Considering President Richard Nixon resigned office to avoid certain conviction in an impeachment trial, only Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton of all American presidents have undergone the impeachment process. Impeachment and its parameters are outlines in the Constitution of the United States. Impeachment is a fancy word for indictment. Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states, “The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and on conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The Constitution also provides for who shall try impeachment cases (the U.S. Senate) and for the Chief Justice to preside when the impeachment involves the President. Without two-thirds of the Senate in agreement, impeachment is impossible. This analysis will explore the issues behind the impeachment trials of Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, two presidents who escaped impeachment conviction but whose careers and influence were damaged by their involvement in them.
The action of Andrew Johnson that broke the back of the Senate and caused a vote for his impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors was his removal from office of Secretary of War Stanton and his appointment of general Lorenzo Thomas in his place. The Senate felt Johnson’s move was in violation of the Constitution and laws of the U.S., which did not allow for him to have the authority to make such a decision. Many in the House of Representatives also believed Johnson’s actions constituted high crimes and misdemeanors, a vague expression found in Constitutional language in Section 4 of Article II. For two days in February of 1868, the Committee on Reconstruction debated the move to impeach Johnson. On February 24, by 5:00pm, a vote was taken and the resolution read, “Resolved, That Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be impeached of high crimes and m...