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The Radical Rabble-Rousings of Thaddeus Stevens

By: Rebecca Sheir // July 1, 2011
  
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With his flamboyant ways and Radical Republican views, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens was known as the "dictator of Congress."
Library of Congress
With his flamboyant ways and Radical Republican views, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens was known as the "dictator of Congress."

On July 4, 1861, President Lincoln called Congress into an extraordinary special session. One of the House of Representatives' most powerful members at the time was Thaddeus Stevens: a flamboyant Radical Republican committed to creating equal opportunity for all. Rebecca Sheir visits the House's official historian, Matthew Wasniewski, to learn more about the so-called "Dictator of Congress."

[Music: "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals from You Get What You Give]

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