no let's hear from bruce levine.nk you for joining us today. >> >> thank you for that introduction. i think it to all our audience out there for joining us. i am delighted here to talk with distinguished civil war historian and also bruce levine on his latest biography of the great thaddeus stevens. i also like to mention to the audience that we will have ten minutes of question and answer from the audience after our conversation. so feel free to put down your questions in the youtube chaps. i should be able to read them. so, it is a wonderful this unusually warm spring day to join you today, bruce to talk about one of my favorite american-statesman and that is thaddeus stevens. as was mentioned earlier, for a long time we have not had a modern biography of thaddeus stevens. and could you reflect and just tell us why that is so? and what drew you to write a biography of him? >> thank you for being here. and for that good starting question. beginning in the 1880s, the north began to retreat from the achievements of th