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Thaddeus Stevens
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.
- GenresBiography
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1899
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 8, 2024
As you can probably imagine, this is a biography of Thaddeus Stevens. For those not familiar with him, he was a Civil War area Congressman from PA. He was known for being a great orator and a huge proponent of abolition. For those who have seen the Steven Spielberg "Lincoln" move, Thaddeus Stevens is the person played by Tommy Lee Jones.
One of the interesting things about this book is that it was written in 1899. I had read another biography that was more recent and thought that this would make a good companion piece. It was much closer to being contemporary, but still had the benefit of a little distance from current events. With that being said, I was a bit concerned about the readability of this book before I started, but overall I was pleasantly surprised at how fluid the writing was for a book from that era.
The book differs a bit from a more typical modern biography in that it spent a decent amount of time on Stevens' childhood, but once he reached adulthood the book really didn't get much into his private life and focused almost entirely on his public acts. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it was a bit unusual. The book also didn't spend a ton of time explaining the era and surrounding events, so if you are new to Civil War history and Reconstruction this is probably not the best place to start.
The author does seem to do a good job of capturing the essence of Stevens (as I understand it). I was originally thinking that a good word to describe him would be "uncompromising" but as I thought about it more I don't think that's the right choice. Stevens knew the score from a legislative standpoint and would back compromise when he felt it was the best he could get. I think a better adjective might be "unwavering" in the sense that once he decided a course he didn't seem to vary from it at all. Those who disagreed were wrong, and he would bulldoze them when he had the chance. Since he spent a lot of his time fighting for abolition this can easily be presented in a positive light, but if he was on the other side of an issue that you felt strongly about I don't think he would engender positive feelings.
Stevens himself was trained in law, and worked near Gettysburg before ending up in the Lancaster area, which is where he is most well known. From both the biographies I read he was considered to be an excellent lawyer and there is at least some evidence to back that up. He actually entered Congress very late in life after serving in the PA legislature for a bit (where he is famous for helping to preserve public schools when they were close to being abolished). However, once he joined he very quickly became a force to be reckoned with and was essentially the leader of the Republicans in the House through the Civil War and a good bit of Reconstruction.
For the book itself, as mentioned above I thought the flow was very good. The author did have a habit of using double negatives, which I found to be confusing at times and caused me to re-read passages a few times. There were definitely times that the author assumed a little more background knowledge than I had about who certain people were, etc., but generally I thought he did a good job of covering things like that. The one section I didn't care for was some of the monetary piece, which I understand was important to Stevens but honestly I don't know enough about the monetary standards of the mid-1800's to have an opinion or even follow some of the arguments. That section could have used a basic introduction, IMHO.
Bottom line for me is that the book was very good, and complemented the other I read pretty well. It was nice to get an older perspective on Thaddeus Stevens and learn a little bit more about him. The overall style and flow of the book were great and well worth your time to read if you have any interest in the subject matter.
One of the interesting things about this book is that it was written in 1899. I had read another biography that was more recent and thought that this would make a good companion piece. It was much closer to being contemporary, but still had the benefit of a little distance from current events. With that being said, I was a bit concerned about the readability of this book before I started, but overall I was pleasantly surprised at how fluid the writing was for a book from that era.
The book differs a bit from a more typical modern biography in that it spent a decent amount of time on Stevens' childhood, but once he reached adulthood the book really didn't get much into his private life and focused almost entirely on his public acts. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it was a bit unusual. The book also didn't spend a ton of time explaining the era and surrounding events, so if you are new to Civil War history and Reconstruction this is probably not the best place to start.
The author does seem to do a good job of capturing the essence of Stevens (as I understand it). I was originally thinking that a good word to describe him would be "uncompromising" but as I thought about it more I don't think that's the right choice. Stevens knew the score from a legislative standpoint and would back compromise when he felt it was the best he could get. I think a better adjective might be "unwavering" in the sense that once he decided a course he didn't seem to vary from it at all. Those who disagreed were wrong, and he would bulldoze them when he had the chance. Since he spent a lot of his time fighting for abolition this can easily be presented in a positive light, but if he was on the other side of an issue that you felt strongly about I don't think he would engender positive feelings.
