Posthumous Thaddeus Stevens Fan Club Here!

[Taverner]

I saw Lincoln a few weeks ago, and loved TLJ's portrayal of Thaddeus Stevens.

So doing a bit of research, I found this guy was all the movie showed and more.

Self made man, born very poor. He had an African American wife, although couldn't marry because of Miscegenation Laws. He would have had to wait until 1968.

He wanted to completely rebuild the South on egalitarian aims.

The man did not stop with African Americans - he defended ALL ethnic and religious minorities.

He, in short, was a total badass.

[RomneyLies]

1. A man a century ahead of his time.

Progressives tend to be at least decades ahead of their time.

Stevens was a progressive's progressive.

[SunSeeker]

9. He's a century ahead of OUR time.

I mean, when you compare him to the GOP in Congress now, he makes them look like troglodytes. No offense to troglodytes.

[Taverner]

21. Exactly. I beleive the Klan would not permit him to live, if alive today

[Lifelong Protester]

2. The movie "Lincoln"

made Thaddeus Stevens worth a second look for me, too. I knew who he was, but didn't know as much as I did after the film and some further research. He was truly a man ahead of his time.

[mucifer]

3. Yeah, I did the same. I was surprised that he wasn't really in "Team of Rivals"

It was an interesting choice of Spielberg's to put him in the film as a major character and not actually have the team of rivals as major characters. Stevens is mentioned in about 4 pages of the 750 page book. The focus of the book is Lincoln, Seward, Chase and Bates with a lot of attention to the women in their lives and the society at large. It's a great book. It's a great movie. I just don't feel that the movie is based on the book. Maybe I will feel different when I finish it.

[mucifer]

4. BTW there is a a free online lecture series from Yale dealing with slavery, the civil war and

reconstruction with a great Professor David Blight who is a very talented lecturer.

http://www.academicearth.org/courses/the-civil-war-and-reconstruction-era-1845-1877

If you are like me and have too much time on your hands it can really suck you in.

[rurallib]

7. got to check that out - thanks!

[WinkyDink]

5. Proud PA's adopted son!

[cali]

22. And proud VT's native son.

And from the Kingdom no less.

[dsc]

6. It shows you how history and culture can turn

as recently as 1942 he was portrayed as a villain in film with Lincoln being the only positive portrayal that is famous.

[Orrex]

8. A badass even in death

He chose to be buried in the Shreiner-Concord Cemetery, because it was the only cemetery that would accept people without regard to race.

Thad the Bad!

[SunSeeker]

10. K&R

[LoisB]

11. A fan here. Have been since I attended Thaddeus Stevens Junior H.S. back in 19XX. Unfortunately,

he doesn't get enough ink in the history books.

[Faygo Kid]

12. Tommy Lee Jones was just great as Stevens in "Lincoln"

Too damn bad he didn't win the Golden Globe tonight.

But this native Michigander has always been proud of Thaddeus Stevens.

[JoePhilly]

13. He was a great choice for that role.

[Drale]

29. Honestly, although he did a great job

I wish they would have cast someone else, because when you look at Tommy Lee Jones, you know instantly its Tommy Lee Jones in any role he's ever played and it kind of took me out of the movie a little bit, everyone else looked like the person they were playing but I kept thinking its weird that Tommy Lee Jones is in Congress.

[handmade34]

14. I used to live on Thaddeus Stevens Rd...

"Stevens was born in Danville, Vermont, on April 4, 1792. His parents had arrived there from Methuen, Massachusetts around 1786. Thaddeus was the second of four children and was named to honor Polish patriot Thaddeus Kociuszko. He suffered from many hardships during his childhood, including a club foot. The fate of his father, Joshua Stevens, an alcoholic, profligate shoemaker who was unable to hold a steady job, is uncertain. He may have died at home, abandoned the family, or been killed in the War of 1812; in any case, he left his wife, Sally (Morrill) Stevens, and four small sons in dire poverty.[4] Having completed his course of study at Peacham Academy, Stevens entered Dartmouth College as a sophomore in 1811, and graduated in 1814; before doing so, he spent one term and part of another at the University of Vermont..." from Wikipedia

historic sign on Danville Green:

[Agschmid]

15. Way to go VT! n/t

[progressoid]

18. Cool!

[Blue_In_AK]

16. I love this guy,

and I thought tommy lee jones really did him justice.

[JPZenger]

17. He smuggled slaves to freedom - part of Underground Railroad

One side of Stevens was discovered a few years ago. His house was about to be torn down in Lancaster PA. Instead, they restored the structure as part of a new Conference Center, and did archeological work. They discovered hidden rooms under the house that led to the building next door. It is believed that slaves were hidden inside whiskey barrels and rolled into the adjacent tavern. They were then taken down to the basement and hidden in the secret room under Steven's house, until it was safe to move them further north.

[Taverner]

20. +1000

[Odin2005]

19. I didn't know the African-American wife bit. Interesting!

[JPZenger]

25. Yes, officially she was his long-time housekeeper

In reality, she was his long-time partner

[Skidmore]

23. Thaddeus Stevens is one of those historical persons that you just wish

you could sit down and get to know personally.

[Odin2005]

24. One of the greatest Americans most have never heard of.

[graham4anything]

26. It's too bad Lincoln and Stevens weren't founding fathers

and had they written what Jefferson wrote then ALL are created equal, with the same rights

not what Jefferson the hypocrite wrote, all men are created equal, but not blacks, and not women and not slaves in general.

shame they didn't come earlier.

[Drale]

27. He was a good man but

he was the original grumpy cat. I can just see him yelling at the young people because their suits were to colorful or because their hats were to high. lol PS. I loved Lincoln, C-Span would be so much more interesting is House members still insulted each other in that way. lol

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. He was my favorite character too