Thaddeus Stevens

Thaddeus Stevens was a Radical Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1849 to 1853 and again from 1859 until his death in 1868. As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee during the Civil War, he guided legislation essential to financing the war and was a key architect of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery and the 14th Amendment establishing equal protection under law. He is best known as the most powerful congressman during and after the Civil War, championing civil rights for freed slaves, driving Reconstruction policies, and leading the impeachment effort against President Andrew Johnson.