Thaddeus Stevens Chronicles No. 61

 Thaddeus Stevens may have pioneered early insanity plea in Adams County

January 2026

By Bradley R. Hoch

Newly discovered documents show that one of the earliest successful insanity pleas was in Adams County, and it may have been presented by Thaddeus Stevens.

In some biographies, Stevens has been incorrectly credited with presenting an unsuccessful insanity plea in the James Hunter case of 1817. But now it turns out there was a successful local insanity case in 1841, predating more famous cases in America and England.

Thaddeus Stevens was ahead of his time when it came to murder cases and capital punishment. In the Hunter case he defended a prisoner who had approached an unarmed man from behind and sliced his neck. Stevens sought a verdict of second degree murder, a verdict that did not carry the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The jury disagreed and the prisoner was hanged.

In 1831 in Commonwealth vs. Taylor, Murder, Stevens gained acquittal for his client by convincing the jury that the gun discharged by accident. And when the county's prosecutor sought to retry the man under a new charge of Involuntary Manslaughter, Stevens succeeded in having the State Supreme Court stop the proceedings as a violation of the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. In 1835 in a State House floor debate, he spoke against capital punishment. In the 1839 case Commonwealth vs. Weaver, Stevens won acquittal for bartender Jacob Weaver by claiming self-defense. And in 1842, he co-authored a Pennsylvania House of Representatives' committee minority report that argued against capital punishment.

Did Stevens also use a "not guilty by reason of insanity" plea in 1841 to gain acquittal for a client? If so, it would have been one of the earliest, successful uses of the insanity plea in the United States.

"UNFORTUNATE OCCURRENCE," reported Gettysburg Compiler on November 2, 1840. "On Friday evening last, a man named Jacob Robenstein was killed by another of unsound mind, named Isaac Musselman -- both of Hamiltonban township [Adams County, PA] -- The deceased was struck on the back of the neck with the edge of an axe and lived but a short time after receiving the wound."

On October 31, One day after the murder, Daniel Musselman testified at a preliminary hearing as a witness to the assault and murder. Justice of the Peace Andrew Marshall issued a warrant for arrest, and the sheriff committed Isaac Musselman to Adams County prison that same day.

The November 23rd, 1840 official inquest of the court of General Quarter Sessions of Adams County provides more information: Musselman, "not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil," held an axe valued at one dollar in both hands and assaulted Jacob Robenstein.

Twenty-nine-year-old Dr. John King McCurdy, a graduate of a Baltimore medical school, had opened his practice in Fairfield, PA, in 1835. He had examined the corpse and testified at the inquest. Mortal blows were described: there was one at the top of the head, four inches long and one inch deep; another was at the back of the head, three inches long and one inch deep; and a third was on the front of the head, one inch long and one inch deep. Rubenstein had died within half an hour.

The trial, Commonwealth vs. Issac Musselman, Murder, was held on January 27, 1841, in the Adams County Courthouse that was located in the center of Gettysburg's diamond (now known as the square). Musselman pled "Not Guilty." District attorney Moses McClean prosecuted the case. As was the custom in criminal cases, the defendant's attorney was not named in court records. Witnesses were Daniel Musselman, Joseph Musselman and Dr. John K. McCurdy.

Court records report that the jury: "On their oaths and affirmations, respectfully do say that the Defendant is not guilty, and the Jury further find that the said Defendant was insane in the time of the commission of the offense charged, and that he was acquitted by the Jury on the ground of such insanity ----"

The document continues: "Whereupon the court order[s] that the Defendant be kept in strict custody in the debtors apartment of the Jail [of] Adams County so long as said Defendant shall continue to be of insane mind, John Musselman having stipulated in open court to defray the expenses of his maintenance during said period." In other words, Isaac Musselman's father pledged that he would pay the costs of feeding and caring for his son in prison.

