5/7/2017 The History of American Impeachment | History | Smithsonian

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The History of American Impeachment
Theres a precedent that its not just for presidents

Vice President-designate Gerald Ford holds up a copy of Evergreen Review, a magazine which Ford described as
obscene. One of Ford's charges against Douglas was that he had allowed an article he had written to be published in
Evergreen. (AP Photos)

By Kenneth C. Davis
smithsonian.com
June 12, 2017

In April 1970, Congressman Gerald Ford provided a blunt answer to an old question: What is an impeachable offense?

Ford, then the House minority leader, declared, An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives
considers it to be at a given moment in history. At the time, he was leading the charge to impeach Supreme Court Justice
William O. Douglas, a staunch liberal he accused of financial impropriety.

Fords memorable definition may not be textbook, but it certainly sums up the spirit of American impeachmentsjudicial and
otherwise. But what does the Constitution itself say about impeachment?

As the Constitutions framers sweated and fretted through the Philadelphia summer 230 years ago, the question of impeachment
worried Benjamin Franklin. Americas elder statesman feared that without a means to remove a corrupt or incompetent official,
the only resort would be assassination. As Franklin put it, this result would leave the political official not only deprived of his
life but of the opportunity of vindicating his character. Perhaps he had Julius Caesar and the Roman Senate in mind.

Ultimately, the framers agreed with Franklin. Drawn from British parliamentary precedent, impeachment under the Constitution
would be the legislatures ultimate check on executive and judicial authority. As the legislative branch, Congress was granted the
power to remove the president, vice president, and all civil officers of the United States from office upon impeachment and
conviction.
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There was some debate about which crimes would be impeachable, but the framers left us with Treason, Bribery or other High
Crimes and Misdemeanors. Though the first two are pretty clear-cut, the rest of the definition leaves considerably more wiggle
room. But the Constitution offers much more clarity on the process itself.

There is, first, an important difference between impeachment and conviction. It is the basic distinction between an indictment
being formally charged with a crimeand being found guilty of that crime.

The process begins in the House of Representatives, which has the sole power to impeach. In modern times, impeachment
proceedings begin in the House Judiciary Committee, which investigates and holds hearings on the charges. The committee may
produce an impeachment resolution that usually contains articles of impeachment based on specific charges. The House then
votes on the resolution and articles, and can impeach by a simple majority.

Then comes the trial. Under the Constitution, the Senate has the sole power to hear the case, with House members acting as
prosecutors. Attorneys for the accused can present a defense and question witnesses. The accused may even testify. If the
president or vice president has been impeached, the Chief Justice of the United States presides over the trial. In other cases, the
vice president or the president pro tempore of the Senate is the presiding officer.

At the end of the hearing, the Senate debates the case in closed session, with each senator limited to 15 minutes of debate. Each
article of impeachment is voted on separately and conviction requires a two-thirds majority67 of the 100 senators.

To date, the Senate has conducted formal impeachment proceedings 19 times, resulting in seven acquittals, eight convictions,
three dismissals, and one resignation with no further action.

Gerald Ford knew how high that bar was set. In 1970, he failed in his attempt to impeach Douglas. The FDR-appointed liberal
justice had already survived an earlier impeachment attempt over his brief stay of execution for convicted spy Ethel Rosenberg.
This time, the supposed offense was financial impropriety, but Ford and others also clearly balked at Douglass liberal views. The
majority of the House disagreed, and Douglas stayed on the bench.

So far, only two American presidents have been impeached and tried in the Senate: Andrew JohnsonLincolns successorand
Bill Clinton. Both were acquitted. Richard Nixon would certainly have been impeached had he not resigned his office in August
1974.

Of the other impeachment cases since 1789, one was of a senatorWilliam Blount of Tennessee, case dismissed in 1799and
one a cabinet officer, Secretary of War William Belknap, who was acquitted in 1876. Most of the other impeachment cases have
involved federal judges, eight of whom have been convicted.

Among those impeached judges was Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase. In 1805, the Senate acquitted Chase after a trial
notorious for its partisan politics. Vice President Aaron Burr, who presided over the Senate proceedings, was praised for his
evenhanded conduct during the trial. Of course, Burr had recently killed former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in
a duel. He returned to Washington to oversee the Chase trial while himself indicted for murder in New York and New Jersey.
Never arrested or tried in Hamiltons death, Burr escaped impeachment when his term expired.

After Nixons close encounter with impeachment in the summer of 1974, Gerald Ford secured another spot in the history books
as the first man to become Commander in Chief without having been elected president or vice president. He set another precedent
with the pardon of his disgraced predecessor. Fords bare-knuckles dictum about the politics of impeachment still reflects the
reality of Washington.

Kenneth C. Davis is the author of Dont Know Much About History, Dont Know Much About the American Presidents and,
most recently, In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives. His website is
www.dontknowmuch.com.

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In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives

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