I have. of course, been aware of Thaddeus Stevens in a general sense for quite awhile. Abolitionist, radical Republican, and thorn in the side of Abraham Lincoln and others. I was intrigued by the character played by Tommie Lee Jones in the movie "Lincoln," so sought out a biography to learn more about this historical figure. I purchased this work.
I see this as an effective biography. It is not terribly long, but we get a great deal of insight into Stevens--from birth to death. He was born with a deformity in his foot, but never let that deter him. He could be cynical and harsh in his treatment of those with whom he disagreed--but he could also be generous.
His political career began at the local level, where he was active in politics in Gettysburg and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. One of the intriguing features in his life was that he and James Buchanan (Pennsylvania's only President of the United States) were both residents of Lancaster at one point--and quite opposed on issue after issue. He used his quixotic anti-Mason position to try to enhance his influence within politics, with somewhat mixed results.
He moved onto the national scene by being elected to the U. S. House of Representatives relatively late in his life. And here, he became a major figure in national politics. He assumed key positions on a number of committees over his service in the House. The book lays out his relationship with Lincoln nicely--as well as his hostility toward President Andrew Johnson (he was one of the leaders of the attempt to impeach and remove from office Johnson).
There are questions raised in this book about Stevens' motivations from time to time. For instance, he had an iron business, and strove to build a railroad with government funds to support its work. The furnace seemed generally to be running in the red (Confederates delighted in wrecking it as they moved toward Gettysburg).
The book is stolidly written. Too many chapters covering his political career end with a statement something like: He didn't achieve all of his goals, but he did have an effect. I'm not sure that so many chapters need to end with the same evaluation. It handles certain sensitive issues (such as his relationship with Lydia Smith) with discretion, not going beyond what the author knows as the facts. In the end, this is a book that introduces us nicely to Thaddeus Stevens and his world.
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