Johnson’s removal of Black troops facilitated white violence against freedpeople.

Evidence

As Black people defied disarmament, they scored some victories, but far too often they were outgunned, and they suffered brutal repercussions as they ran up against the unwillingness of federal officials and local Republican governments to enforce Black citizenship. The slaughter was facilitated by President Johnson’s removal from the South of Black troops, which had been a significant part of the occupying army and the line of defense between the freedpeople and white violence. In late 1865 to mid-1866, all the Black troops were removed from the South’s interior and sent to coastal fortifications, and by January 1867 they had been expelled altogether. — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 804

Categorization

• XREF: Fits the reader’s case-study goal: here is a specific contested causal claim — troop removal enabling slaughter — with a precise date range (late 1865 to Jan 1867) to check. — connects to: Police arrested the black victim with his white attackers and freed the gang. — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 116