Impeached? History of Presidential Impeachment in the United States
We'll learn about the process of impeaching and removing a President of the United States from office
Clark Vandeventer
Average rating:
4.8
Number of reviews:(653)
What's included
1 live meeting
55 mins in-class hoursClass Experience
President Donald Trump became the third president to be impeached. Who were the others? While three presidents have been impeached, has a president ever been forcibly removed from office? In this class students will learn about the process of impeaching and removing a President of the United States from office and the roles of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate in this process based on the Constitution. We'll learn about what are "impeachable offenses" and how those are defined. We'll look closely at each of the presidents who have been impeached -- Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump -- and the outcomes of their impeachments. We will also discuss how Richard Nixon resigned from office when facing impeachment, although he was never impeached. This is not a political class and it is not partisan in any way. The goal of the teacher is that students will understand the impeachment process but not be able to say for sure how the teacher feels about the current president.
Learning Goals
At the end of the class students should have a basic understanding of the process of impeaching and removing a President of the United States from office based on the US Constitution. Students should be able to converse about the presidents from history who have faced impeachment. This is not a political class and it is not partisan in any way. The goal of the teacher is that students will understand the impeachment process but not be able to say for sure how the teacher feels about the current president.
Other Details
Supply List
Students will be provided with class notes and links for further research and parents with questions to ask their kids to continue the conversation. Parents looking for work samples to submit to fulfill charter school requirements will be pleased with the downloadable resources provided.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Constitution of the United States
Federalist Papers by Hamilton, Madison and Jay
The History, Philosophy, and Structure of the American Constitution Third Edition, by Douglas W. Kmiec
Impeachment: An American History by Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, Peter Baker, Jeffrey A. Engel
Remember the “smoking gun” that led Richard Nixon to resign from office? Here’s a YouTube video Richard Nixon, years later, talking about the “smoking gun.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR-60zDKaNE
Andrew Johnson was the first president impeached. He was the president who succeeded Abraham Lincoln as president after Lincoln was assassinated. Tough job! Congress passed a law that made it illegal for the president to fire any of his cabinet members. Johnson thought this law was unconstitutional, so to test Congress, he fires a member of his cabinet. The House impeaches him and in the Senate he falls just one vote short of being convicted and removed from office! Here’s a short video explaining the Johnson impeachment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvOBAfKbiMo
Joined December, 2019
4.8
653reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I've been a political junkie all my life -- and once upon a time even ran for United States Congress. I've been studying impeachment since I was a freshmen in college and presented one of the sides for my social sciences division on the impeachment of Bill Clinton. (I won't tell you which side I took -- my goal as a teacher is to keep you guessing!). I hold a degree in polticial science from Indiana Wesleyan University and an am alumnus of the Honors Fellowship Program at Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
We live in a big and fascinating world and one of my goals with my classes is to help kids develop an interest and appreciation for the world around them and different cultures. My classes draw from my own experiences as a world traveler. I've visited and lived abroad in seventeen countries. Much of what we do in my classes is the same type of research I would do on a destination before I would travel to that country. I'm also the former deputy director of the historic home of President Ronald Reagan and in 2010 was a candidate for United States Congress.Reviews
Live One-Time Class
$10
per classMeets once
55 min
Completed by 123 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-15
2-15 learners per class
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