Biographical Sidebar:
Thaddeus Stevens

The most prominent Radical Republican in Congress during Reconstruction, Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) was born and educated in New England.

He moved as a young man to Pennsylvania, where he practiced law, became an iron manufacturer, and entered politics.

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Stevens served several terms in the legislature, where he won renown as an advocate of free public education. He also championed the rights of Pennsylvania's black population.

A delegate to the constitutional convention of 1838, he refused to sign the document because it limited voting to whites.