When Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the country was on the precipice of radical change. Johnson, seemingly more progressive than Lincoln, looked like the ideal person to lead the nation.
However, Frederick Douglass, the country’s most influential Black leader, grew disillusioned with Johnson’s policies and doubted the president was sincere in supporting Black citizenship. In a dramatic meeting, the president and Douglass came to verbal blows over the course of Reconstruction.
