or a cent in their pockets. Impartial suffrage, both in electing the delegates and ratifying their proceedings, is now the fixed rule. if we leave them to the legislation of their late masters, After the Confederacy was defeated, the southern states were devastated They ought never to be recognized as capable of acting in the Union, or of being counted as valid States, until the Constitution shall have been so amended as to make it what its framers intended; and so as to secure perpetual ascendancy to the party of the Union; and so as to render our republican Government firm and stable forever. Thaddeus Stevens was a Radical Republican leader and one of the most powerful members in the U.S. House of Representatives. He composed his own epitaph, which reads, "I repose in this quiet and secluded spot, not for any natural preference for solitude. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. If we do not furnish them with . Steven called for action and change but deadlock in congress blocked his agenda. Thaddeus Stevens, "Reconstruction" Speech, September 6, 1865. Instead of seeking the quick reconciliation that Lincoln and Johnson promoted, Stevens was comfortable both with the process of Southern reintegration taking years and with Congress being the final arbiter of when each Southern state could rejoin the nation. The freedom of a Government does not depend upon the quality of its laws, but upon the power that has the right to enact them. Congress refuses to treat the States created by him as of any validity, and denies that the old rebel States have any existence which gives them any rights under the Constitution. The former course would show valor and folly; the latter moral and physical courage, as well as prudence and wisdom. We have unchained them from the stake so as to allow them locomotion, provided they do not walk in paths which are trod by white men. Now different degrees of punishment are inflicted, not on account of the magnitude of the crime, but according to the color of their skin. That decision has unsheathed the dagger of the assassin and places the knife of the rebel at the throat of every man who dares proclaim himself to be now, or to have been heretofore, a loyal Union man. No Government official, from the President and Chief Justice down, can do anyone act which is not prescribed and directed by the legislative power. In the midst of the political Babel which has been produced by the intermingling of secessionists, rebels, pardoned traitors, hissing Copperheads, and apostate Republicans, such a confusion of tongues is heard that it is difficult to understand either the questions that are asked or the answers that are given. The short time allowed by our resolution will suffice to introduce this debate. On April 11, 1835, Thaddeus Stevens gave a speech in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in defense of the Free Schools Act of 1834. . 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. Stevens entered the political sphere in 1833, serving for four years in the state legislature as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party. of Thaddeus Stevens, Vol. Thaddeus Stevens in Reconstruction Such a course would be senseless, inconsistent, and illogical. Image Details The Joint Committee on Reconstruction proposed a constitutional amendment to address issues in Southern states. Ask, what is the policy of Congress? and the answer is not always at hand. They were satisfied that the United States should maintain its old Constitution and laws. He is determined to force a solid rebel delegation into Congress from the South, and, together with Northern Copperheads, could at once control Congress and elect all future Presidents. In the speech below which Stevens gave in the U.S. House of Representatives on January 3, 1867 supporting the Reconstruction bill then being debated, he issued a response to those who said his call was radical and incendiary with a now famous quotation: I am for negro suffrage in every rebel State. %PDF-1.5 outside or defunct States, and providing proper civil On May 8, 1866, Thaddeus Stevens delivered this speech introducing the Fourteenth Amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives. It matters but little, with this admission, whether you call them States out of the Union, and now conquered territories, or assert that because the Constitution forbids them to do what they did do, that they are therefore only dead as to all national and political action, and will remain so until the Government shall breathe into them the breath of life anew and permit them to occupy their former position. As a politician in Pennsylvania, he supported free public education and suffrage for African Americans. Congress alone can do it. Thaddeus Stevens | American politician | Britannica <> +(91)-9821210096 | how to say nevermind professionally in an email. I do not suspect it, but others will. Analytical Services; Analytical Method Development and Validation No State could order the election of members until Congress had ordered a census and made an apportionment. The 1857 Dred Scott decision in the. Stevens had a long history of opposition to slavery and was outraged over the secession of the South. After the war Stevens emerged as one of the most militant of the Radical Republicans, consistently striving for justice for the black masses. There is not one word in the Constitution that gives one particle of anything but judicial and executive power to any other department of Government but Congress. