Thaddeus Stevens, a prominent U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, passed away on August 11, 1868. He was a key figure in the Radical Republican movement during the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War. Stevens was one of the chief architects of the Radical Reconstruction program, which sought to impose civil rights protections for formerly enslaved people and to restructure the Southern states after the Confederacy’s defeat.

Stevens was known for his strong stance on abolition and his advocacy for the rights of African Americans. He pushed for the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, which abolished slavery, granted citizenship, and protected voting rights for African Americans, respectively. His fierce advocacy for racial equality and his uncompromising approach to Reconstruction made him a controversial and polarizing figure, especially in the South, but he is remembered as a champion for civil rights during a critical period in American history.

His death marked the loss of one of the most important figures in the struggle for racial equality and Reconstruction reforms.