President Andrew Johnson is a controversial figure in Black history due to his opposition to civil rights for formerly enslaved individuals during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. Despite being a Southern Democrat from Tennessee and a former slave owner, Johnson ascended to the presidency after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

Johnson's approach to Reconstruction was lenient towards former Confederate states and opposed efforts to provide equal rights and protections to Black Americans. He clashed with the Radical Republicans in Congress who sought to protect and empower newly freed slaves through legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments).

Johnson's lenient Reconstruction policies, which included pardoning many former Confederates and allowing Southern states to enact Black Codes that restricted the rights of African Americans, were seen as a betrayal of the promises made during the Civil War to ensure freedom and equality for Black Americans.

His conflicts with Congress eventually led to his impeachment in 1868, making him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached. Although he was acquitted by one vote in the Senate and remained in office until the end of his term, his legacy is marked by his failure to protect the rights of Black Americans during a critical period in American history.