Republicans Then and Now
In search of a new project — not that I’ve finished the current one — I recently started looking into Thaddeus Stevens, one of the first great Republicans, and one who had as much to do with ending slavery as Abraham Lincoln.
As a subject, it’s still iffy. I am finding that he was a deeply flawed man. Every hero should have some flaws to make him or herself more interesting, but Thaddeus took on more than his share.
But he had one virtue that struck me with admiration. His word was his bond, and that meant he felt bound to pay his debts.
They were substantial, over $200,000, which in today’s market tops $6 million. But as he wrote to a friend, “I know of no way out of such things but to pay the uttermost farthing.”
And later, when his one-time partner solved his money problems by declaring bankruptcy, and Stevens’ friends urged him to do the same, the stalwart businessman and politician responded, “I may be forced to take advantage of the bankruptcy laws in the next world, but that I will never do in this.”
Compare that to the current Republican nominee, Donald Trump, who has been through four bankruptcies, and was quoted as saying: “I do play with the bankruptcy laws—they’re very good for me.” And “I’ve used the laws of this country to pare debt. … We’ll have the company. We’ll throw it into a chapter. We’ll negotiate with the banks. We’ll make a fantastic deal. You know, it’s like on The Apprentice. It’s not personal. It’s just business.”
With Thaddeus Stevens, it was personal, because he saw it as a reflection on his character. There are times that a person gets in a hole so deep that there just isn’t any other way, but it should be a soul-shattering experience that leaves its mark on all future business dealings, because you never again want to fail your clients, employees, and creditors.
As I said, Stevens’ character was not sterling. He was petty, vindictive, and in some ways, hypocritical. In the end, I haven’t decided that I want to work with him. But his keen sense of honor, and his never-flinching campaign to end the deepest blot on our own nation’s character, are arguing in his favor.
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Oh yes, I’m supposed to relate each post to something in my book. Sorry, In the Midst of Death . . . wasn’t about politics at all. The closest I can come to it is this line: “Aaron met one night with Dickens, Bolton, and a few others at the Brown Bull, and finally admitted that the thought of running for town commissioner was not quite as stomach-turning as a hog wallow in high summer, so he’d think about it.”