Kelley Library

Impeachment, an American history, Jeffrey A. Engel, Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, Peter Baker

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

Impeachment

bibliography

Jeffrey A. Engel, Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, Peter Baker

an American history

"Four experts on the American presidency review the only three impeachment cases from history--against Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton--and explore its power and meaning for today. Impeachment is rare, and for good reason. Designed to check tyrants or defend the nation from a commander-in-chief who refuses to do so, the process of impeachment outlined in the Constitution is what Thomas Jefferson called "the most formidable weapon for the purpose of a dominant faction that was ever contrived." It nullifies the will of voters, the basic foundation of legitimacy for all representative democracies. Only three times has a president's conduct led to such political disarray as to warrant his potential removal from office, transforming a political crisis into a constitutional one... These three cases highlight factors beyond the president's behavior that impact the likelihood and outcome of an impeachment: the president's relationship with Congress, the power and resilience of the office itself, and the polarization of the moment. This is a realist, rather than hypothetical, view of impeachment that looks to history for clues about its future--with one obvious candidate in mind"--, Provided by publisher

Introduction / by Jeffrey A. Engel -- The Constitution / by Jeffrey A. Engel -- Andrew Johnson / by Jon Meacham -- Richard Nixon / by Timothy Naftali -- Bill Clinton / by Peter Baker -- Conclusion / by Jeffrey A. Engel