By Ross Hetrick
The Thaddeus Stevens Society needs support so that it can continue to tell the story of how a dedicated group of politicians, lead by Stevens, changed the United States for the better.
Like it does every year, the Society in January will have a membership drive and we hope to increase our numbers from over 300 to more than 500. You can join by going to this web page: https://www.thaddeusstevenssociety.com/become-a-member-1
You should join if you want to ensure that Thaddeus Stevens gets the recognition he deserves for creating a more equitable and fair America. For most of the 20th century there was no organization to promote Stevens’s memory. There were no statues nor museums in his honor. Now, through the efforts of the Society and other organizations, there are statues in Gettysburg and Lancaster, a museum in Gettysburg and one slated to open in Lancaster in May 2026. But this could fade away if the Society does not continue to gain support.
Founded in 1999, the Thaddeus Stevens Society is the only organization exclusively dedicated to promoting the legacy of Stevens. While other historic groups provide information about Stevens, their priorities may change in the future. The Thaddeus Stevens Society will steadfastly preserve and promote Stevens legacy.
During the November Giving Spree in Gettysburg, the Society received about $10,000, pushing its endowment fund held by the Adams County Community Foundation to $43,000. This fund will ensure that the museum in Gettysburg will be supported into the distant future. But the Society also needs immediate funds to support its current activities.
The proponents of the Confederates, who fought to preserve slavery, were very successful during the 20th century in promoting their version of history. And while their efforts has been blunted in recent years, they have not given up. Organizations such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Abbeville Institute continue their campaign to glorify the Confederacy and downplay the evil of slavery. Even the Virginia home of Confederate general Jubal Early, who ordered the destruction of Stevens’s Caledonia iron mill, is preserved by an organization that has $1.6 million in assets.
This strong support for slavery and weak support for people like Thaddeus Stevens dates back before the Civil War and Stevens commented on it in a speech in 1850, where he praised southern congressmen for their united support of slavery.
“I honor her courage and fidelity,” Stevens said. “All her sons are faithful to the cause of human bondage, because it is their cause. But the North — the poor, timid, mercenary, driveling North — has no such united defenders of her cause, although it is the cause of human liberty. None of the bright lights of the nation shine upon her section. Even her own great men have turned her accuser. She is the victim of low ambition — an ambition which prefers self to country, personal aggrandizement to the high cause of human liberty. She is offered up as a sacrifice to propitiate southern tyranny — to conciliate southern treason.”
Ross Hetrick is president of the Thaddeus Stevens Society, which operates the Thaddeus Stevens Museum at 46 Chambersburg St. in Gettysburg, PA. More information about the Great Commoner can be found at the society’s website: https://www.thaddeusstevenssociety.com/
