Joe Pitts: “on this day 136 years ago, one of the predecessors from my congressional district, a man named Thaddeus Stevens, stood…”

“on this day 136 years ago, one of the predecessors from my congressional district, a man named Thaddeus Stevens, stood in this Chamber and introduced the 14th amendment to the Constitution. The Civil War was over, but African Americans still were not guaranteed the rights of citizens. The 13th amendment had banned slavery, but many States were still refusing basic rights to black people. In 1868, Thaddeus Stevens of Lancaster, Pennsylvania introduced the 14th amendment to fix that. His amendment guaranteed that all persons born in the United States were citizens, not just of this country, but also of the State where they lived. Thaddeus Stevens fought hard for the 14th amendment. However, the 14th amendment was not enough for him. He wanted full equality among the races, but that was too much for his contemporaries. Disappointed, Stevens said that he would ``Take all I can get in the cause of humanity and leave it to be perfected by better men in better times.'' Stevens died soon afterwards and was buried in the only cemetery in Lancaster that did not discriminate. His tombstone reads this way: ``I repose in this quiet and secluded spot, that I might illustrate in my death the principes which I advocated through a long life: equality of man before his Creator.'' Mr. Speaker, Thaddeus Stevens was a great man indeed.”