Impeachment: An American History

Four experts on the American presidency examine the first three times impeachment has been invoked-against Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton-and explain what it means today.

Impeachment is a double-edged sword. Though it was designed to check tyrants, Thomas Jefferson also called impeachment “the most formidable weapon for the purpose of a dominant faction that was ever contrived.” On the one hand, it nullifies the will of voters, the basic foundation of all representative demo...