Thaddeus Stevens: Scourge of the South

"More imaginatively than any other Stevens biographer, Fawn Brodie has speculated upon the emotional springs of the man's behavior. More resourcefully than any other, she has brought out the objective conditions to which he related his views on the South. Her book must be taken into account by all serious students of the Civil War and Reconstruction." —Richard N. Current, William F. Allen Professor of History, The University of Wisconsin

In this biography of the chief architect of Reconstruction after the Civil War, Fawn Brodie seeks to explain the basis for his actions, the nature of his economic radicalism, and the emotional forces that resulted in his becoming one of the most controversial figures in American history. She describes his roles as father of the Fourteenth Amendment and prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, his relations with Lincoln, and his battles for black suffrage and schooling.