Why did the south want to impeach President Johnson?

Answer 1

The Radical Republicans wanted to impeach Tennessee-native President Andrew Johnson because they perceived him to be a Southern sympathizer who wanted to allow the Southern states that had seceded back into the Union immediately and almost unconditionally. They saw Johnson as a threat to their Reconstruction plans.

The conflict over Reconstruction was the underlying reason for Johnson's impeachment; the stated reason for impeachment was that he violated the 1867 Tenure of Office Act by (attempting to) fire Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, among other things.

In February 1868, the US House of Representatives voted to bring eleven articles of impeachment against Johnson. He was later acquitted at his Senate trial.

Answer 2

It was not the South that wanted to impeach Johnson.

The Southern states that had seceded were not represented in Congress at the impeachment trial. Both senators from TN voted to acquit as did both senators from MD and one from MO. Johnson was perceived as a Southern supporter since he was from TN and since he favored Lincoln's plan to not punishing the South for seceding.

Answer 3

They did not like his reconstruction plan