Impeachment is the act of removing a public official from office for being convicted of a crime. There are many different levels and types of impeachments that can be done today, but presidential impeachment is the most important. Throughout the history of the United States, an impeachment on the presidential level has only happened four times. Each of these impeachment trials happened for a different reason that violated the law in some way. President Andrew Johnson, President Bill Clinton, and President Donald Trump were the three presidents impeached, and they all had important and just reasons for their trials.
Growing up, Andrew Johnson was born and raised in poverty, and people have claimed that this was one of the reasons he was never
…show more content…
Many people still believe today that Abraham Lincoln only chose Andrew Johnson as his vice president because he would get him more presidential votes from the South. On April 15, 1986, Abraham Lincoln’s dead body was found shot in an alleyway. Although his assassination was one of the biggest tragedies in United States history, it was Andrew Johnson’s big promotion. Soon after getting into office, Andrew Johnson was hated by many, and now that he was the president, the hatred for him would soon grow much larger. Andrew Johnson would get very mad after someone condemned his policies and authority. People would respond to his madness very negatively, which would make him even madder. Soon people were writing articles in newspapers about trying to impeach the president. The house of representatives wanted Johnson impeached badly enough to where it created an impeachment committee that would establish the eleven articles of impeachment. These were in an effort to try to …show more content…
Born in 1946, Donald Trump was elected president at the age of 70 in 2016. With his election came much hatred and separation between the republican and democratic parties. The separation is because Republicans loved his business strategies, but Democrats could not stand his personality. This election was the beginning of a constant fight between the two parties. Every chance one of the parties got a chance to attack the other party, they took it. The democratic party eventually received an advantage when it regained control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 elections. The House of Representatives gave democrats the ability to launch as many investigations into the president as they could. Many failed investigations were launched into his money transactions, calls, and personal life. Three years into Trump’s presidency, democrats found evidence that Donald Trump may have been blackmailing the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to gain control over the 2016 presidential election. On December 18, 2019, Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial was launched. The House of Representatives stated that Trump had been charged with the violations of obstruction of congress and abuse of power. Although he had been impeached, President Trump continued to serve his term. One of Trump’s most significant achievements as president was the economy. The economy was at an
Rhetorical Analysis: in Barbara Jordan’s “Statement on the Articles of Impeachment” In 1976, the first African American Congresswoman took the podium to address the political problems in the U.S. She used every form of document in the constitution to prove that things can change if they were followed accordingly. This courageous woman, Barbara Jordan, wrote “Statements on the Articles of Impeachment”, delivered July 25, 1974 to the House Judiciary Committee and argued that if the President was to participate in anything suspicious and kept the person safe, he may be impeached. Jordan builds her credibility with the evidence of Richard Nixon’s activity with several things beyond out of order; during her speech she was forcefully optimistic
The U.S House of Representatives voted 11 articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson, nine of wich cite Johnson´s removal of secretary of war Edwin M. Staton ,a violation of the Tenure of office act. The House vote made President Johnson the first president to be impeached in U.S
As a result, Trump is currently getting investigated for conspiracy with a foreign government. Although both presidents have been accused of meddling with their respective elections through dishonorable
Conclusion Sixty-nine political aides from President Nixon’s administration were charged with federal crimes such as obstruction of justice and abuse of power, just to name a few. Forty-eight of these individuals were found guilty. It was not until Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States that Richard Nixon was granted a “full, free and absolute pardon” (The Washington Post) for any and all of his crimes that violated the Constitution of America. This granted pardon was the most controversial component of the Watergate scandal.
With the assassination of president Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, a Southern democrat, came into office. Despite being staunchly pro-Union and anti-secession, Johnson's approach to reconstruction seemed far less attractive, perhaps due to the fact that he was a slave owner. Following Johnson's entrance, moderates and radicals formed an alliance for arguably two decisive reasons: both groups shared a parallel distrust and disliking for Johnson, and Johnson's measures seemed far too sparing in his efforts of reconciliation with Southern states. Moreover, during Johnson's presidency, Northerners recognized a South that had once again become unruly, which many believed was a result of the lenient tendencies that Johnson approached reconstruction with.
