On September 6, 1865, Thaddeus Stevens, a prominent Republican congressman and a leading advocate for radical Reconstruction, did indeed propose the confiscation of estates owned by Confederate leaders. Stevens believed that the federal government should seize the property of those who had been involved in the rebellion and use the proceeds to help fund the rebuilding of the South, as well as to provide restitution for the newly freed enslaved people.

This was part of his broader vision for a more severe and transformative Reconstruction policy. Stevens argued that the Confederate aristocracy had forfeited their property rights due to their rebellion against the Union and that confiscating their wealth would serve both as punishment and a tool for national rebuilding.

Although Stevens’ confiscation plan was never fully enacted, his radical stance on the treatment of former Confederates did influence the policies of Reconstruction in significant ways.