Stevens himself was trained in law, and worked near Gettysburg before ending up in the Lancaster area, which is where he is most well known. From both the biographies I read he was considered to be an excellent lawyer and there is at least some evidence to back that up. He actually entered Congress very late in life after serving in the PA legislature for a bit (where he is famous for helping to preserve public schools when they were close to being abolished). However, once he joined he very quickly became a force to be reckoned with and was essentially the leader of the Republicans in the House through the Civil War and a good bit of Reconstruction.
For the book itself, as mentioned above I thought the flow was very good. The author did have a habit of using double negatives, which I found to be confusing at times and caused me to re-read passages a few times. There were definitely times that the author assumed a little more background knowledge than I had about who certain people were, etc., but generally I thought he did a good job of covering things like that. The one section I didn't care for was some of the monetary piece, which I understand was important to Stevens but honestly I don't know enough about the monetary standards of the mid-1800's to have an opinion or even follow some of the arguments. That section could have used a basic introduction, IMHO.
Bottom line for me is that the book was very good, and complemented the other I read pretty well. It was nice to get an older perspective on Thaddeus Stevens and learn a little bit more about him. The overall style and flow of the book were great and well worth your time to read if you have any interest in the subject matter.
October 16, 2018
I got intrigued in the persona of T. Stevens after I saw Lincoln and decided to see what Amazon has to offer. I wasn't disappointed.
Despite or in spite that the book was written well over 100 years ago it captures the public perception about T. Stevens and his accomplishments and yet the book isn't too dry as one might expect and I had a few laughs. "The paper is printed in German, and the clerk cannot read it." "Then," said Stevens, "I postpone my remarks until the clerk can read it."
T. Stevens is one of those men who stands up to the biggest bully on the school yard to protect the victim by ridiculing and word fencing with him until the bully surrenders himself. T. Stevens was quite entrenched and uncompromising when it came to his ideals and beliefs in the equality of all men. "If I cannot be a freeman, let me cease to exist." "He was so constituted that it was impossible for him to change his opinions upon the question. They were firmly imbedded in his sense of justice"
I've enjoyed the book quite a bit and think that most contemporary movies about the civil war lack the important details which were following up to the outbreak of it but also after the Lincoln's dead alongside with all "small" details the financing of the civil war in the north, the establishing of the republican party and that republicans were THE progressive party back then. Those points are especially interesting for someone who's not from US.
I might assign Stevens a role too large but if not for him the civil war would have been fought completely in vain leaving the african-americans no better off than before it with the introduction of new southern laws. Thanks to his persistence and wit in the congress, they've passed the 14th amendment.
The best testimony in favour of Stevens are the actions of the house of congress after he passed away. "Although they knew that he was no more, a common impulse inspired them; and when the votes were counted, it was found that all had been cast for Thaddeus Stevens."
"Privilege never had a more powerful nor a more consistent foe."
Despite or in spite that the book was written well over 100 years ago it captures the public perception about T. Stevens and his accomplishments and yet the book isn't too dry as one might expect and I had a few laughs. "The paper is printed in German, and the clerk cannot read it." "Then," said Stevens, "I postpone my remarks until the clerk can read it."
T. Stevens is one of those men who stands up to the biggest bully on the school yard to protect the victim by ridiculing and word fencing with him until the bully surrenders himself. T. Stevens was quite entrenched and uncompromising when it came to his ideals and beliefs in the equality of all men. "If I cannot be a freeman, let me cease to exist." "He was so constituted that it was impossible for him to change his opinions upon the question. They were firmly imbedded in his sense of justice"
I've enjoyed the book quite a bit and think that most contemporary movies about the civil war lack the important details which were following up to the outbreak of it but also after the Lincoln's dead alongside with all "small" details the financing of the civil war in the north, the establishing of the republican party and that republicans were THE progressive party back then. Those points are especially interesting for someone who's not from US.
I might assign Stevens a role too large but if not for him the civil war would have been fought completely in vain leaving the african-americans no better off than before it with the introduction of new southern laws. Thanks to his persistence and wit in the congress, they've passed the 14th amendment.
The best testimony in favour of Stevens are the actions of the house of congress after he passed away. "Although they knew that he was no more, a common impulse inspired them; and when the votes were counted, it was found that all had been cast for Thaddeus Stevens."
"Privilege never had a more powerful nor a more consistent foe."
December 22, 2012
A decent portrait of the man and the highlights of his political career. Too much time is spent on minute details about battles over monetary policy during the Civil War without enough context to make it meaningful to the uninitiated. Overall, a decent read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews