. >> buchanan and then thaddeus stevens who i had never heard of before. talk a lot about buchanan and stevenson. >> one of the things it was great about theth walk are partf my memory in the subtitle was of that in my memories so much as those initial memory like is it that we remember and wife when i walked into lancaster they were actively debating who to rename one of the elementary schools after because they wanted to take james buchanans name off, keeping the last l president before lincoln and one of these democrats who was a slave owning cobbler of the southern confederacy. welcome soon to be confederacy. and a moral coward ever since he had died they had meticulously looked after his mansion, and you can visit it, the junior league of been very attentive to that, and thaddeus stevens who would live inn saint out at the same time we became it was president, thaddeus stevens was the head of ways and means committee in the house and was way more righteous than abraham lincoln or almost anybody else in congress, and was lincoln's conscience can a lot

[laughter] buchanan and then thaddeus stevens whom i had never heard of before.ou talk a lot about buchanan and stevens. >> one of the things that was great about the walk or the memory and the subtitle was now my memory is a national memory like who is that we remember and why? when i walked into lancaster they were activelyti debating rename one of the elementary schools after because they want to take james buchanan's name off he being the last president before it lincoln one of these double-faced democrats was a slave only because of the confederacy or was soon to be confederacy. and a moral coward essentially. ever since he had died they had meticulously y looked after his mansion. you could visit the junior league and thaddeus stevens who had lived in the same town at the same time when the pecan and was president thaddeus stevens was the head of the ways and means committee in the house. was way more righteous than abraham lincoln almost anybody else in congress. was lincoln's conscience in a lot of ways he would push lincoln to issue the emancipation proc

buchanan and then thaddeus stevens, whom i never heard of before.and you talk a lot about buchanan and steven is right. yeah. so one of the things that was great about the was part of my the memory and the subtitle wasn't really my memories so much it was a national memory. like who is it that we remember and why and when i walked into lancaster they were actively debating who to rename that one of the elementary schools after they wanted to think james buchanan's name off he being the last president before lincoln and one of these double faced democrats who was a slave owning of this of the confederacy. well, be soon to be confederacy and i'm a moral coward. and ever since he had the had meticulously looked after his mansion, and you could visit it in the junior league, had been very attentive to that and thaddeus stevens, who had lived in the same town at same time when buchanan was president thaddeus stevens, was the head of the ways and means committee in the house and was way more righteous. abraham lincoln or almost anybody else. congress and

who would live in the same town at the same time when buchanan was president, thaddeus stevens was ahead of the ways and means committee in the house, and was way more righteous than abraham lincoln or almost anybody else in congress, and was lincolns conscience in a lot of ways. he wasas selectively pushed lincoln to issue the emancipation proclamation. they were just been getting underway to sort of rehabilitate his house and it's now simply become a museum which is like a civil rights destination. but thaddeus stevens was one of the great figures of the 19th century, a person of hundreds of times more important than james buchanan and james began at least in that place has been held up until now he finally rightfully you know they didn't have to tear the statute of but if they had i would've been fine with replacing them with the thaddeus davis that you. >> you he walked into the midf this debate which was great that it seems, you'll find out when you read the book of every city with you every time you went to you connected with the town historian, right brexit told you the

buchanan and then thaddeus stevens came -- a. you may have heard about before and you talk a lot about buchanan and stevens. one of the things that was great about the memory in the subtitle wasn't mine it was a national memory and when i walked into lancaster they were actively debating who to rename one of the elementary schools after because they wanted to take james buchanan's name off leaving the last president before lincoln one of these democrats who was a owning confederate from the confederacy. and the moral coward essentially and ever since he died yet meticulously looked after his mansion in thee, jr. league had been very attentive to that. ate when buchanan was president thaddeus stevens, was the head of the ways and means committee in the house and was way more righteous. abraham lincoln or almost anybody else. congress and was lincoln's in a lot of ways. he was on really pushed lincoln to issue the emancipation proclamation. so on. and they were just then getting underway to sort of rebuild tate his house and now so

seemed to like johnson and here is an image of charles sumner, senator of massachusetts and thaddeus stevens, congressman from pennsylvania. lincoln's republican party and now johnson's republican party was dominated by the radicals who wanted the confederate states to be reconstructed. in addition in 1865 they wanted the former leaders of the confederacy out of power and a black man to have the right to vote. they sold johnson as a fellow traveler someone who shared their views. charles sumner, for example, said he agreed with everything he said and voted and concluded johnson is the sincere friend and ready to act for him. as i elaborate in the book other radical republicans s have simir responses in april and even today. but then things started to change. was he like most other men or even worse? johnson issued an amnestylo that allowed the federal states to return to the union as they have been for the civil war except without slavery. they could remain in power in the states and petition but that wasn't a problem. the commitment was to the restoration with a wild idea that the states ne

charles sumner, from massachusetts and thaddeus stevens, congressman from pennsylvania. lincoln's republican party and now johnson's republican party was dominated by the radicals, who wanted the ex-confederate states to be reconstructed and put a special emphasis on that word, reconstructed. in addition to the end of slavery that came in 1865 with the 13th amendment they wanted former leaders of the confederacy out of power and they wanted black men to have the right to vote. the radicals initially saw johnson as a fellow tracker, who shared their views. charles sumner visited johnson and said that johnson told him that he agreed with everything he said about black voting rights, and that he wrote a friend and concluded that i'm going to, quote -- that quote, johnson is the sin veer-- sincere friend of the negro and to vote. and other republicans had similar responses in april and even into may. they thought that johnson was going to do what they wanted, but then things started to change. had johnson been conning these men? was he, in fact, like most other southern whit

the radical republicans themselves like thaddeus stevens benjamin wade charles sumner could at times the paternalistic and benjamin wait in particular who was among the most radical of the radicals regularly used the n-word and in letters to his wife that i i had read ranging from 1850 into 1870 regularly use the n-word and talked about how he was done with i leaves the word words black people don't black people and he also said that when he has food cooked by black people he can taste that black. why it's in the food. it's not all about it's not just andrew johnson and in a chapter the book that i didn't discuss there was a republican convention in philadelphia in september of 1866 that douglas wanted to attend and that is stevens in particular didn't want him there. he didn't want a black person there and was this racism that is stevens might have been involved with a black woman in the final 20 years of his life was this racism or practices. the pragmatic argument was it's not good for the republican party to be perceived as a black hearty. anyway, i stevens wrote to his colleague