Thaddeus Stevens (1792–1868) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of slavery and discrimination against African-Americans, Stevens sought to secure their rights during Reconstruction, in opposition to President Andrew Johnson. After serving in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Stevens was elected to Congress in 1848 as a Whig. His activities in opposition to slavery cost him votes and he did not seek reelection in 1852. Stevens joined the newly formed Republican Party, and was elected to Congress again in 1858. Stevens argued that slavery should not survive the American Civil War; he was frustrated by the slowness of President Abraham Lincoln to support his position. As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee during the war, he played a major part in the war's financing. After Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, Stevens came into conflict with the new president, Johnson. Stevens's last great battle was to secure articles of impeachment in the House against Johnson, though the Senate did not convict the President.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaddeus_Stevens
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1768:
Philip Astley set up the first modern amphitheatre for the display of horse riding tricks in Lambeth, London, the origin of the modern circus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus
1796:
French naturalist Georges Cuvier delivered a lecture at the National Museum of Natural History on living and fossil remains of elephants and related species, founding the science of paleontology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Cuvier
1859:
Bryant's Minstrels premiered the popular American song "Dixie" in New York City as part of their blackface minstrel show. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_(song)
1968:
American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.
1990:
The current flag of Hong Kong was adopted for post-colonial use during the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Hong_Kong
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
roundabout: Indirect, circuitous or circumlocutionary; that does not do something in a direct way. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roundabout
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
We, unaccustomed to courage exiles from delight live coiled in shells of loneliness until love leaves its high holy temple and comes into our sight to liberate us into life. --Maya Angelou https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou