Have you ever heard someone berating the president? Every leader of the United States has had critics, but only a few have ever been put on trial. The act of putting a president on trial is called impeachment. It is part of a system of checks and balances written in the American Constitution, which keeps any branch of the government from becoming too powerful. Impeachment is the way the legislative branch keeps the executive branch, mainly the president, from abusing their power.
The Founding Fathers of the USA wrote the process of impeachment into the Constitution in case a president ever became unlawful and abusive of his or her power. The legislative branch is in charge of keeping the president from breaking the law. The president, knowing …show more content…
First, information and evidence against the president is presented to the Speaker of the House. He examines it, and if he decides it is legitimate he will give it over to the Rules Committee of Congress, who will audit and formalize the evidence and provide it to Judiciary Committee. They will then thoroughly investigate the evidence, hold hearings and votes, and if they decide to go through with it they will write a document of Articles of Impeachment for the Congress to vote on. The full House of Representatives votes on which articles to pursue, and whether to impeach. It takes a simple majority to decide to impeach (50%+1), and impeach only means to put on trial. Finally, the Senate holds a trial, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as judge; the senate must have a 2/3 majority to convict (“Impeachment …show more content…
Andrew Johnson was the 17th president, and was promoted to president when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. He made some unpopular choices, most involving giving the South little punishment after the Civil War, “and the approval of new, local Southern governments, which were able to legislate "Black Codes" that preserved the system of slavery in all but its name” (“President Andrew Johnson Impeached”). The last straw was when President Johnson attempted to fire a Senate-approved cabinet member, which was against a new law. Congress voted to impeach him and, “Thirty-five senators found him guilty -- just one vote short of the two-thirds vote necessary to convict him” (Congress for Kids: [Executive Branch]: Impeachment). He was deemed not guilty. As for Bill Clinton, his entire career was controversial. One of his first acts was to make it legal for homosexuals to serve in the military, which when met with an outrage was downgraded to simply not inquiring about sexuality upon entry. He was impeached on the basis of having illegitimate relationships with two young women and lying about them in court, among other things. President Clinton was charged with two accounts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power. In the end, he was not convicted, but cleaned up his actions from then on. President Richard Nixon was also going to be impeached, but he resigned
The Founding Fathers of the USA wrote the process of impeachment into the Constitution in case a president ever became unlawful and abusive of his or her power. The legislative branch is in charge of keeping the president from breaking the law. The president, knowing …show more content…
First, information and evidence against the president is presented to the Speaker of the House. He examines it, and if he decides it is legitimate he will give it over to the Rules Committee of Congress, who will audit and formalize the evidence and provide it to Judiciary Committee. They will then thoroughly investigate the evidence, hold hearings and votes, and if they decide to go through with it they will write a document of Articles of Impeachment for the Congress to vote on. The full House of Representatives votes on which articles to pursue, and whether to impeach. It takes a simple majority to decide to impeach (50%+1), and impeach only means to put on trial. Finally, the Senate holds a trial, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as judge; the senate must have a 2/3 majority to convict (“Impeachment …show more content…
Andrew Johnson was the 17th president, and was promoted to president when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. He made some unpopular choices, most involving giving the South little punishment after the Civil War, “and the approval of new, local Southern governments, which were able to legislate "Black Codes" that preserved the system of slavery in all but its name” (“President Andrew Johnson Impeached”). The last straw was when President Johnson attempted to fire a Senate-approved cabinet member, which was against a new law. Congress voted to impeach him and, “Thirty-five senators found him guilty -- just one vote short of the two-thirds vote necessary to convict him” (Congress for Kids: [Executive Branch]: Impeachment). He was deemed not guilty. As for Bill Clinton, his entire career was controversial. One of his first acts was to make it legal for homosexuals to serve in the military, which when met with an outrage was downgraded to simply not inquiring about sexuality upon entry. He was impeached on the basis of having illegitimate relationships with two young women and lying about them in court, among other things. President Clinton was charged with two accounts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power. In the end, he was not convicted, but cleaned up his actions from then on. President Richard Nixon was also going to be impeached, but he resigned