Stevens, THADDEUS

Stevens, THADDEUS, an American statesman, was born in Vermont in 1792, graduated at Dart- mouth in 1814, was admitted to the Maryland bar, and in 1816 settled as a lawyer in Pennsylvania, where he sat in the legislature for some years. He was a Whig member of congress from 1849 to 1853, and a leader of the Republicans in the House from 1859 till his death, 11th August 1868. He was foremost in all measures for emancipating the negroes, and was chairman of the committee on reconstruction whose bill divided the southern states for a time into five military districts. In February 1868 he proposed the impeachment of President Johnson, was one of the committee which drew up the articles, and chairman of the board of managers appointed to conduct the trial.