Isaac Musselman had been in the Adams County jail for almost nine years, when, at about 3 am on the morning of January 7, 1850, a fire began in his room. The entire structure was quickly engulfed by flames. Efforts were made to rescue Musselman, but the fire was too intense. Portions of his charred body were later recovered and buried in St. James cemetery. During the blaze, the body of another insane inmate, who had been housed in a different room, was dragged from the fire. Unfortunately, he was already dead from smoke inhalation. The jailor and his family who lived at the jail escaped with their lives and the jail's official papers. Only the building's blackened walls remained. A new jail was built on the site in 1851. Construction was overseen by Adams County commissioners, one of whom was Isaac's brother, John Musselman Jr.

Court case Commonwealth vs. Isaac Musselman is an early example of a legal system in transition. Consideration of the mental state of a defendant has a long history, going back at least into the 1200s. A successful use of the "not guilty by reason of insanity" plea in Great Britain occurred in the trial of James Hadfield in 1800. The 1843 M'Naghten trial, another British case, resulted in guidelines for insanity pleas. In the United States, a successful, early use of the plea occurred in People v. Freeman in 1847, when William H. Seward -- who became Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln -- acted for the defense in New York. 

The Musselman case pre-dates the use of the "not guilty by reason of insanity" plea in the more famous New York case by 6 years. It predates the early guidelines for an insanity defense, the M'Naghten Test by two years.

Who was the Gettysburg attorney who used this defense in 1841? Without documentation, this can only be surmised. What evidence exists that it might have been Thaddeus Stevens? Stevens was the preeminent trial attorney in Gettysburg at the time and was practicing law in Gettysburg in late 1840 and early 1841. Stevens' civil cases of this era are well documented: in November Term 1840-41, he was actively participating in a series of civil cases and a criminal case known as Commonwealth vs. Hutter and Cantine. He might also have been one of the few lawyers in Gettysburg who had knowledge gained by discussion with other attorneys in the state legislature of the seminal, several-hundred-page work written by Isaac Ray, A Treatise on the Medical Jurisprudence of Insanity, published in 1838 -- two years before Commonwealth vs. Isaac Musselman.

Not to be overlooked, Stevens was a friend of John Musselman (1783-1852), the father of Isaac Musselman. Stevens and Musselman had known each other surely as early as 1834 when both were candidates on the Anti-Masonic Party's ticket for local election -- Stevens for county representative to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Musselman for Adams County Commissioner (his name was on a number of different party tickets). Why would Musselman not ask his friend to represent his son Isaac in 1840-41?

And finally, there were his known, demonstrated, anti-capital punishment views. Thaddeus Stevens was the obvious choice to defend Isaac Musselman. 

Bradley R. Hoch is the author of Thaddeus Stevens in Gettysburg, the Making of an Abolitionist and books about Abraham Lincoln. He is the founder of Gettysburg Pediatrics and is a member of the Thaddeus Stevens Society. He has made valuable contributions to the Society's research library.

Notes:

1. Adams Centinel (Gettysburg, PA). Letter to the editor, "James Hunter." December 3, 1817.

2. Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, PA). November 2, 1840. page 3

3. Background and History of the Insanity Defense. Samuel Strom, J.D. 2023. https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-procedure/the-insanity-defense-history-and background.html

4. Compiler (Gettysburg, PA). January 14, 1850. page 2

5. Compiler (Gettysburg, PA). January 23, 1900, page 5

6. History of Adams County, Pennsylvania. 1886. Reprint, Gettysburg, PA; Adams County Historical Society, 1992. Biographical sketches, Joseph Musselman; information regarding the children of John Musselman, page 444.

7. Minority Report. Journal of the Fifty-Second House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Vol. 2. Harrisburg; Hemlock and Bratton, 1842, page 195.

8. Obituary, John King McCurdy. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195256356/john-king-mccurdy

9. Official Inquest of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of Adams County. November 23, 1840. Thaddeus Stevens Society.

10. Sessions Docket D. 1823-1833, Page 29, no. 8. Commonwealth v. Joseph Taylor, Thaddeus Stevens Society.

11. Sessions Docket E. 1833-1841. Page 319, no 11. Commonwealth v. Isaac Musselman. Thaddeus Stevens Society.

12. Star and Republican Banner (Gettysburg, PA). September 9, 1834, page 3.

13. Star and Republican Banner (Gettysburg, PA). November 3, 1840, page 3.

Thaddeus Stevens Chronicles No. 60

Why support the Thaddeus Stevens Society?

