15,697
edits
Changes
m
Impeachment is the process where a government official, at the state or federal level in the United States, is removed from office<youtube>https://www. It represents a critical part of the checks and balances envisioned by the Constitution and also by local and state laws. While impeachment of presidents has been rare, judges, congressional members, governors, and others have been impeached while holding officeyoutube.com/watch?v=hSszixvo7d8</youtube>
==Early Impeachments [[File:William-blount-wb-cooper.jpg|thumbnail|left|200px|Figure 1. William Blount was the first federal government representative to be impeached.]]__NOTOC__Impeachment is a two-part process that allows state or federal legislatures in the 18th United States to remove either an elected or appointed official from office for "high crimes and 19th Century==misdemeanors." The process begins in the state or federal house of representatives. After a trial, the official then faces an impeachment vote by the lower house. House votes typically only require a majority vote for impeachment. If the house impeaches the official, it is referred to as the state or federal senate.
Impeachments are seen as a way to remove a public The state or federal senate then decides if that official by a lower legislative house when a given crime has been committed by an official, often will be convicted and removed from office based on the findings of the House during their tenure, although it is possible to also remove an official after the disclosure of a crime after an official enters officeimpeachment process. William Blount was Unlike the first elected official who was impeached. He was a senator from Tennesse and vote in 1797 was impeached the house for conspiring with Great Britain to wage war and capturing Spanish territory in the United States. The senator was a known land speculator who had purchased territory in western Tennessee and other surroundings. He had over purchased and was in debtimpeachment, thus to raise the land's value he tried to most senates must have Great Britain launch a war against Spain 2/3 majority to seize territory in Louisianaremove an official from office. This backfired on him Impeachment and conviction represent a critical part of the House of Representatives tried to impeach him for conspiring to launch a war between Spain checks and Great Britain, but ultimately balances envisioned by the Senate refused to accept the House's oversight Constitution and also by local and decision state laws. While presidential impeachments have been rare, but removed him anyway from the Senate.<ref>For more on these early trialsjudges, congressional members, see: Meltongovernors, B. F. (1998). <i>The first impeachment: the constitution’s framers and the case of Senator William Blount (1st ed)</i>others have been impeached and convicted while holding office. Macon, Ga: Mercer University Press. </ref>
During the time between the founding of the United States and the Civil WarAdditionally, there were three impeachments, all of whom were judges. Two of these were local district Judges, John Pickering while impeachment and James Peck, but one was a chief justice (Samuel Chase). Most of the issues against them had convictions are often compared to do with abuse of powertrials, and drunkness in the case of John Pickering. In the case of Samuel Chase, Thomas Jefferson had found him obstructionist in his they are inherently political agenda after the 1800 election. Although a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Chase had been known for irregular behavior including using his position in the Contential Congress to improve his business dealings. He was appointed by Washington to the Supreme Court and during the time of Jefferson, the Supreme Court was seen Politics can play an as a threat to seizing too much power. In 1803, articles of impeachment were brought up against him, dealing with the justice's behavior against Thomas Cooper and others. Thomas Cooper was tried under the Alien and Sedition Acts for criticizing John Adams, large or even greater role than the previous president. Samuel Chase repeatedly riled against Thomas Cooper, a close friend to Thomas Jefferson, leading to Thomas Jefferson trying to remove Samuel Chase from office. Ultimately, this proved unsuccessful and he was formally acquited in 1805.<ref>For more on Samuel Chase and his case, see: Rehnquist, W. H. (1999). <i>Grand inquests: the historic impeachments of Justice Samuel Chase and President Andrew Johnson (1. Quill ed., reissued)</i>. New York: Quill/Morrowevidence that is presented.</ref>
