The Great Commoner, Spring 2026, No. 52 www.thaddeusstevenssociety.com

 Upcoming events:

Saturday, April 4, Noon at the Thaddeus Stevens Museum Annex, 52 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA – Thaddeus Stevens’s 234th birthday will be celebrated with a potluck picnic. The Society will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks and birthday cake. Attendees are invited to bring side dishes to share. There will also be entertainment by members of the Christ Lutheran Church in Gettysburg where Stevens was a major supporter. The event is free and open to the public. If you plan to attend, please call 717-347-8159 or email info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com

Friday, April 10, 4:30 pm at the Shreiner-Concord Cemetery, Mulberry and Chestnut Streets, Lancaster, PA – The annual graveside ceremony at Thaddeus Stevens’s grave. It will be followed at 6 pm by the Stevens Day day dinner and Society membership meeting at the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, 750 E. King Street, Lancaster, PA. The dinner is free to members. 

Friday and Saturday, May 1 and May 2 at the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy at the corner of Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster, PA – The long awaited Stevens/Smith museum will have a ribbon cutting at  9 am on May 1. Then at 1 pm the Society will have a special awards ceremony at the Shreiner-Concord Cemetery at the corner of Mulberry and Chestnut Streets. Then on Saturday, May 2, there will be a block party on Vine Street beside the museum celebrating the opening. More information is in another article by Robin Sarratt. If you plan to attend these events, please contact the Society at 717-347-8159 or info@thaddeusstevenssociety.com for additional information.

Stevens/Smith museum to open in May

By Robin Sarratt, President and CEO of Lancaster History

    Since June 2019, LancasterHistory has been preparing to create a major new museum honoring the legacy of one of America’s most influential members of Congress, Thaddeus Stevens, while also illuminating the remarkable life of his housekeeper and trusted confidante of 25 years, Lydia Hamilton Smith, and the powerful network of abolitionists with whom they worked to advance freedom, justice, and equality.

    Now, LancasterHistory is proud to announce the grand opening of the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy, taking place May 1–2, 2026. 

    The opening weekend begins Friday morning, May 1, at 9 am with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by complimentary museum tours for all who contributed to the capital campaign that made the Center possible. The celebration continues Friday evening with a ticketed gala in the new and expanded Commons on Vine at the Lancaster County Convention Center, located directly adjacent to the Stevens & Smith Center. 

    On Saturday, May 2, from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m., the entire community is invited to join a free Community Celebration as East Vine Street—between Duke and Queen Streets—closes for the festivities. The afternoon will feature music, art, history-themed vendors, food and beverage trucks, family-friendly activities, and much more. Museum admission will again be free on Saturday, though advance registration for timed-entry tickets is strongly encouraged. Tickets for opening weekend and future visits will be available beginning in March. Visit stevensandsmithcenter.org for more information.

Youngest lifetime member joins Stevens Society

Thaddeus Richard Barry

The plaque Thaddeus will receive for being a lifetime member

By Jullian Gaeta, Thaddeus's mother

        Throughout my life, I have always been asked, "What is the story of your name? Why did your parents pick Jillian. They thought it was pretty.

        As a history teacher of nearly twenty years, I value a good story. I believe that stories have the power to change us -- to change society and to change the way we think. So when I was considering a name for my son, I wanted him to have a meaningful story when someone inevitably asks, "Why did your parents name you Thaddeus.

        Raising a boy in 2026, I wanted him to carry the name of a man he could look up to and admire -- a man with strong values, honorable character, and historical significance. As my husband and I consided names, John seemed too common. While I love a Kennedy, there were too many affairs and mob connections. Martin, Malcolm and Abraham felt too obvious and attention-grabbing. My husband even suggested Kermit, in honor of Teddy Roosevelt's son, who loved to explore, but the problem there is that it is also the name of the famous frog.

        Now that my son is here, "Why Thaddeus?" people ask. Here is what I tell them:

        Thaddeus Stevens was a congressman in the 1800s who believed deeply in equality. He pushed Abraham Lincoln not only to end the Civil War but to end slavery itself. After Lincoln's death, Stevens was instrumental in ensuring the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment and in advocating for voting rights for African Americans. Stevens and Frederick Douglass were some of the first national leaders to call for reparations. Without his leadership during Reconstruction, equality under the law for formerly enslaved people would not have been codified in the Constitution. Stevens pushed boundaries; he was radical, and he challenged the status quo. He also had passion and sense of humor.

        I love sharing this story because aside from my friends who teach history, most people have never heard of Stevens. It is not uncommon for them to be unfamiliar with him. According to a study conducted in 20`8 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, only 7 percent of American high school seniors could identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War. Reconstruction remains one of the least-taught periods in American history classrooms across the country.

        The legacy of the Fourteenth Amendment remains as vital as ever. Historian Eric Foner describes Reconstruction as a "Second Founding," arguing that it fundamentally transformed the Constitution by embedding the principle of equal rights for Americans. Before the Civil War, that ideal did not exist in Constitutional law. The 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision declared that no Black person could be a citizen of the United States. Reconstruction sought to shatter those racial boundaries and redefine American citizenship itself.

        In may ways, based on Foner's scholarship, Thaddeus Stevens can be understood as one of the nation's founders -- not 1776, but of this Second Founding. I could not think of a better to name my son after.

        Like any parent, I have hopes for my child. I hope that when he tells the story of his name, it sounds different from the way I tell it today. I hope the Fourteenth Amendment is protected and that equality under the law expands even further in both the Constitution and our lived reality. I hope more people under why our country fought a war over slavery and recognize both the achievements of Reconstruction and the unfinished work of Stevens, Douglass, Lincoln and countless abolitionists.

        Most of all, I hope that in my son's lifetime Stevens's dream is realized -- that equality is not only codified into the law but fully actualized in American life. When someone asks my son, "Why did your parents pick your name?" he will have a powerful story to tell and I hope that people recognize its history and they are living in a healed America far beyond what Thaddeus Stevens could have ever imagined. 

Thaddeus Stevens documentary envisioned

                   By Thomas Wiggins, filmaker

        Exactly twelve years ago, I performed a one man show at the Ware Center called

Remarkable Radical: The Life and Times of Thaddeus Stevens. I was grateful for the

favorable reception from Ross Hetrick and many of you in the Thaddeus Stevens

Society.

        As a result of that piece, I was invited last year to record the voice of The Great

Commoner for numerous installations in the new Stevens and Smith Center for History

and Democracy opening in May.

        Revisiting his words and ideas inspired my wife Jennifer and me to explore making a

documentary on Stevens’ life. We intend to make a film that, like the stage show, packs an emotional punch as well as a historical one. Connecting the head and the heart is the best way to impress upon people the extraordinary legacy of this great patriot that so few know.

But this is a complex endeavor. Last year our production company Atomic Focus

Entertainment (www.atomic-focus.com) released our first feature documentary Banned

Together which won best feature doc at the Red Rose Film Festival. We know from

experience that it takes a committed effort, that starts with fundraising.

        I’ve discussed this with Society President Ross Hetrick and will bring him on as a consultant for the film. I also know that everyone’s looking to raise funds, including your society. But, if you know of any folks or larger organizations who might be interested in supporting this film, please pass them along to us via Ross. The tentative title for the doc is Where Have You Gone, Thaddeus Stevens? In this day and age especially, that question needs to be asked – and answered.