Behind The Battles | Alexander Stephens

Alexander H. Stephens was one of the most contradictory figures of the Civil War. A longtime U.S. congressman from Georgia, he became Vice President of the Confederacy while openly doubting secession and warning it would end badly.

We cover Stephens’ rise, his infamous Cornerstone Speech, his uneasy role inside the Confederate government, and his unlikely return to Congress and the Georgia governorship after the war. His story exposes the political contradictions at the heart of the Confederacy and the rocky road of Reconstruction.