Thaddeus Stevens should join the Gettysburg Trinity
December 2024
By Ross Hetrick
Gettysburg borough recently published a summary of its budget and at the top of the page were pictures of Abraham Lincoln and Dwight Eisenhower. Where was Thaddeus Stevens? He should be part of the Gettysburg Trinity.
Gettysburg is fortunate that it can lay claim to two presidents. But it should also lay claim to Thaddeus Stevens, who exercised power comparable to presidents, according to many of his contemporaries.
Gettysburg richly deserves its association with Lincoln and Eisenhower. Lincoln gave his magnificent Gettysburg Address here, yet, he was only here one day. Eisenhower lived in the Gettysburg area in 1918 when he was in the army and in the 1960s after he retired. But he did not leave any lasting mark on the community of Gettysburg.
In contrast, Stevens lived in Gettysburg for 26 years from 1816 to 1842 and regularly visited the borough even after he moved to Lancaster. He helped to establish Gettysburg's first water system, library and bank. He is the most famous person to have served on Gettysburg borough council.
His most lasting contribution was helping to establish Gettysburg College. Stevens was able to get an $18,000 state grant for the college in 1834 to build Pennsylvania Hall, which is one of the borough's iconic buildings. And in 1854 when the college's board of trustees was thinking of leaving Gettysburg, Stevens browbeat them into staying forever.
Taking a broader view, Stevens is credited with saving public education in Pennsylvania in 1835 when he made a powerful speech that turned back a repeal effort of the fledgling system. On a national level, he is the father of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing equal treatment under the law and extending the Bill of Rights to the state level. He prevented President Andrew Johnson from losing the Civil War after the war by orchestrating a brilliant parliamentary maneuver in 1865 that barred ex-Confederates from taking over Congress.
Stevens has been gaining more recognition in Gettysburg over the last 25 with the creation of the Thaddeus Stevens Society in 1999, the erection of a statue in front of the courthouse in 2022 and the opening of a Stevens museum at 46 Chambersburg Street earlier this year. Now is the time for the borough government to recognize his importance by adding him to the top of its publications along with Abe and Ike. Thad should be part of the Gettysburg Trinity.
Ross Hetrick is president of the Thaddeus Stevens Society, which is dedicated to promoting Stevens's important legacy. More information about the Great Commoner can be found at the society's website: https://www.thaddeusstevenssociety.com/.
