Introduction
With recent events stirring controversy and interest in the 2016 presidential primaries, it may be time to look back at possibly the most controversial scandal in recent memory. On January 7, 1999, for the second time in United States history the Senate began impeachment proceedings against a sitting president. William Jefferson Clinton (Bill Clinton), the 42nd President of the United States of America, was impeached in the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998; and then later acquitted after a Senate trial on February 12, 1999. This event would have repercussions that still ripple in American politics today. The 1990’s marked one of the most prosperous and stable; their cold war adversary, the Soviet Union, had buckled …show more content…
In this paper I will argues that the impeachment of President Clinton was a strategy conducted by the Republican leadership in an attempt to manipulate public opinion and how it represented the politicization of the process. Through secondary source analysis and statistical analysis of polling results culminated with the development of the Republican Party reorientation in the early 1990’s, this paper will be able to demonstrate the true nature behind the impeachment of Bill Clinton. In order to best formulate a nuanced argument, first we will review past-scholarly literature conducted on several main themes relating to the impeachment. Following this will be the review and explanation of the Republican Party’s transition in the early-1990’s and how this affected policy relations in Congress. Then we will briefly give an accurate timeline in the impeachment proceedings, from the onset of allegations until the senate acquittal. After which this paper will demonstrate through secondary source analysis that it was indeed a political strategy implemented by the congressional [republican] leadership. This ultimately was not supported by the vast majority of the American people as will be shown through polling data analysis. Sadly, once the most effective check on the executive branch has become a product of the polarized nature of American …show more content…
We hope to argue how the nature of the impeachment was indeed a political tactic to weaken the Democratic Parties support by tarnishing the image of their sitting president. Adding to this, the leadership in the Republican caucus attempted to manipulate public opinion to sway the people towards impeaching President Clinton. To add a fresh aspect to the topic, this paper will demonstrate how the impeachment ultimately represented the end of bipartisanship in US congress, and gave rise to a politicized check on the
With recent events stirring controversy and interest in the 2016 presidential primaries, it may be time to look back at possibly the most controversial scandal in recent memory. On January 7, 1999, for the second time in United States history the Senate began impeachment proceedings against a sitting president. William Jefferson Clinton (Bill Clinton), the 42nd President of the United States of America, was impeached in the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998; and then later acquitted after a Senate trial on February 12, 1999. This event would have repercussions that still ripple in American politics today. The 1990’s marked one of the most prosperous and stable; their cold war adversary, the Soviet Union, had buckled …show more content…
In this paper I will argues that the impeachment of President Clinton was a strategy conducted by the Republican leadership in an attempt to manipulate public opinion and how it represented the politicization of the process. Through secondary source analysis and statistical analysis of polling results culminated with the development of the Republican Party reorientation in the early 1990’s, this paper will be able to demonstrate the true nature behind the impeachment of Bill Clinton. In order to best formulate a nuanced argument, first we will review past-scholarly literature conducted on several main themes relating to the impeachment. Following this will be the review and explanation of the Republican Party’s transition in the early-1990’s and how this affected policy relations in Congress. Then we will briefly give an accurate timeline in the impeachment proceedings, from the onset of allegations until the senate acquittal. After which this paper will demonstrate through secondary source analysis that it was indeed a political strategy implemented by the congressional [republican] leadership. This ultimately was not supported by the vast majority of the American people as will be shown through polling data analysis. Sadly, once the most effective check on the executive branch has become a product of the polarized nature of American …show more content…
We hope to argue how the nature of the impeachment was indeed a political tactic to weaken the Democratic Parties support by tarnishing the image of their sitting president. Adding to this, the leadership in the Republican caucus attempted to manipulate public opinion to sway the people towards impeaching President Clinton. To add a fresh aspect to the topic, this paper will demonstrate how the impeachment ultimately represented the end of bipartisanship in US congress, and gave rise to a politicized check on the