The Age of Impeachment (eBook)

American Constitutional Culture since 1960

David E. Kyvig (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
496 Seiten
University Press of Kansas (Verlag)
978-0-7006-4002-7 (ISBN)

Infos

Choice Outstanding BookIn this magisterial new work, Bancroft Prize-winning historian David Kyvig chronicles the rise of a culture of impeachment since 1960one that extends far beyond the infamous scandals surrounding Presidents Richard Nixon (Watergate) and Bill Clinton (Monica Lewinsky) and has dramatically altered the face of American politics. A buzz word in todays public life, impeachment was anything but that before 1960. Since then it has been transformed from a historically little-known and little-used tool of last resort into a political weapon of choice. By examining the details and consequences of impeachment episodes involving three Supreme Court justices, a vice president, five federal judges, and four presidents, Kyvig explores this seismic shift in our constitutional culture and gauges its ongoing implications for American political life. Beginning with the John Birch Societys campaign against Chief Justice Earl Warren, impeachment efforts became far more frequent after 1960, with eight actually ending in resignation or removal. In describing these efforts, Kyvig recounts stories and subplots about key political actors and the controversies they inspired. He argues that judicial cases are as important as the better-known presidential ones and shows why those cases that did not proceedagainst not only Warren, but also Abe Fortas, William O. Douglas, Spiro Agnew, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bushare as illuminating as those that did. Kyvig demonstrates that impeachment has been the bellwether of a changingand increasingly toxicpolitical climate. Perhaps most important and ominous, the increasing threat of impeachment has encouraged presidents to hide potentially impeachable actions behind a thick veil of executive secrecy, while dramatically expanding executive power beyond the reach of either Congress or the courts Combining political and legal history at their best, Kyvig also explores the cultural impact of journalist David Frost, editorial cartoonist Herblock, and filmmakers Alan Pakula, Robert Altman, and Oliver Stone. A gifted storyteller, he presents a cautionary tale that should be read by all who care about our national government and its ability to survive and thrive in perilous times.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 12.5.2025
• Zusatzinfo: 20 black-and-white photographs
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik ► 20. Jahrhundert bis 1945
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Recht / Steuern ► Rechtsgeschichte
• Schlagworte: Abe Fortas • alcee hastings • bill clinton' partons • Choice Outstanding Book • Earl Warren • grounds for impeachment • harry claiborne • Impeachment • judicial self policing • Richard Nixon • Ronald Reagan • Spiro Agnew • walter nixon • william o douglas
• ISBN-10: 0-7006-4002-9 / 0700640029
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7006-4002-7 / 9780700640027