“I wished that I were the owner of every southern slave, that I might cast off the shackles from their limbs, and witness the rapture which would excite them in the first dance of their freedom.” --Thaddeus Stevens-July 1837 at Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention.
There’s a poignant scene in Steven Spielberg’s new movie “Lincoln” where Pennsylvania Representative Thaddeus Stevens hobbles down the aisle of the US House chamber to ask the Speaker of the House for the copy of the newly passed 13th Amendment—the amendment to abolish slavery.
A casual observer of history may not know why Stevens was so eager to have that original written copy of the 13th Amendment. Stevens was the most progressive and vindictive American of his generation. He was admired and despised, and perhaps until now almost forgotten.
Stevens takes the Amendment home, where he is greeted by his quadroon “housekeeper” Lydia Hamilton Smith. She takes his coat and readies him for bed where they lay down together. He plainly meets her as a respected equal, lying back in contentment as she reads to him in a clear voice the text of the 13th Amendment.
Lydia Hamilton Smith was by the Congressman’s side more than 23 years. Though Thaddeus Stevens never married, neighbors referred to her as his “common law wife.”
There are many reasons why Thaddeus Stevens has gone down in history as a tireless advocate for abolishing slavery and equal rights. The biggest reason for him can be told through that poignant scene. The biggest reason was the woman who met him at the door at the end of the day the 13th Amendment passed.
We stand at the precipice of another great moment in American history today. The fight for equal rights for the LGBTQ community is not unlike the fight for equal rights in the past for African Americans, and women. It is the civil rights issue of our time.
Just yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases on equality. We are filled with hope as to what the future holds. Still, the fate of equality in the hands of 9 robes with law degrees seems tenuous at best.
Our movement needs a Thaddeus Stevens.
Thaddeus Stevens wasn’t just an abolitionist because it was politically expedient. He hated slavery because of the woman he loved. There’s a reason he hobbled down to aisle of the House chamber to get that historic document. There’s a reason he took it home for Smith to read.
One might question why we need a Thaddeus Stevens when we have Barack Obama. Obama became the first sitting president to come out in favor of equality in May of 2012. While we are forever grateful for the president’s brave stance, Barack Obama doesn’t know what it is like to be told he can’t marry, or share benefits with the person he loves.
Stevens’ advocacy stemmed from the fact that until slavery was abolished (and for many years after) Lydia Hamilton Smith would have to be nothing more than his housekeeper. The 13th Amendment was the first step in the paradigm shift. Today, Stevens and Smith could be open, married, and without shame. That all started with the 13th Amendment. It started with Stevens’ advocacy.
We need more than just a voice or chorus of political voices in favor of equality. We need someone who lives the struggles of inequality every day; someone who knows why our fight is important because it directly affects them as well.
Who is our Thaddeus Stevens?
What might have been for the LGBTQ community had Harvey Milk lived…one thing we can take from Harvey Milk’s life is his encouragement to come out of the closet, stand up and fight. Milk believed that people are more likely to see injustice and support equality the closer the inequality was to home. This of course isn’t true in every instance but it gets to the very heart of the reason why we need a Thaddeus Stevens.
Many days my mind wonders who is next? Who is the next person to break the chains of their closet and be an advocate? Will that person be our Thaddeus Stevens, our Harvey Milk?
The movement experienced a breathtaking leap forward on Election Day where we saw equality and love win over hate in Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington. We also saw the historic election of Tammy Baldwin to the US Senate. Baldwin will become the first openly lesbian US Senator and will no doubt become a strong voice for our cause.
The Gay Rights movement is truly on the doorstep of history. The admonishments of our predecessors to be patient and wait for equality are no more. We are here. What I fear we are missing is a powerful progressive voice like Thaddeus Stevens.
One can only assume from the causes he championed that if Stevens were alive today he would also be a tireless advocate for our cause too—just as he was for the abolition of slavery, immigration and women’s suffrage.
For the sake of this editorial piece I’d like to assume that Thaddeus Stevens would believe in our cause, as I believe in it. I believe it is right, and I believe that love will win.
Now is our time. It is time to stand on the shoulders of Harvey Milk, Thaddeus Stevens, Barney Frank and the many who have come before. It’s time to honor the voices at Stonewall. It’s time to declare that gay rights are too, human rights.
Thaddeus Stevens and his fight for the equality brought on by the 13th and 14th Amendments was long and politically bloody, as will ours be.
It will also be worth it.
We stand on the shoulders of giants and rest on the promise that the arc of justice does truly bend towards equality.
“I will be satisfied if my epitaph shall be written thus: ‘Here lies one who never rose to any eminence, Who only courted the low ambition to have it said that he striven to ameliorate the condition of the poor, the lowly, the downtrodden of every race and language and color.’” -Thaddeus Stevens– January
13, 1865
