A History of Federal Impeachment in the United States
Impeachment is a process that can result in the removal from office of a high-ranking government official. The concept has its roots in England, where the first recorded impeachment took place in 1376. The impeachment of English officials was sporadic and ended in the 19th Century. America's Founding Fathers included the concept in the U.S. Constitution. Article II, Section 4 reads thus: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." In impeachment proceedings, the members of the House of Representatives serve in the role of a grand jury, deciding whether to bring an indictment against a particular individual. If a simple majority of the House votes for such an indictment, then the individual faces charges of impeachment. Such charges as referred to as Articles of Impeachment. The next step is a trial, and the people deciding the individual's guilty or innocence are the members of the U.S. Senate. The Chief Justice of the United States presides over an impeachment trial. If a two-thirds majority of the Senate votes to convict the individual facing impeachment, then the individual is convicted and removed from office. The Senate can further, by a simple majority, declare that the convicted individual can never again be eligible to hold public office. The House has begun impeachment proceedings more than 60 times, but only 21 have resulted in full impeachments. Three U.S. Presidents, Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump have been impeached. Clinton, Johnson, and Trump were acquitted by the Senate, Johnson in 1868, Clinton in 1998, and Trump in 2020 and in 2021. (Trump thus became the only President to be impeached twice.) A fourth President, Richard Nixon, resigned in the face of impeachment proceedings. Another President, John Tyler, was the target of impeachment proceedings with regard to the fiery debate over states' rights, but the full House did not approve the measure. One U.S. Senator, William Blount of Tennessee, was impeached. In 1797, the House voted to impeach Blount on charges of conspiracy in relation to an attempt by Great Britain to take control of territories controlled by Spain in what is now Florida and Louisiana. He was removed from office by the Senate. One Cabinet member, Secretary of War William Belknap, was impeached in 1876, on charges of bribery; he was acquitted. One U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Chase, was impeached in 1804, on charges of political bias; he was acquitted. The others impeached were federal judges:
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Social Studies for Kids
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David White