December 2025

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 have 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/

 

Thaddeus Stevens Chronicles No. 59

 What if Thaddeus Stevens had failed on December 4, 1865?

November 2025

By Ross Hetrick

December 4, 1865 was a pivotal day in American history when Thaddeus Stevens, with the help of Edward McPherson of Gettysburg, prevented ex-Confederates from taking over Congress. But what would have happened to the United States over the next 160 years if Stevens had failed on that critical day?

This important day in American history will be commemorated on Thursday, December 4, at 6 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, 30 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg. The free program will include the showing of a video about December 4, 1865 and a one-man show by Ross Hetrick portraying Thaddeus Stevens.

While few people know what happened on that fateful day, the barring of ex-Confederates from Congress set the stage for the enactment of the 14th and 15th Amendments, the granting of political rights to African Americans and the military occupation of the south.  But there were ominous signs that events could have gone in a dramatically different way. 

The biggest harbinger of disaster came in April 1865 when  Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and Vice President Andrew Johnson, a southern Democrat, took over. While Johnson had been against secession, he was ambivalent about slavery and shortly after becoming president, Johnson started pardoning ex-Confederates wholesale and allowed the former Confederate states to hold congressional elections and they elected former Confederate military and government officials.

Johnson and northern Democrats wanted them to take their seat and seize power from the Republicans. These men did their best to force ex-Confederates into the 39th Congress, but McPherson, who was clerk of the House, stood his ground and did not recognize the southerners and Stevens backed him by using his legendary parliamentary skills,  If McPherson and Stevens had failed, the United States would have returned to a condition very similar to the way it was before the Civil War.

White supremacist governments would have retained control in the south and there would have been nothing to prevent them from implementing laws called the Black codes, which returned African Americans to a state of servitude on a par with slavery. These laws may have continued for generations. 

The freed slaves would have been barred from voting and would fear for their lives if they dared to exercise their freedom. Without the establishment of multiracial governments during Reconstruction, there would have been no public schools or other government agencies. And the14th and 15th Amendments would be nonexistent, eliminating the bulwarks of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s.

In short, the south would have reverted back to having a small rich aristocratic elite at the top, most of the whites in grinding poverty and more than a third of its population in a new form of bondage.  

Thaddeus Stevens knew that the United States was at a turning point on December 4, 1865 and the opportunity should not be lost. He would later comment on this as the Congress grappled with the 14th Amendment and Reconstruction.

"I believe there is entrusted to this Congress a high duty, no less important and no less fraught with the weal or woe of future ages than was entrusted to the august body that made the Declaration of Independence," Stevens said on January 31, 1866. "I believe now, if we omit to exercise that high duty, or abuse it, we shall be held to account by future generations of America, and by the whole civilized world that is in favor of freedom."

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/

Thaddeus Stevens Chronicles No. 58

 Thaddeus Stevens: newspaper publisher

October 2025

By Ross Hetrick

Thaddeus Stevens was many things: super lawyer, ground breaking politician, ironmaster, real estate speculator and railroad developer. But his role as newspaper publisher is often overlooked though it was one of his most public roles. 

Stevens first newspaper venture was the Anti-Masonic Star, which published its first edition on April 17, 1830. The paper was launched to support the Anti-Masonic party in Adams county, of which Stevens was a prominent member. It was common in those days for newspapers to be organs for specific political parties. 

The Anti-Masonic party was  the first successful third party in American history and was born out of an incident in upstate New York in 1826 where William Morgan was allegedly killed by the Masons for threatening to reveal their secrets. Coupled with the widespread impression that the Masons had an undue influence in politics, the party spread quickly in the northeast including Pennsylvania. It was particularly popular in Adams county and Stevens was a member when he was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1834. By that year the newspaper had changed its name to The Gettysburg  Star & Republican Banner.