During ====Early Impeachments in the 18th and 19th Century====Impeachments are the first step to remove by the Civil Warlower legislative house when an alleged crime has been committed by an official, there was often during their tenure. History also shows that it is possible to remove an impeachment of official for a district judge crime committed before entering office. William Blount (West HumphreysFigure 1) for supporting the South in 1862. However, it was the trial of Andrew Johnson in 1868 that proved to be the first impeachment trial against a sitting presidentelected official who was impeached. Andrew Johnson, never He was a strong believer senator from Tennesse and in giving rights to former slaves, came to office as vice-president to Lincoln in 1864 as part of a national unity ticket that had him, a Democrat, serv with Lincoln, a Republican. During the early reconstruction years, Congress repeatedly refused the return of former Southern leaders back to power that Southern states tried to reinstate. Johnson 1797 was sympathetic to the Southern states, setting the stage impeached for conflict conspiring with Congress, where they eventually limited his power Great Britain to shape his cabinet by passing the Tenure of Office Act wage war and capture Spanish territory so that prohibited Johnson from firing members of his cabinetreal estate ventures would benefit. After Johnson tried to fire his Secretary of War (Edwin Stanton), Congress acted The senator was a known land speculator who had purchased the territory in western Tennessee and impeached himother surroundings. Ultimately, Johnson survived He had over purchased and was acquitted, although he was not re-elected later in 1868debt. Interestingly, one reason Johnson survived was because Congress was fearful that Benjamin Wade, a so-called radical Republican, would push through legislation such as womenThus to raise the land's suffrage (something not acceptable value, he tried to most politicians have Great Britain seize territory in the 1860s). In the 1870sLouisiana from Spain, two more impeachments occurred, with one district judge (Mark W. Delahay, for drunkenness; acquitted but resigned), and the first cabinet member (William W. Belknap; Secretary of War; acquitted but resigned).<ref>For more on impeachments that include Andrew Johnson and the late 19th century, see: Harvey, A. L. (2014). <i>A mere machine: the Supreme Court, Congress, and American democracy<i>. Yale University Pressas colonists might be forced to move to areas where he owned land.</ref>
==Impeachment in This decision backfired on him, and the 20th Century==House of Representatives tried to impeach him for conspiring with a foreign state to launch a war between Spain and Great Britain. Still, ultimately the Senate refused to accept the House's oversight and decision. The Senate did remove him anyway, but during this early history of the United States, the Senate wanted more separation from the House.<ref>For more on these early trials, see: Melton, B. F. (1998). <i>The first impeachment: the constitution’s framers and the case of Senator William Blount (1st ed)</i>. Macon, Ga: Mercer University Press. </ref>
Impeachment throughout During the 20th century focused on time between the founding of the United States and the Civil War, there were just three impeachments: judges, mostly . Two of these were local district judgesJudges, such as Charles Swayne (1905)John Pickering and James Peck, George English (1926), and Halsted Ritter but one was a chief justice (1936Samuel Chase). Most of these revolved around the issues against them had to do with abuse of power and corruptiondrunkness in the case of John Pickering. One In the case of the more noteworthy impeachments was Robert Wodrow ArchbaldSamuel Chase, who was on the Commerce Court. He was convicted Thomas Jefferson had found him obstructionist in 1913 and removed from office for taking gifts to sway his decisionspolitical agenda after the 1800 election. He was given favorable railroads and real estate deals in exchange Although a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Chase had been known for decisions. He was eventually convicted in January 1913irregular behavior, despite including using his repeated attempts position in the Continental Congress to claim innocenceimprove his business dealings. While Washington appointed him to the 1920-1930s saw three impeachment cases, there were no impeachment cases between 1936-1986Supreme Court, and during the longest stretches in US history without any impeachment trials time of any government official at Jefferson, the federal level. In the 1980s, there were three impeachment trials of judges (Harry E. Claiborne, Alcee Hastings, and Walter Nixon), all of whom were convicted and removed from office Supreme Court was seen as district judges. These cases had a threat to do with tax evasion, bribery, and perjuryseizing too much power.
