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Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice Audiobook
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Publisher Description
The definitive biography of one of the 19th century’s greatest statesmen, encompassing his decades-long fight against slavery, his key role in the Union war effort, and his postwar struggle to bring racial justice to America.
Thaddeus Stevens was among the first to see the Civil War as an opportunity for a second American revolution—a chance to remake the country as a true multiracial democracy. One of the foremost abolitionists in Congress in the years leading up to the war, he was a leader of the young Republican Party’s radical wing, fighting for anti-slavery and anti-racist policies long before party colleagues like Abraham Lincoln endorsed them. It was he, for instance, who urged Lincoln early on to free those enslaved throughout the US and to welcome black men into the Union’s armies.
During the Reconstruction era following the Civil War, Stevens demanded equal civil and political rights for black Americans, rights eventually embodied in the 14th and 15th amendments. But while Stevens in many ways pushed his party—and America—towards equality, he also championed ideas too radical for his fellow Congressmen ever to support, such as confiscating large slaveholders’ estates and dividing the land among those who had been enslaved.
In Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary, acclaimed historian Bruce Levine has written the definitive biography of one of the most visionary statesmen of the 19th century and a forgotten champion for racial justice in America.
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“Landon Woodson offers a solid, easy-to-follow narration…He adds emotion and a bit of extra volume when presenting direct, impassioned quotes from Stevens. The author’s straightforward style translates well to audio.”
— AudioFile
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“Vital…. Put[s] Stevens’s actions in context and provides background on his early life and the road to civil war.”
— The Guardian (London) -
“A concise and powerful biography…A fitting monument to one of the most formidable gladiators ever to stride the halls of Congress.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Spirited…a valuable new perspective on a soldier of the Second American Revolution.”
— Civil War Monitor -
“Succinct and compelling.”
— James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author -
“At last, Thaddeus Stevens, one of the nineteenth century’s greatest proponents of racial justice, gets the biography he deserves.”
— Eric Foner, Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author -
“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 -
“This well-written biography belongs in every academic library.”
— Library Journal -
“A convincing rehabilitation of a statesman who fought for equality before it became fashionable.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“A fine addition to the literature of this ever-relevant era.”
— Booklist
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About Bruce Levine
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.