1st Edition
British Origins and American Practice of Impeachment
This collection brings together historians, political scientists and legal scholars to explore the Anglo-American origins of impeachment and its use in the USA. Impeachment originated in England during the Good Parliament of 1376. It was used, subject to several periods of disuse, until the beginning of the nineteenth century. The British form of impeachment in turn inspired the drafters of the US Constitution and the inclusion of a mechanism permitting the removal of members of the federal executive and federal judiciary. These Anglo-American origins of impeachment have inspired many constitutions around the globe to include impeachment mechanisms which permit, in most cases, the legislature to remove the President, a Prime Minister, ministers and judges. This volume explores the origins, influence and practice of impeachment. Divided into three parts, the history of impeachment and how it developed in British history is the focus of part one. The inclusion of Ireland reflects the constitutional status of impeachment, the legacy of union with Great Britain and how impeachment can still serve as a deterrent. Part two examines the adoption of impeachment within the US Constitution and its use in practice. The third and final part discusses impeachment in the twenty-first century. The book will be an essential resource for students, academics and researchers in law, political science and history.
List of Contributors xi
Preface xii
Foreword xiv
1 Impeachment Matters 1
MATTHEW FLINDERS AND CHRIS MONAGHAN
PART 1
British Origins 15
2 Impeachment during the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries and Its Abeyance in the Sixteenth Century 17
CHRIS MONAGHAN
3 Impeachment in Seventeenth-Century England 42
MARK GOLDIE
4 British Politics and Impeachment in the Eighteenth Century 64
ROBIN EAGLES
5 Edmund Burke, India and the Impeachment Trial of Warren Hastings 84
MITHI MUKHERJEE
6 The Nineteenth Century and Beyond: The Existence of the Threat of Impeachment 114
CHRIS MONAGHAN
7 ‘Impeachment’ in Irish Constitutional Law 132
LAURA CAHILLANE AND TOM HICKEY
PART 2
American Practice 155
8 Impeachment in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries in the Early United States 157
JOHN R VILE
9 Parallel Evolution: American Impeachment and the Two-Party System 180
BRIAN C KALT
10 Impeachment, Responsibility and Constitutional Failure: From Watergate to January 6 206
JACK N RAKOVE
11 The US Impeachment Process: Fit for Purpose in a Hyper-Partisan Era? 238
CLODAGH HARRINGTON AND ALEX WADDAN
PART 3
Evolutionary Dynamics 259
12 The Renaissance of Impeachment: Political and Legal Accountability in the 21st Century 261
DAN PLESCH
Index 271
Biography
Chris Monaghan is a Principal Lecturer in Law at the University of Worcester,UK.
Matthew Flinders is Professor of Politics and Founding Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre at the University of Sheffield, UK.
‘This wide-ranging, interdisciplinary study of impeachment is essential readingfor scholars, citizens, and public officials alike. Now more than ever, it is vital to appreciate the promise and perils of the impeachment power, and to reckon with its proper role in constitutional democracy.’
Joshua Matz, Partner, Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP; Impeachment Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee for the first (2019–20) and second (2021) Senate trial of President Trump
