The Case for Impeachment: By Allan J. Lichtman

 

 Impeachment will "proceed from the misconduct of public men, or in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust "and" they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself".

-Alexander Hamilton, The Federalists, 1788

 

 

Since the calamitous affair in the course of the first week of January 2021, the book market turned to be packed with numerous publications and volumes concerning the attack on the Capitol. Not to forget the digital articles, studies and most importantly, the conspiracies that have been keeping us busy during the pandemic!

 

Nonetheless, with every book and article we came across reading attentively, a repetitive sequence of the tragic incident marked its place. No new information to grasp and gossip about. Similar, and equivalent facts came to be circulating the cyberspace. The only difference rests on how those pieces are presented, depending on the author’s political preference and point of view. 

 

The world seemed to be in complete shock of the transition that American politics was going through. No one ever heard of the word impeachment used in public affairs before. No one bothered to ask about the outcomes of such a strong political word and the legal maneuver taken as a result.

 

However, Dr. Allan Lichtman, a historian, and a professor at the American University in D.C., uniquely answered the questions caused by our uncertainty. In his Book Impeachment, Dr. Lichtman professed the political situation of the current event by linking previous impeachments and political instability to modern American politics. 

 

As a historian, the author dedicated most of the chapters explaining historical political affairs, which is important to understand the current political circumstances and dynamics, using comparative politics as a methodology. Thus, each chapter and section uniquely focused on a former American leader, comparing their time in office to modern civics. 

 

Nevertheless, the section with reference to President Nixon and Trump outshined and clarified the similarities between them both, in terms of demeanor and mindset. Surprisingly, ever since Trump’s victory was announced, his actions and principles were compared to previous political figures. Yet, the resemblance between Nixon and Trump is indistinguishable, which I’ll save for YOU to enjoy and gossip about.  

 

In the end, what makes this book remarkable and politically important, is the fact that the author provided a strong historical base with solid political demonstration that helped in smoothing the way heavy case studies are analyzed and read, especially for beginners. The book simplified Trump’s case by demonstrating incidents of antecedent impeachments along with similar events. The indicated clarifications extended all the way to Trump’s time in office, his political actions, the suggested case of the Capitol and most importantly, the legal procedure of the whole situation. 

 

All of the puzzled pieces will amalgamate right after reaching the final page !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended pages from the Book.

-       James Madison (Pg. X).

-       Changing the rule of war (Pg. XXIX).

-       How impeachment works (Pg. 1-9). 

-       Former Presidents, Nixon, and Trump (Pg. 22-28).

-       Words leading to impeachment (Pg. 62-65).

-       Foreign Emoluments (Pg. 68-73).     

-    The 6^th of January (Pg.96-102).