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Lesson Overview
Featured Article: “Trump Acquitted of Two Impeachment Charges in Near Party-Line Vote”
The Senate acquitted President Trump on Wednesday of charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress, as Republicans turned back an election-year attempt by House Democrats to remove him from office over accusations that he pressured a foreign power to incriminate his political rivals.
In this lesson, students will learn more about the historic vote in the United States Senate and examine the various arguments for and against the conviction and removal of Mr. Trump presented by Democrats and Republicans. In a Going Further activity, students will explore their feelings and reactions to the acquittal, consider how it will affect our nation and speculate on how history will remember this moment 50 years from now.
Warm Up
On Wednesday, the Senate voted to acquit President Trump on the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
How much have you read, seen or heard about the Senate trial and the acquittal? Have you talked about it at school, or with your friends or family? If so, what are the people you know saying?
The New York Times reporter Nicholas Fandos summarizes the historic vote:
After five months of hearings, investigations and revelations about President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, a divided United States Senate acquitted him on Wednesday of charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress to aid his own re-election, bringing an acrimonious impeachment trial to its expected end.
In a pair of votes whose outcome was never in doubt, the Senate fell well short of the two-thirds margin that would have been needed to remove the 45th president. The verdicts came down — after three weeks of debate — almost entirely along party lines, with every Democrat voting “guilty” on both charges and Republicans uniformly voting “not guilty” on the obstruction of Congress charge.
Next, watch the three-minute video below with the highlights from the closing arguments to senators by House impeachment managers and President Trump’s legal team on Feb. 3. Then, respond to these three questions:
What is one argument Mr. Trump’s lawyers used in favor of acquittal?
What is one argument House impeachment managers used for conviction?
What is one question you have about the Senate trial?
(For more background information, you can read the two articles of impeachment here and how the Constitution defines impeachable here. For more on the Senate trial process, you can read this article. In addition, “A Guide to the Case For and Against Removing Trump” provides a good introduction and overview to the arguments provided in the trial. “Gavel to Gavel” provides a superb photographic review of the nearly three-week Senate trial.)
Questions for Writing and Discussion
Read the article, then answer the following questions:
1. How was the verdict a “sign of the widening partisan divide testing the country and its institutions” according to the article? Why was the outcome “never in doubt”?
2. During the day of debate on the Senate floor, many arguments were put forth on whether to convict or acquit the president. Give at least two for each side.
3. Why was the vote by Senator Mitt Romney of Utah significant? How was it “a stark reflection of the sweeping transformation of the Republican Party over the past eight years,” according to the article?
4. How did President Trump and his aides react to the impeachment vote?
5. Mr. Fandos writes, “the impeachment of Mr. Trump appears to have evenly divided the nation.” What evidence does he provide to support this claim?
6. How does the Senate trial of President Trump compare with those of Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, according to the article?
Going Further
What is your reaction to the acquittal of President Trump? How do you think it will affect him, his presidency and this nation? What do you think it means for you, your family and your community?
Do you agree with Republicans like Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, who said: “We will reject this incoherent case that comes nowhere near justifying the first presidential removal in history”? Or, do you agree with Democrats like Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, who said, “By refusing the facts — by refusing witnesses and documents — the Republican majority has placed a giant asterisk, the asterisk of a sham trial, next to the acquittal of President Trump, written in permanent ink”?
If you were a member of the Senate, would you have voted to convict or acquit President Trump on both charges facing him — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress? What arguments would you have considered to make your decision? Use evidence to explain your reasoning.
Was impeachment worth it if the outcome in the Senate was never in doubt? Was it a waste of time or taxpayer money? Or was it the right thing to do, even if the president was not removed from office? Do you think it will benefit Mr. Trump or Democrats in the 2020 presidential election in November?
Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the lead House impeachment manager, said:
“America believes in a thing called truth. She does not believe we are entitled to our own alternate facts. She recoils at those who spread pernicious falsehoods. To her, truth matters. There is nothing more corrosive to a democracy than the idea that there is no truth. America also believes there is a difference between right and wrong. And right matters here.”
How has impeachment affected your view of American politics and this country’s political leaders? Has it increased or hurt your faith in American democracy? Explain why or why not.
When the history books are written about this day, they will surely record it as the culmination of a monumental three-year political battle that tested American democracy and delivered victory to an enraged and enraging president over his relentless foes. But they will not record it as the end of the struggle.
President Trump’s acquittal on Wednesday after a fiery three-week Senate impeachment trial provided him a moment of triumph, a sense of validation, a shot of momentum — anything but the finality that he might want. The president who vowed to bring an end to endless wars overseas remains at the center of an endless war at home, one that now moves to the campaign trail and will not be resolved until November at the earliest.
