Impeachment in America: In Search of Precedents: An Examination of the Presidential Impeachments of Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon

This thesis examines the political, legal and constitutional issues involved in two fatally flawed American presidencies. It searchs for relevant similarities and precedents which focus on American constitutional provisions for the possibility of impeaching and trying out sitting chief executive. The two subjects of study are the administrations of presidents Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon. In each of these the issue of presidential impeachment came to the fore, and continues to figure largely in historical assessments of the nature of executive vis-a-vis legislative powers. These are necessarily and inextricably juxtaposed with related issues of judicial power and constitutional interpretation. In part, too, this study provides an abbreviated source book for each presidency