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Research Outline

Prepared for Christopher C. | Delivered October 8, 2019

History of Impeachment

Goals

To explore the history ofimpeachment including a historical overview, and finding interesting and "lesser known" facts as well as key statistics, dates, figures, and insights, and details about the impeacments of past US Presdents.

Early Findings

  • The process of impeachment, as written in the US Constitution, consists of two distinct parts. The first part occurs in the House of Representatives where, and only where, the decision to issue articles of impeachment, hold a vote, and actually impeach a sitting US President may occur. If articles of impeachment are passed in the House of Representatives, then the President is considered impeaches, but stays in office. The second part occurs in the Senate. It is here where a trial, led by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, will be held with all evidence heard. If found guilty and convicted, the President will be removed from office. Impeachment does not necessarily mean removal from office. President Andrew Johnson and President Bill Clinton were both officially impeached in the House of Representatives but not convicted in the Senate. They were both able to finish their terms as president.
  • The origin of impeachment in the US Constitution was inspired by British constitutional history. Impeachment was used in 14th century Britain as a way to hold not the king (who couldn’t be impeached) but the king’s ministers accountable for their public actions. Impeachment fell out of favor in Britain for centuries, but by the time the US Constitution was being written in 1787, it was being used again.
  • The concept of impeachment was not favored by all the framers of the Constitution and led to a huge argument over the appropriateness of using the Senate as an Impeachment Court. Alexander Hamilton, in his Federalist 65 writing, gave the winning argument for a separate impeachment court when he argued that unlike in civil and criminal courts, impeachment courts are only for the misconduct of public men. The wording used to described impeachable crimes changed several times before the framers settled on “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Summary Of Our Early Findings Relevant To The Goals
  • Our first hour of research provided a brief overview of the Impeachment process provided for in the US Constitution. It also provided information and background information on the origins of the Articles of Impeachment in the Constitution and the briefest glimpse into some of the controversies that erupted as impeachment was being debated.
  • We did not have time in our initial hour of reseach to fully explore every aspect of impeachment.
  • To continue reseaching, please select one or more of the options provided in the proposed scoping section below.