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. provinces will be prepared to participate in constitutional Ask, what is the Presidents policy? and it is difficult to define it. Inaugurated on a cold March day 1853. In rebuilding, it is necessary to clear away the rotten and defective portions of the old foundations, and to sink deep and found the repaired edifice upon the firm foundation of eternal justice. Thaddeus Stevens was a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who became the face of the opposition to Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson's lenient approach to the South after the Civil War. One of the most atrocious murderers that has ever been let loose upon any community has lately been liberated under this very decision, because the Government extended it, perhaps according to the proper construction, to the conquered States as well as to the loyal States. Whatever law punishes a white man for a crime shall punish the black man precisely in the same way and to the same degree. Thus short of their power, they would soon become restive. On his tombstone were carved the words he had composed, explaining that he had chosen this place so that he might illustrate in death the principle he had advocated throughout a long life; namely, Equality of man before his Creator., United States politician and military officer. Is their judgment misled by their kindness; or are they unconsciously drifting into the haven of power at the other end of the avenue? Now, sir, it is for these reasons that I insist on the passage of some such measure as this. 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.? If we do not furnish them with homesteads, and hedge them around with protective laws; if we leave them to the legislation of their late masters, we had better have left them in bondage. The day before the Pennsylvania Senate had voted to repeal this act, but Stevens' speech moved the state House to vote against repeal and the Senate to take another vote in support of free public schools. Since the conquest they have been governed by martial law. Would it not be better to flank the works and march round and round and besiege, and thus secure the surrender of the enemy, though it might cost time? They have determined to defend these rights against all usurpers. . 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. The future condition of the conquered power depends on the will of the conqueror. The committee influenced the drafting and passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, which upheld the citizenship rights . The legislative power is the sole guardian of that sovereignty. To my mind it is either the most ignorant and shallow mistake of his duties, or the most brazen and impudent usurpation of power. Let us now refer to the provisions of the proposed amendment. . . endobj True it will take two, three, possibly five years before they conquer their prejudices sufficiently to allow their late slaves to become their equals at the polls. Possibly the people would not have inaugurated this revolution to correct the palpable incongruities and despotic provisions of the Constitution; but having it forced upon them, will they be so unwise as to suffer it to subside without erecting this nation into a perfect Republic? If impartial suffrage is excluded in the rebel States then everyone of them is sure to send a solid rebel representative delegation to Congress, and cast a solid rebel electoral vote. What madness! They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote. 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. Best Known For: Thaddeus Stevens, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives during Abraham Lincoln's presidency, fought to abolish slavery and helped draft the 14th Amendment during Reconstruction. In other words, that they are not out of the Union, but are only dead carcasses lying within the Union. As a congressman, he advocated for tariff increases, opposed the fugitive slave provision of the Compromise of 1850, and later joined the newly formed Republican Party. Many Southern states quickly passed what became known as the Black Codesrepressive laws that governed where and when freedmen could go, the conditions under which they would work, and the limits on their gathering together. This Congress is bound to provide for them until they can take care of themselves. H.R. 127, Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution . Remarkable Radical: Thaddeus Stevens | The National Endowment for the Call you this a free Republic where four millions are subjects but not citizens? That time ought to be present now. of contract, or of managing the ordinary business of life. Importantly, the speech placed Congress itself in charge of Reconstruction policya fact that galled President Andrew Johnson, who promoted a relatively simple reinstatement process for Southern states. The confederate armies and government surrendered unconditionally. 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:. The infernal laws of slavery have prevented them from acquiring an education, understanding the common laws of contract, or of managing the ordinary business of life. The states of the entire southern half of the nation had seceded, but they were again under federal jurisdiction after the Union victory. Though the President is Commander-in-Chief, Congress is his commander; and, God willing, he shall obey. It portrayed a strident vision of the Reconstruction era, wherein the defeated Southern states were not welcomed back with open arms, and their rights would remain curtailed until Congress saw fit to restore them. The commander of an army who should find his enemy intrenched on impregnable heights would act unwisely if he insisted on marching his troops full in the face of a destructive fire merely to show his courage. A few moments may be profitably spent in seeking the meaning of each of these terms. They have torn their constitutional States into atoms, and built on their foundations fabrics of a totally different character. There are several good reasons for the passage of this bill [Military Reconstruction Act]. thaddeus stevens speech on the reconstruction acts summary They, with their kindred Copperheads of the North, would always elect the President and control Congress. