Impeachment: Constitutional History and Issues

Impeachment has become a fixture of the American political landscape. If recent events are any indication, that trend will continue. This course will describe the historical antecedents of constitutional impeachment beginning with English parliamentary impeachments, colonial and revolutionary impeachments, and the debates on this topic during the Federal Constitutional Convention. After considering the evolution of impeachment during the early Republic, the course will focus on the presidential impeachments of Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. Final considerations will discuss what the Framers had in mind about impeachment and whether impeachment itself serves its intended purpose.

Suggested Readings:

Suggested readings will be available online.

H. Lowell Brown is a practicing lawyer. He has taught courses on white collar crime, international law and procedure, and jurisprudence at the Maine School of Law and American University. He has also given lectures at the University of Southern California and the Georgetown University Law Center. Among his published works are The Meaning of High Crimes and Misdemeanors in Presidential Impeachment and Prosecution of the President of the United States.