two-thirds majority, 35-19. 3 Hinds 897-898. Votes were later taken on Articles two and three relating to the Tenure Act with the same result. The Managers did not call for a vote on the remaining articles and the proceeding was adjourned. 3 Hinds 900-901. One summary of the Johnson impeachment proceeding characterized the generally accepted view: The verdict of history is that the Johnson impeachment The trial has also been described as "a gross abuse of the impeachment process, an attempt to punish the President for differing with and obstructing the policy of Congress." Berger, supra, at 295. It was also characterized as "the most insidious assault on Constitutional government in the nation's history" and an attempt to set up a "Congressional dictatorship." Brant, supra, at 4. The acquittal of President Johnson over a century ago strongly indicates that the Senate has refused to adopt a broad view of "other high crimes and misdemeanors" as a basis for impeaching a President. The most salient lesson to be learned from the Johnson trial is that impeachment of a President should be resorted to only for cases of the gravest kind the commission of a crime named - in the Constitution or a criminal offense against the laws of the United States. If there is any doubt as to the gravity of an offense or as to a President's conduct or motives, the doubt should be resolved in his favor. This is the necessary price for having an independent Executive. VI. CONCLUSION THE PROPER STANDARD FOR PRESIDENTIAL IMPEACHMENT The English impeachment precedents clearly demonstrate the criminal nature and origin of the impeachment process. The Framer3 adopted the general criminal meaning and language of those impeachments while rejecting the 17th century aberration where impeachment was used as a weapon by Parliament to gain political supremacy at the expense of the rule of law. In light of legislative and judicial usage, American case law, and established rules of constitutional and statutory construction, the term "other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" means great crimes against the state. Finally, a |