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. Speech of Hon. Thaddeus Stevens,of Pennsylvania, on the abolition of Under such governments, while electing members I know they had fewer rulers and more subjects, but those rulers were no more despotic than ours, and their subjects had just as large privileges in governing the country as ours have. That decision, although in terms perhaps not as infamous as the Dred Scott decision, is yet far more dangerous in its operation upon the lives and liberties of the loyal men of this country. . The . Of course, this does not admit malefactors to power, or there would soon be no penal laws and society would become an anarchy. As there are no symptoms that the people of these provinces will be prepared to participate in constitutional government for some years, I know of no arrangement so proper for them as territorial governments. The President assumes, what no one doubts, that the late rebel States have lost their constitutional relations to the Union, and are incapable of representation in Congress, except by permission of the Government. Of course the rebels claimed no such rights; for whether their States were out of the Union as they declared, or were disorganized and out of their proper relations to the Government, as some subtle metaphysicians contend, their rights under the Constitution had all been renounced and abjured under oath, and could not be resumed on their own mere motion. . Stevens attended Peacham Academy, where he excelled in his academics, and then enrolled at Dartmouth College. For while some in Congress may have believed that enough was done to assist them already simply by being freed, the only thing essentially done was what was morally right (the bare minimum) by freeing them of the confinements of dependence they had been succumbed to, and then leaving them . Thaddeus Stevens April 4, 1792 - August 11, 1868. They ought never to be recognized as capable of This becomes more and more necessary every day; and the late decision of the Supreme Court of the United States has rendered immediate action by Congress upon the question of the establishment of governments in the rebel States absolutely indispensable. Congress denies him all power in the matter, except those of advice, and has determined to maintain such denial. The first two years of Congressional Reconstruction saw Southern states rewrite their Constitutions and the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1998). In failing health, Stevens requested that he be buried among Negroes resting in a cemetery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If it be just, it should not be denied; if it be necessary, it should be adopted; if it be a punishment to traitors, they deserve it. The entire speech appears below. There is more reason why colored voters should be admitted in the rebel States than in the Territories. Thaddeus Stevens, "Reconstruction" Speech, September 6, 1865. Thus much I have said at the outset of my remarks, which shall not be very long. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The President claims the right to exercise them. Congress insists on changing the basis of representation so as to put white voters on an equality in both sections, and that such change shall precede the admission of any State. A gentleman from Richmond, who had personal knowledge of the facts, told me the circumstances of the murder. The law of nations then fixed their condition. Dead men cannot raise themselves. We have broken the material shackles of four million slaves. Do not tell me that there are loyal representatives waiting for admissionuntil their States are loyal they can have no standing here. Courtesy Library of Congress (LC-BH83-613), (1849) Charles Sumner, Equality Before the Law: Unconstitutionality of Separate Colored Schools in Massachusetts, (1963) Malcolm X, Message to the Grassroots, African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. Military rule is necessarily despotic, Stevens was also a staunch opponent of President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies.]. With them the blacks would act in a body; and it is believed that in each of said States, except one, the two united would form a majority, control the States, and protect themselves. Admitted to the Maryland bar, he moved to Pennsylvania to practice law in 1816. 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 . In the States they form the great mass of the loyal men. Finally, Stevens turned his attention to the plight of the former slaves who, though free, were without a hut to shelter them or a cent in their pockets. Rather than looking for Congress to help the Confederates, Stevens thought it more proper for Congress to shepherd the freedmen, providing them with the basic tools they needed in terms of education, legal protections, and security to establish themselves in their newfound freedom. Congress alone can do it. . Thaddeus Stevens on the Great Topic of the Hour. They are all asserted, in some form or other, in our DECLARATION or organic law. However, he also urged colleagues to remember the crimes of the Confederacy. to the territorial Legislatures, they will necessarily mingle 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. My policy asserts full power in the Executive. Thaddeus Stevens was a Radical Republican leader and one of the most powerful members in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now they are the victims of daily murder. President Johnson's opposition to these measures created a schism between him and Stevens, and eventually led to the president's impeachment. Thaddeus Stevens, (born April 4, 1792, Danville, Vermont, U.S.died August 11, 1868, Washington, D.C.), U.S. The two powers mutually prepared to settle the question by arms. . proper for them as territorial governments. Thaddeus Stevens was a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who became the face of the opposition to Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson's lenient approach to the South after the Civil War. Congress must create States and declare when they are entitled to be represented. Thaddeus Stevens: Speech to Congress - WikiSummaries Thaddeus Stevens on the Great Topic of the Hour. The law of last session with regard to Territories settled the principles of such acts. Their work largely set the course for Reconstruction in the South. . In Territories Congress fixes the qualifications of Think not I would slander my native land; I would reform it. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}The Candidates in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Race, Sen. John Fetterman Wants to Talk About Depression, 6 Key Players in Donald Trumps Indictment, The Story of President Ulysses S. Grants Arrest, Dianne Feinstein: 10 Issues She Has Worked On, What We Know About Mitch McConnells Fall. The President is for exonerating the conquered rebels from all the expense and damages of the war, and for compelling the loyal citizens to pay the whole debt caused by the rebellion. . suffrage. Lincoln had already authorized reconstructed governments in Arkansas, Louisiana, Virginia, and Johnson's home state of Tennessee, and Johnson continued Lincoln's goal of quickly restoring local sovereignty to the states. governments for them. Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" (2012) is a two-and-a-half hour film that zeroes in on a defining moment from near the end of the Civil War -January 1865 and the debate over the proposed amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery. Stevens had a long history of opposition to slavery and was outraged over the secession of the South. The policy of Congress forbids him to exercise any power therein. Citizens replaced the foundations of slavery that formerly supported Southern states . Beyond this I do not agree that the policy of the parties are defined. In the acquisition of true fame courage is just as necessary in the civilian as in the military hero. Their subjects had liberty of motion and of labor, but the laws were made without and against their will; but I must declare that, in my judgment, they were as really free governments as ours is to-day. True, some of those governors were illegally appointed, being civilians. Thaddeus Stevens was one of the most influential people in shaping public policy during the Reconstruction era, but not all of his ideas were implemented. 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. Congress is to pass a law declaring the condition of these The same law which gives a verdict in a White mans favor should give a verdict in a black mans favor on the same state of facts. The film claims that it was "Based in Part on Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln . first of those amendments is to change the basis of Eleven States, possessing a very large extent of territory, and ten or twelve million people, aimed to sever their connection with the Union, and to form an independent empire, founded on the avowed principle of human slavery and excluding every free State from this confederacy. As both a Southerner (who had remained loyal to the Union) and a Democrat, Johnson was hard-pressed to implement Lincoln's plan, especially in the face of a public discourse dominated by Thaddeus Stevens and the Radical Republicans. Any exception to this rule has been a work of grace in Congress by passing healing acts. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. homesteads, and hedge them around with protective laws; The leader of the Radical Republicans in the House, Stevens was a lawyer, politician, and staunch abolitionist. Not all of the ideas Stevens voiced in his speech were implemented. My only objection to it is that it is too lenient. acquiring an education, understanding the common laws This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thaddeus-Stevens, HistoryNet - Biography of Thaddeus Stevens, National Endowment for the Humanities - Biography of Thaddeus Stevens, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Thaddeus Stevens, Thaddeus Stevens - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). He might have extended the laws of his empire over them, allowed them to retain portions of their old institutions, or, by conditions of peace, have fixed upon them new and exceptional laws. Without it all are sure to be ruled by traitors; and loyal men, black and white, will be oppressed, exiled, or murdered. 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. Whether they should ever have all men of both sections, without exception, agreed would depend on the will of Congress, if the United States were victorious. and whether the election and returns are according to An anti-Masonic member of the state legislature (183341), he proved himself a friend of banks, internal improvements, and public schools and a foe of Freemasons, Jacksonian Democrats, and slaveholders. Twenty years ago I denounced it as a despotism. Not in the judicial branch of Government, for it only adjudicates and does not prescribe laws. I desire that as early as possible, without curtailing debate, this House shall come to some conclusion as to what shall be done with the rebel States. - wrapinknot An ancient philosopher, whose antagonist admitted that what he required was just but deemed it impolitic, asked him: Do you believe in Hades? I would say to those above referred to, who admit the justice of human equality before the law but doubt its policy: Do you believe in heIl?. Whatever law protects the white man shall afford equal protection to the black man. Omissions? The first section, prohibits the States from abridging the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States, or unlawfully depriving them of life, liberty, or property, or of denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. To Stevens, the procedure by which a territory becomes a state was the logical blueprint for this process. This Congress is bound to provide for them until they can <> To be sure many subordinate items of the policy of each may be easily sketched. This amendment once adopted cannot be annulled without two thirds of Congress. acting in the Union, or of being counted as valid States, until And yet certain of our distinguished friends propose to admit State after State before this becomes a part of the Constitution. He opposes the amendment to the Constitution, which changes the base of representation, and desires the old slave States to have the benefit of their increase of freemen without increasing the number of votes; in short, he desires to make the vote of one rebel in South Carolina equal to the vote of three freemen in Pennsylvania or New York. There they can Dead States cannot restore their existence "as it was." Congress and in the Electoral college. The President could not even create bureaus or Departments to facilitate his executive operations. Stevens died in Washington, D.C. on August 11, 1868. Melancthon and others were ripe scholars and sincere reformers, but none of them had his courage. Though Commander- in-Chief by the Constitution, he would have nothing to command, either by land or water, until Congress raised both Army and Navy. Thaddeus Stevens was one of the main leaders of the Radical Republican faction in Congress during Reconstruction.