While Stevens was faithful to most of the positions of the party, Stevens did not hesitate to break with them on an issue dear to his heart -- education. Immediately after taking his seat in the legislature, Stevens was successful in getting an $18,000 grant for Gettysburg College, then called Pennsylvania College, to build its first building -- Pennsylvania Hall, which still stands at the heart of the college campus,  

But Stevens's success in gaining the appropriation was greeted with outrage by fellow members of the Anti-Masonic party. Stevens answered his critics in the January 21, 1834 edition of his newspaper, which is on display at the Thaddeus Stevens museum in Gettysburg. The newspaper was donated to the museum by Bradley R. Hoch, author of Thaddeus Stevens in Gettysburg: The Making of an Abolitionist. 

"I would sooner lose every friend on earth, than violate the clearest dictates of my own conscience -- the clearest commands of my Official Oath," Stevens said in the letter to his critics. He went on to say that he was prepared to leave the Anti-Masonic party over this issue. "I have already resolved that the weight of my name shall never again burthen your ticket," he wrote, though he remained in the party as long as he was in Gettysburg. He ended the letter with a touch of humor: "Gentlemen, with great respect, I subscribe myself your Faithful, if not Obedient Servant, Thaddeus Stevens."

Stevens's next newspaper venture was in 1851 after he had moved to Lancaster and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. By then, the Anti-Masonic party had gone out of business and Stevens was a Whig. Appropriately enough, he and other investors started the Independent Whig, another party organ. Almost immediately after starting the paper, Stevens sent a letter to his longtime protege Edward McPherson in Gettysburg offering him the job of editor.

McPherson would work at the paper for three years and then go on to be a congressman from Gettysburg from 1859 to 1863. Yet, it was as clerk of the House of Representatives, another position that Stevens got for him, that he would play his most important role in American history. Working with Stevens on December 4, 1865. McPherson prevented ex-Confederates from taking over Congress, thus preventing the country from returning to pre-war conditions, complete with a new form of slavery. 

Ross Hetrick is president of the Thaddeus Stevens Society, which operates the Thaddeus Stevens Museum at 46 Chambersburg St. in Gettysburg, PA. The Society also participates in the Adams County Giving Spree, which will be held on November 6. More information about the Great Commoner can be found at the society's website: https://www.thaddeusstevenssociety.com/

A Tribute To The Memory Of The Hon. Thaddeus Stevens by Delphine P. Baker, August 13, 1868

 Move slow, O Time! while yet in grief we wait

Within the sacred shades of honored state! --

Beneath the presence -- e'er on earth sublime --

Where angels watching o'er

                                        Relentless Time!

Sweep slowly now! Aye, let it be.

Thy light upon his blessed memory.

At home, abroad, in other lands of fame,

Will scintillate in halos round HIS name

Thou "Champion of the Right," The nation feels

Thy loss, and doth deplore -- while Friendship kneels

In sorrow at thy side -- the light that's fled

Since thou, true leader just, art with the dead!

pure was thy life. The deep, unselfish love,

Descending on thy soul from the Above,

Speaks in thy words and deed of liberty, 

Of equal rights, of great humanity,

Till every thought reveals th' exalted mind

Which heaven and earth in on grand chain would bind.

Aye! universal God-like Freedom, thou

Mayst weep in anguish o'er that noble brow; 

For thou wilt miss him more than all the train

Of kindred virtues that on earth remain.

For thou bright star, wert rising in his might.

He strengthened thee to wend thy way in light.

Yet other veteran sires will strike the bars,

Till thou shalt trace thy course amid the stars.

The Great Commoner, Fall 2025, No. 51 www.thaddeusstevenssociety.com

 Special poetry edition

Thaddeus Stevens Society November 9 meeting to include tribute dinner to Bradley Hoch

The Thaddeus Stevens Society will have a membership meeting on Sunday, November 9, at 6 pm at Christ Lutheran Church, 30 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA. The meeting will also be a tribute dinner to Bradley R. Hoch, M.D., the author of Thaddeus Stevens in Gettysburg, the Making of an Abolitionist. Copies of his book will be available for purchase. The Society is asking for a tax-deductible donation of $50 or less per person for the dinner, though it is not required. Donations will be accepted at the door. If you plan to attend, please email info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com or call 717-347-8159. 