Johnson abuses his power as president. For example, he broke the Tenure of Office Act. He fired the secretary of war (Stanton), even though the act was made to limit AJ’s abilities to dismiss government officials. In addition, He pardoned people who would take an oath for allegiance, and he required leaders and wealthy men special presidential
He was present for Lincoln’s Reconstruction speech and enraged by it. Originally he had planned on kidnapping the president and using him as a bargaining tool. He would trade the Union president for every confederate prisoner in Union hands. This was possible because at the time, it was not uncommon for the president to walk around Washington D.C. alone. Today, this idea seems very foreign, our president is one of the most protected men on the planet and this is actually one of the effects of Lincoln’s assassination.
Johnson wa known as one of the best debaters in the community. But once his time as the 17th president came , he was not on the same boat as many other people in office and because of this he was impeached . Following this the impeachment process did not work . Johnson was too carry out Lincoln's plan but that's not what happen . first Johnson removed secretary of war Edwin M. Stanton .
But to compare the two first. Both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were impeached by the House of Representatives but were acquitted by the Senate. Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice, while Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Both impeachments were politically charged, with Democrats largely supporting the impeachment and Republicans largely opposing it. Additionally, both Clinton and Trump's impeachments occurred during their first term in office.
Johnson’s impeachment did not affect his term or his party’s prospects. Nixon’s impeachment inquiry led to his resignation and his party’s defeat. Clinton’s impeachment did not affect his popularity or his party’s
Ross was a Republican, and the majority of Republicans in Congress supported Johnson's impeachment. There was pressure on Ross to vote in line with his party, even if he personally disagreed with their position. Ross also faced personal pressure as he struggled with his own beliefs about the trial. He was torn between his party loyalty and his own sense of fairness and justice. There were also dangers associated with the trial.
It illuminated the power struggle between the executive and legislative branches of government and revealed the potential use of impeachment as a political instrument. Furthermore, it highlighted the profound discord and tensions that persisted in the United States subsequent to the Civil War, particularly concerning matters of race and Reconstruction. Moreover, Johnson's impeachment trial established important precedents for future presidential impeachments. It clarified that impeachment need not be predicated on the commission of a criminal offense, and may arise from political and policy disagreements between the President and Congress.
In the U.S Constitution, it states that if President is convicted of any treason, corruption, or any other high Crimes and transgressions they can be removed from office. However, there are many steps to being impeach. The first thing in order for the President to be impeach is when the situation of the President brings attention to the members of the House of Representatives. Next, they are handed over to the House Judiciary Committee to see if the situation is serious. If the situation is serious then the president would be presented to the U.S Senate to decide if he should be impeached.
One reason that reveals President Johnson’s principled motivation can be found in Doc A. L.B.J first job after college was being a teacher in Cotulla, Texas. He was teaching Mexican children who were poor but tried their best to learn and look nice for school. He wanted to teach this school of 5,6, and 7 graders because at the time there was poverty and segregation and was willing help even if
Firstly, the idea that Trump ought to be impeached for violate any assortment of felonies committed as a civilian is faulty, as it is in violation of the very Laws of Nature I have set out in the past: that in the interest of peace, past offenses no longer in practice ought to be forgiven, and that punishments ought only be applied to correct the offender and to protect the contract, and for no reason other (7). Secondly, the argument that Trump ought to be impeached for any misdeeds done in office is dangerous, as it would be damaging to the social contract to try and subject the sovereign to any authority but his own (8). Thirdly, the argument that, in allegedly enlisting help from Russian is winning the 2016 election, Trump violated the social contract himself, is absurd. The election of a candidate is not a contract between him and the people, but rather a contract between the people themselves in regards to who is fit to rule (9). As such, Trump himself cannot be removed from office for violating the contract he himself had no part in making.