Thaddeus Stevens

“Bruce Levine… restores [Stevens] fully to his place in the American pantheon… A fitting monument to one of the most formidable gladiators ever to stride the halls of Congress.” — The Wall Street Journal“At last, Thaddeus Stevens, one of the nineteenth century’s greatest proponents of racial justice, gets the biography he deserves. Drawing on a career of scholarly engagement with the Civil War era, Bruce Levine expertly relates how Stevens navigated the currents of the Second American Revolution, how he helped to bring about the destruction of slavery and was a leader in the effort during Reconstruction to make the United States a biracial democracy. We need Stevens’ passion for equality today.” — Eric Foner, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery“He was called everything from Robin Hood to Robespierre to evil genius to fanatic and worse. He was a “radical” in a time when that was not always derogatory. This book reveals in many dimensions a Thaddeus Stevens, who with vicious wit and shrewd political skill, was a primary founder of the second American republic. Through deep understanding of all the contexts of the Civil War era and vivid writing, Bruce Levine gives us the best biography of this towering figure yet written, and a timely story about the power of racial equality.” — David W. Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom“Often reviled and generally misunderstood, Thaddeus Stevens has been relegated to a dark corner of the American historical stage. The distinguished historian Bruce Levine not only brings Stevens back into the light but also reveals his significance to the revolutionary dynamic of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Levine’s is a riveting read and a thought-provoking biography, more timely than ever.” — Steven Hahn, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Political Worlds of Slavery and Freedom“Spirited.” — The Civil War Monitor“Vital.” — The Guardian “This succinct and compelling biography… casts Stevens as a congressional leader of the drive to abolish slavery and implant civil and political equality in the Constitution, though Congress failed in the end to adopt his plan to attack economic inequality by land reform in the reconstructed South.” — James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era “Levine deftly weaves political, social, and intellectual history into eleven brief chapters… helping us to understand 19th-century America as Americans of the time knew it, instead of as Lost Cause advocates… re­imagined it in the years after the Civil War.” — The National Review“Levine writes in lucid prose with a great depth of understanding… It’s impossible to read this book without seeing a reflection of our own combustible times.” — BookPage“Levine’s book, written in crisp and no-nonsense language… succeeds in recovering a richer, more complicated Stevens… Appreciated here in full, his career gives the lie to the oft-repeated idea, common in politics and certain kinds of history, that radical ideals and practical achievements are inevitably and always at odds… Levine’s study of the neglected, much maligned Stevens offers an opportunity to reflect on what this country might have been—and the merest glimmer of hope for what it might still be.” — The Baffler

Bruce Levine is the bestselling author of four books on the Civil War era, including The Fall of the House of Dixie and Confederate Emancipation, which received the Peter Seaborg Award for Civil War Scholarship and was named one of the top ten works of nonfiction of its year by The Washington Post. He is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Illinois.