Poetry for Thaddeus Stevens

Admiration often inspires poetry and this is also true for Thaddeus Stevens. In this issue we have two such poems. One is an epic poem written in recent years by Mike Barton of Michigan and another written in 1868 by Delphine P. Baker. Below is a piece by Barton on the origins of his poem and an article on Baker. These are the links to their poems:

Mike Barton Link                       Delphine P. Baker Link

Birth of "The Mad Dreams of Thaddeus Stevens"                  

                                          Mike Barton

I live in Novi, Michigan with my wife of 40 years, Lisa. We have two daughters, two sons-in-law and three grandchildren. I practiced law for 36 years, retiring in 2019.

After I retired, one thing I decided to do was to try to learn all I could about how the Reconstruction amendments emerged out of the trauma of the Civil War. Despite the fact that those amendments were for a time twisted into tools to support Gilded Age inequality and the Jim Crow regime, they show a type of idealism seldom seen in the history of governments. I hoped to understand how that idealism made its way into law, especially in the 14th Amendment.

Such a search, of course, necessarily leads to Thaddeus Stevens. So my effort to understand how ideals came to be embodied in law, became an effort to fully understand Stevens' work and thought during Reconstruction -- not just the facts and intellectual aspect, but also the inspirational/emotional aspect. The effort to develop that kind of complete understanding in my own mind led to the poem -- the poem being that effort; the quotes serving as some of the "authority" for the content of the poem.

When I discovered the Thaddeus Stevens Society, I realized there were other folks/civilians out there who had a similar interest in understanding Stevens. So I sent the poem to Ross to see what he thought of it. I was very happy to hear he liked it and that he thought it worth sharing with fellow "Thaddeites." 

Delphine P. Baker: Civil War nurse, publisher, social activist, and poetess

Delphine P. Baker

Delphine P. Baker, born in 1828 in New Hampshire, worked in hospitals in Chicago and St. Louis during the early years of the Civil War and urged others to do the same. She also gathered medical supplies and carried them to places they were most needed. In the spring of 1862 she started the National Banner in Chicago, a monthly paper of 16 pages with the profits going to the medical needs of volunteer soldiers. Then in 1864 she moved to New York and started the National Literary Association and began advocating for the creation of a national home for disabled Union soldiers. She was able to get the support of such prominent people as Henry Longfellow, Clara Barton, Horace Greeley and Ulysses S. Grant. A bill was introduced to create the home and it was signed by Abraham Lincoln on March 1, 1865. The first National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was opened in Togus Springs, Maine in 1866 and two more were later opened in Dayton, Ohio and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They were absorbed into the Veterans Administration in 1930. 

 No record of her interaction with Thaddeus Stevens in readily available, but she was obviously a great admirer and she penned a poem of tribute when he died. The original published poem can be seen at this link:  Tribute

Bradley R. Hoch, Gettysburg's Stevens Expert

Bradley R. Hoch

Bradley R. Hoch M.D. has been one the greatest supporters of Thaddeus Stevens and the Thaddeus Stevens Society. He is the author of the 2005 book, Thaddeus Stevens In Gettysburg: The Making Of An Abolitionist, the most authoritative book on Stevens during his time in Gettysburg. He has generously donated various historical documents to the Society along with his research files, which are now part of the museum's research room. He is also the author of many books ranging from Abraham Lincoln's travels around Pennsylvania, the creation of the Seminary Ridge Museum and a mission to Honduras to provide medical aid. He managed to do all this while being the leading pediatrician in the Gettysburg area for 44 years until he retired in December 2021. The Society will get a chance to express our gratitude to him at a dinner on November 9 at 6 pm at Christ Lutheran Church. A $50 donation or less per person is requested, but not required. If you plan to attend, please email info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com or call 717-347-8159. Donations will be collected at the dinner. 

