Andrew Johnson, who ascended to the presidency after Lincoln’s assassination, was instrumental in sabotaging efforts to craft a political and legal environment in which the formerly enslaved and free Blacks could live fully. He pardoned many leaders of the Confederacy, welcomed those unrepentant rebels into their old positions in state government, and did not wince as they drafted new constitutions, such as Louisiana’s, that boldly stated, “We hold this to be a Government of white people, made and to be perpetuated for the exclusive benefit of the white race.” And perhaps even more important,
...more
