USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792 – August 11, 1868) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s.

Detailed explanation-2: -We know Thaddeus Stevens as an ardent abolitionist who championed the rights of blacks for decades-up to, during, and after the Civil War. With other Radical Republicans, he agitated for emancipation, black fighting units, and black suffrage.

Detailed explanation-3: -Stevens founded the Pennsylvania Republican Party and served as a House Republican from 1859 until his death in 1868. During the Civil War he chaired the Ways and Means Committee, making him the de facto Majority Leader. He also was an impeachment manager during the trial of President Andrew Johnson.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Radical Republicans were a group of politicians who formed a faction within the Republican party that lasted from the Civil War into the era of Reconstruction. They were led by Thaddeus Stevens in the House of Representatives and Charles Sumner in the Senate.

Detailed explanation-5: -Stevens drafted his own version of the 13th Amendment, but when it failed to gain support, he shepherded a more popular version through Congress. It ended slavery in all states, whereas the Emancipation Proclamation only abolished slavery in the Confederacy. Stevens also guided the 14th Amendment through Congress.