The next big federal case was In 1803, impeachment articles were brought up against President Bill Clinton in 1998him, as a result of dealing with the sexual harassment case in relation to Paula Jones investigation, which also included the Monica Lewinsky affairjustice's behavior against Thomas Cooper and others. This Thomas Cooper was tried under the Alien and Sedition Acts for criticizing John Adams, the first impeachment of a sitting previous president since Andrew Johnson. The result required Samuel Chase repeatedly riled against Thomas Cooper, a 2/3s majority for close friend to Thomas Jefferson, leading to Thomas Jefferson trying to remove Samuel Chase from office because he saw him overstepping his convictionbounds. Ultimately, with Bill Clinton just surviving in a mostly partisan in a February 12this proved unsuccessful for Jefferson, 1999 vote that saw and Chase was formally acquitted by the Senate vote 50 for and 50 against in relation to the charge of obstruction of justice 1805.<ref>For more on Samuel Chase and 55-45 for perjuryhis case, see: Rehnquist, W. H. (1999). After <i>Grand inquests: the acquittal historic impeachments of Clinton, in 2009 Justice Samuel Chase and 2010 respectively, Samuel BPresident Andrew Johnson (1. Quill ed. Kent and Thomas Porteous, who were district judges, also faced impeachmentreissued)</i>. Both of them were effectively removed from office due to the proceedings, although Samuel Kent was not convictedNew York: Quill/Morrow.</ref>
==State Level Impeachments==During the Civil War, there was a successful impeachment of a district judge (West Humphreys) for supporting the South in 1862. However, the trial of Andrew Johnson in 1868 proved to be the first impeachment trial against a sitting president. Andrew Johnson, never a strong believer in giving rights to former slaves came to office as vice-president to Lincoln in 1864 as part of a national unity ticket that had him, a Democrat, served with Lincoln, a Republican. During the early reconstruction years, Congress repeatedly refused the Southern states' return to power that Southern states tried to reinstate into the Union. Johnson was sympathetic to the Southern states, setting the stage for conflict with Congress. They eventually limited his power to shape his cabinet, bypassing the Tenure of Office Act that prohibited Johnson from firing his cabinet members.
Impeachments have also occurred, generally more frequently, at the state level, often involving governors or state officials and state judges. The first governor to be impeached was Charles L. Robinson from Kansas, who was impeached due After Johnson tried to fire his rivalry with James Lane. Robinson, along with John Robinson and George S. Hillyer, who were the Secretary of State War (Edwin Stanton), Congress acted and Auditor of the state, were all impeachedhim. This was effectively an attempt to overthrow the Kansas government at a time when elections were highly disputed in Kansas Ultimately, Johnson survived and the previous decade's controversial statehood of Kansas lingered in memory. While 1862 impeachment of Robinson of Kansas was the first impeachment of a governoracquitted, although he was acquited, the 1870s saw a series of impeachments against governors, stemming from the acrimonious reconstruction years of governors not re-elected or selected later in southern states1868. Governors from FloridaInterestingly, North CarolinaJohnson survived because Congress was fearful that Benjamin Wade, Louisianaa so-called radical Republican, and Mississippi were all impeached would push through legislation such as women's suffrage (something not acceptable to most politicians in the 1860s). In the 1870s, two more impeachments occurred, with only one district judge (Mark W. Delahay, for drunkenness; acquitted but resigned) and the governor first cabinet member (William W. Belknap; Secretary of Florida War; acquitted but resigned) impeached.<ref>For more on impeachments that include Andrew Johnson and the late 19th century, see: Harvey, A. L. (Harrison Reed2014) surviving his impeachment proceedings. <i>A mere machine: the Supreme Court, Congress, and American democracy</i>. Yale University Press.</ref>
In 2009====Impeachment in the 20th Century====Impeachment throughout the 20th century focused on judges, mostly district judges, such as Charles Swayne (1905), George English (1926), one well known recent case and Halsted Ritter (1936). Most of a governor's impeachment these revolved around Rod Blagojevichabuse of power and corruption. One of the more noteworthy impeachments was Robert Wodrow Archbald, who tried was on the Commerce Court. He was convicted in 1913 and removed from office for taking gifts to sell sway his decisions. He was given favorable railroads and solicit bribes of the senatorial seat occupied by Barack Obama who had become president after 2008real estate deals in exchange for decisions. This He was notable eventually convicted in being among January 1913, despite his repeated attempts to claim innocence. While the fastest 1920-1930s saw three impeachment proceedings cases, there were no impeachment cases between 1936-1986, the longest stretches in US history, where it occurred within a month after his arrestwithout any impeachment trials of any government official at the federal level. In more recent timesthe 1980s, the most notable there were three impeachment trials of state officials occurred in 2018judges (Harry E. Claiborne, Alcee Hastings, and Walter Nixon), with the West Virginia Court all of Appeals whom were convicted and removed from office as district judges impeached due . These cases had to excessive spendingdo with tax evasion, bribery, and perjury. These <ref>For more on these impeachments, see: Gerhardt, M. J. (2000). <i>The federal impeachment trials have not fully concluded as process: a constitutional and historical analysis (2nd ed)</i>. Chicago: University of early 2019Chicago Press.</ref>
