Exploring
History, Philosophy, & Politics
Essays, articles, and books on important topics and events in U.S. history
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Terms of Impeachment: Historical Views and the Current Inquiry
Learn about impeachment in American history and read current arguments for and against it in 2019
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Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution gives the House of Representatives “sole Power of Impeachment.” At the beginning of this month, December 2019, the House Intelligence Committee released two reports on the current impeachment inquiry - one from the Democratic Party and one from the Republican Party.
To add context and clarity to these current proceedings, we at the JMC have collected historical documents and articles on impeachment in the United States. The collection includes pieces by James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and leading anti-federalists of the founding era.
In addition to historical resources, there are several works by JMC fellows and faculty partners on impeachment from a constitutional and historical point of view. These pieces offer insight with viewpoints and arguments both for and against the current impeachment inquiry. |
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Contemporary Commentary from the JMC Network:
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Stephen Presser: "No Good Case for Impeachment" in 2019
Stephen Presser (Northwestern Law) has written an article for American Greatness positing that the Trump impeachment inquiry will soon come to a close as it has "virtually no evidentiary basis," and would only harm the position of the Democratic Party:
"This notion of a 'wrongful action,' one that need not actually be a crime, appears to give great latitude to the House. Indeed, one definition offered in 1970 by then-Representative Gerald Ford, when he was seeking to remove Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, was that an impeachable offense is anything that a majority of the House of Representatives believes it is, at a particular time in history. As a matter of fidelity to the Constitution, this cannot be correct."
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Keith Whittington: "Must Impeachable Offenses Be Violations of the Criminal Code?"
In contrast, Keith Whittington (Princeton) argues for the current impeachment inquiry in an article for Lawfare. He claims that an impeachable offense does not necessarily need to be criminal in nature:
"Despite what Trump’s supporters say, however, the president can commit an impeachable high crime without violating the federal criminal law. To conclude otherwise would be to ignore the original meaning, purpose and history of the impeachment power; to subvert the constitutional design of a system of checks and balances; and to leave the nation unnecessarily vulnerable to abusive government officials."
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Historical Views of Impeachment:
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Discussion of Impeachment at the Constitutional Convention
Impeachment is not a new topic of disagreement in American politics. At the Constitutional Convention in July 1787, Gouverneur Morris argued for a nonimpeachable executive, as the threat of impeachment would make him an ineffective check on the legislature. James Madison disagreed, claiming that there must be some defense against executive corruption.
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"High Crimes and Misdemeanors: What the Constitution Says About Impeachment"
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On December 2, 2019, the National Constitution Center held discussions on the history and future of presidential impeachment.
Top constitutional scholars, including Michael Gerhardt, the Center’s Scholar-in-Residence and CNN impeachment expert, John Malcolm, Vice President for the Institute for Constitutional Government at the Heritage Foundation, Kimberly Wehle, Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and Keith Whittington, Professor of Politics at Princeton University, discuss the process of impeachment, the procedural steps the Constitution requires, and the state of the current impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
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The xxxxxx with Charlie Sykes: Greg Weiner on Trump and Impeachment
On The xxxxxx Podcast's October 2 episode, JMC faculty partner Greg Weiner joined Charlie Sykes to discuss his recent New York Times column where he argues how Donald Trump may have inadvertently awakened a long-dormant Congress.
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Will you join us in the effort?
Our impact is expanding. As of this fall, one million students have been taught by a JMC fellow. Help us ensure many more young citizens learn about America's history and its founding principles.
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About the Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is a 501(c)(3) public charity with the mission to reinvigorate education in America's founding principles and history. We work to advance the teaching and study of America's history, its political and economic institutions, and the central principles, ideas and issues arising from the American and Western traditions—all of which continue to animate our national life.
We support professors and educators through programs, resources, fellowships and more to help them teach our nation's students.
www.jackmillercenter.org
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