The Framers' Views on Impeachment (Presentation Slides)

Abstract

In creating the office of the Presidency the framers of the Constitution thought it necessary to empower Congress to impeach the President. The framers did not want a sovereign king who would be above the law. Instead they authorized the election of a chief executive officer who is under the obligation to "faithfully execute the law." In the United States the people are sovereign, and the President is subject to law and answerable to the people through impeachment by the people's representatives. This powerpoint presentation describes the history of impeachment in England beginning in 1376; the history of impeachment in the United States between 1797 and 1998; and the debates in the Constitutional Convention that led to the adoption of several provisions in the Constitution governing impeachment. The framers expressly declared that impeachment would be necessary and appropriate to remove a President who "has practiced corruption and by that means procured his appointment;" who "pervert[s] his administration into a scheme of peculation or oppression;" who abuses the pardon power by issuing pardons to "coadjutors" in criminal or treasonous plots; or one who "betray[s] his trust to foreign powers."

Keywords: impeachment, president, framers, constitutional convention, original intent

JEL Classification: K10