Help keep the Stevens museum open forever

Please help ensure that the Thaddeus Stevens Museum will be open for generations to come by donating to the Society's endowment fund held by the Adams County Community Foundation. The easiest way to do this is by asking for a donation form by emailing info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com or calling 717-347-8159 and providing your address. We'll even provide the stamp on the return envelope. Please mail the form during October to ensure the donation is counted towards a matching donation provided by the Community Foundation.

Stevens/Smith museum in Lancaster slated to open in May 2025

The opening of the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy has been pushed back from April to May 2026 to give the Lancaster Convention Center time to finish a renovation project in the adjoining Convention Center, according to Robin Sarratt, president and CEO of LancasterHistory. 

Meanwhile, the historic society has exceeded the $20 million mark on its way to the $24 million fundraising goal, Sarratt said. The museum construction company, Benchmark Construction, has completed the work of knitting together the historic spaces to create the Center's future galleries and classrooms and Art Guild, Inc., the museum's exhibit fabrication team, is working on displays.  LancasterHistory's staff is collaborating with teachers and students to design educational programs so that they will be ready when the doors open.

Leave a legacy for Thad

Support Thaddeus Stevens's legacy by leaving a legacy of your own. If you wish to include the Stevens Society in your will, please let us know by calling 717-347-8159 or by emailing info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com Thank you.

Thaddeus Stevens Chronicles No. 57

 How to keep the Thaddeus Stevens museum open forever

September 2025

By Ross Hetrick

If you want the Thaddeus Stevens museum in Gettysburg to survive forever, you should contribute to the Thaddeus Stevens Society "forever fund" during the Adams County Community Foundation's Giving Spree . 

The Giving Spree is an annual event that raises money for 111 charities in Adams county. The Thaddeus Stevens Society is one of those organizations and we are asking people to donate to our endowment fund with the Community Foundation, which is called the "Forever" fund. The big day for the Giving Spree is November 6 when people can make donations at the Wyndham Hotel in Gettysburg or online at ACCFGivingSpree.org. 

Before the event, donors can get donation forms and mail them in. Forms are available at the Thaddeus Stevens Museum at 46 Chambersburg Street in Gettysburg or by emailing info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com with your name and address.  You may also want to consider making donations to the other worthwhile charities listed on the form. You do not have to be rich to donate. The Community Foundation will take donations as small as $1. 

It is absolutely necessary that the museum endowment fund continues to grow to ensure the long term survival of the museum. Due to the generosity of our supporters, the Stevens fund now stands at $31,000. We get a small percent of this each year with the rest continuing to grow from investment returns. But we need a lot more in order to substantially support the museum. It is something that should have been done a hundred years ago.

People living from the 1860s to the early part of the 20th century, would have thought  Thaddeus Stevens would be remembered as well as Abraham Lincoln. Major newspapers devoted their entire front pages to his death, schools throughout Pennsylvania were named after him, veteran clubs were named in his honor and for a brief period of time there was a Thaddeus Stevens Club in New York city. Music was written about him. He was a super star.

 But no statues of Stevens were erected and no museums to his memory were created. At the same time, ex-Confederates, their descendants and supporters were actively vilifying Stevens through books and movies. And they won. By the middle of the 20th century Stevens was all but forgotten.

This has turned around somewhat in the last 25 years and there are now two statues of Stevens in Gettysburg and Lancaster and a museum in Gettysburg and another one slated to open next year in Lancaster. But the Gettysburg museum, which is essential to preserving Stevens's memory, could disappear in future decades if it does not have a strong financial foundation.

So to all you Thaddeus Stevens admirers, affectionately called Thaddites, please take the time to get the donation form either from the museum or by sending an email to info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com. Then write down your donation and check off the "Forever" box and mail it in. Future Thaddites will thank you. 

Ross Hetrick is president of the Thaddeus Stevens Society, which operates the Thaddeus Stevens Museum at 46 Chambersburg St. in Gettysburg, PA. The Society also participates in the Adams County Giving Spree, which will be held on November 6. More information about the Great Commoner can be found at the society's website: https://www.thaddeusstevenssociety.com/