==Conclusion==Almost all impeachments at the The next big federal level have been case was against judgesPresident Bill Clinton in 1998 due to the sexual harassment case concerning the Paula Jones investigation, which also included the Monica Lewinsky affair. This was the first impeachment of a sitting president since Andrew Johnson. The result required a two-thirds majority for his conviction, often with cases related to corruption or behavior Bill Clinton just surviving in a mostly partisan vote on February 12, 1999, that involves illegal payments saw the Senate vote 50 for and perjury. At 50 against concerning the state level, governors have become impeached only from around the time charge of obstruction of the Civil War justice and until today55 (not guilty) to 45 (guilty) for perjury. In After the 1870sacquittal of Clinton, governors were tried in southern states for being seen as anti-southern or having been supported by the US government in its acts of enforcing Reconstruction2009 and 2010 respectively, Samuel B. More recentlyKent and Thomas Porteous, Rod Blagojevichwho were district judges, governor also faced impeachment. Both of Illinoisthem were effectively removed from office due to the proceedings, although Samuel Kent was acquitted.<ref>For more on Clinton and state Supreme Court justices in West Virginia have faced the later impeachments, see: Lichtman, A. J. (2017). <i>The case for impeachment for corruption related charges(First edition)</i>. New York: Dey St., an imprint of William Morrow. </ref>
Admin moved page What is the history of impeachment in the United States? to What is the history of impeachment in the United States
====State Level Impeachments====<dh-ad/>[[File:22rod0px-Rod Blagojevich (2911120436) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Figure 2. Blagojevich famously tried to sell Obama's old Senate seat.]]Impeachments have also occurred, generally more frequently, at the state level, often involving governors or state officials and state judges. The first governor to be impeached was Charles L. Robinson from Kansas, in 1862, who was impeached due to his rivalry with James Lane. Robinson, along with John Robinson and George S. Hillyer, who were the Secretary of State and Auditor of the state, were all impeached. This was effectively an attempt to overthrow the Kansas government at a time when elections were highly disputed in Kansas and the previous decade's controversial statehood of Kansas lingered in memory. While the 1862 impeachment of Robinson of Kansas was the first impeachment of a governor, although he was acquitted, the 1870s saw a series of impeachments against governors acrimonious reconstruction years of governors elected or selected in southern states. Governors from Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippi were all impeached in the 1870s, with only the governor of Florida (Harrison Reed) surviving his impeachment proceedings.<ref>For more on the first state-level impeachments, see: Snell, G., & Shea, W. (1991). <i>Hysterically historical</i>. Red Fox.</ref> In 2009, one well known recent case of a governor's impeachment revolved around Rod Blagojevich (Figure 2), who tried to sell and solicit bribes of the Senatorial seat occupied by Barack Obama to become president after 2008. This was notable in being among the fastest impeachment proceedings in history, where the crime and impeachment trial occurred about one month apart. In more recent times, state officials' most notable impeachment occurred in 2018, with the West Virginia Court of Appeals judges impeached due to excessive spending. These impeachment trials have not fully concluded as of early 2019.<ref>For more on these recent cases, see: Tseng, M. (2018). <i>The Politics of Impeachment</i>. Westphalia Press.</ref> ====Conclusion====Almost all federal level impeachments have been against judges, often with cases related to corruption or behavior that involves illegal payments and perjury. At the state level, governors have become impeached only from around the Civil War and until today. In the 1870s, governors were tried in southern states to be seen as anti-southern or supported by the US government to enforce Reconstruction. More recently, Rod Blagojevich, governor of Illinois, and state Supreme Court justices in West Virginia have faced impeachment for corruption-related charges. ====References====<references/> [[Category:Wikis]] [[Category:United States History]] [[Category:Political History]] [[Category:Legal History]] Updated December 7, 2020 {{Contributors}}