In the original Constitution, the founders laid out a process through which a president could be removed from power, known as impeachment. In this audio story, a history professor explains how impeachment works. She also gives a brief history of presidential impeachments, explaining some of the issues in each case. Finally, she sounds a warning about impeachment, namely that it is should not be used for political purposes but rather as a mechanism for holding a president accountable for job performance.
Story Length: 4:23
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Richard Nixon is the only American president to resign from office before his term was completed. Nixon’s name has long been synonymous with abuse of power and presidential scandal. Watergate, the scandal which defined and ultimately ended the Nixon presidency, is also synonymous with corruption. Until 2007, the Nixon library was the only place in America where an alternative narrative about the scandal could be heard. Listen to hear how this narrative changed when ownership of the Nixon Presidential Library changed hands.
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The Articles of Confederation, created in 1777 and ratified in 1781 by the Continental Congress, established the first system of government for the United States. Created in the midst of the war for independence, the Articles were strongly influenced by the ongoing struggle against what many American colonists saw as a tyrannical government in England. Designed in part to preserve the independence of the newly formed states, the Articles placed strict limits on what the national government could do, including the power to tax and to create a national judiciary. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 aimed to improve upon the articles and ultimately led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution. Listen to hear about the first national display of the original Articles at the National Archives in 2009 and learn about the history of this foundational document.
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Throughout American history, voting has been a contested right. Thought of as a right of citizenship, voting has, in fact, been restricted to varying degrees since the foundation of the country. Even today, barriers exist that make it difficult even for citizens to vote. In this Civics101 story, an author discusses the contested history of voting in America, how voting has changed over time, and some of the 21st century obstacles that impact the right to vote today.
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Executive privilege, or the idea that the president has the right to withhold sensitive information from the public, goes all the way back to the very first president of the United States. The idea has become increasingly relevant lately, as since President Nixon, several presidents have invoked executive privilege in an effort to cover up scandals and other damaging information. Listen to learn about executive privilege, how it works, and when it can and can’t be used.
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