Selected attendees at the UN adopted the ‘Pact for the Future’ on Sunday, a global agreement that received little media coverage even though it severely impacts 193 countries. The Pact creates a […]

by Jan Nieuwenhuijs, Money Metals: Countries that participate in the novel cross-border payments system mBridge are each hoarding gold and are largely responsible for the bull market of the past two years. How and when the global dollar standard will disintegrate is hard to predict, but setting up a non-dollar payments system (mBridge) and aggressively […]

  The United States Constitution’s Article II, Section 4 outlines the impeachment process, which grants Congress the authority to remove the president, vice president, and other civil officers for cases dealing with “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”   Since its inception, the House has initiated impeachment proceedings more than 60 times (with 21 impeachments). Yet, most Americans know it best when the subsequent trial deals with a sitting United States president.   Background The Signing of the Constitution by Howard Chandler Christy from 1940. Source: Architect of the Capitol.   America’s Founding Fathers, who sat down in Philadelphia in 1787 to craft the United States Constitution, held a very pragmatic view on impeachment. There was a genuine fear that men could use the power for potential political abuse as a partisan weapon. Yet, most saw it as a necessary tool. Benjamin Franklin went as far as stating that in societies where no such democratic process to remove a person from power existed, it usually led to political assassinations. Thus, including one in the Constitution would be akin to potentially saving a life.   Because government officials should be held accountable for serious misconduct, the Founders followed the suggestion of Alexander Hamilton’s “Federalist Paper No. 65,” which stated that impeachment was most vital to preserving the new government’s integrity. To counter its potential misuse, the Constitution sets a high bar for conviction by requiring a two-thirds majority in the Senate, ensuring that only serious offenses warranted removal from office. Ensuring the intended vagueness for Article II, Section 4 to act more as a blueprint or a mechanism for future interpretation, the Founders added the unclear phrase “high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”   Process The Senate Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson from Harper’s Weekly, April 11, 1868, by Theodore Russel Davis. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The process for impeachment begins with a member of the House of Representatives who introduces a resolution or article of impeachment. The House Judiciary Committee then conducts an investigation, gathering evidence and holding hearings. Once the findings are in, the Committee drafts the formal impeachment articles outlining the charges against the accused official. The official is impeached after a debate on the House floor and more than fifty percent of the Representatives’ approval.   While many people mistakenly believe that being impeached is synonymous with being fired from the position, that is not the case. Impeachment is akin to being indicted in a criminal case that needs to go to trial. Following impeachment in the House, the process then moves to the US Senate, which then holds the trial.   If the trial involves the president of the United States, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court oversees the proceedings to ensure its impartiality. At the same time, the House managers act as prosecutors and present the case against the impeached official. The impeached person and their legal team can also present a defense, including calling on witnesses and presenting evidence to support their claim.   After the proceedings have ended, the Senate may remove the accused from office with a two-thirds majority vote of 67 out of the 100 senators. If the Senate does not reach this majority, the official remains in office, and the impeachment proceedings are officially over. It is essential to mention that the impeachment trial does not carry any criminal penalties unless the accused faces criminal charges in a separate judicial process after their removal following the impeachment.   There have been 21 impeachments, including three presidents, one cabinet secretary, and one senator, but only eight officials have been removed from office by the Senate.   Presidential Impeachment: Andrew Johnson President Andrew Johnson. Picture by Mathew Brody from 1875. Source: Library of Congress   Andrew Johnson, known for becoming president after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, had a very contentious relationship with Congress from the onset. His Reconstruction policies favored a lenient approach toward the former Confederate states, aimed at quickly restoring them to the Union. At the same time, the more radical Republicans in Congress sought to enforce stricter measures to protest the rights of formerly enslaved people. When Congress passed the Tenure in Office Act of 1867, partially to prevent the disliked president from firing Lincoln’s Secretary of State, Edwin M. Stanton, and Johnson fired him anyway, Congress began impeachment proceedings.   Following the House Judiciary Committee’s evidence, the House approved eleven articles of impeachment against Johnson on February 24, 1868, making him the first-ever president to be impeached. The following Senate trial and vote saw seven Republicans joining the Democrats in voting for acquittal, thus tipping the scales toward keeping Johnson in office by one vote. Although he remained in the White House, Andrew Johnson no longer held significant authority with Congress.   Actually Not Impeached: Richard Nixon Richard Nixon leaving the White House after his resignation; August 9, 1974. Picture by Oliver D. Atkins. Source: Nixon Presidential Library   Although he fits into the narrative chronologically, President Richard Nixon was never formally impeached. Following the revelations of a conspiracy involving the president’s administration in the break-in at the Democratic Headquarters in Washington DC Watergate Hotel, the House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment against Nixon for obstructing justice, abusing power, and contempt of Congress for refusing to release the Oval Office tape recordings incriminating him in the case. Yet, before the House could vote on the impeachment charges, Nixon resigned—a first in American presidential history.   Presidential Impeachment: Bill Clinton House Judiciary Committee session relating to special counsel Ken Starr’s investigation of President Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky; November 1998. Source: Library of Congress.   Bill Clinton is likely best remembered in modern history not by his accomplishments or failures in office but by the single event that would make him only the second president in United States history to be impeached. Elected on the Democratic ticket in 1992, the president saw his high approval ratings from a period of economic prosperity overshadowed by accusations of extramarital affairs.   Clinton’s legal troubles began in May 1994 when a former Arkansas state employee, Paula Jones, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the former governor, which in turn led to an independent counsel, Kenneth Starr, being appointed to investigate the president’s conduct. As the investigation expanded beyond the Jones case in 1998, Starr came across evidence that Clinton had engaged in a sexual relationship with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.   The president initially denied having the affair. Congress then released Starr’s report, which also included allegations of perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power, having found indisputable evidence that Clinton lied under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky.   The House Judiciary Committee approved four articles of impeachment against Clinton on December 11, 1998. With the final vote tally of 228 in favor and 206 against, the House voted to impeach the president the following week. When the Senate trial began in January 1999, Clinton’s defense team argued that the charges were politically motivated and that lying about the affair did not constitute the appropriate level of “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” required by the US Constitution. The Senate acquitted the president after a media-publicized trial with a final vote of 55-45. Clinton was censored for his actions yet allowed to remain in office, with many Americans seeing the impeachment as a partisan attack motivated by political interests rather than a genuine concern for the law.   Notable Non-Presidential Impeachment: William Belknap The Impeachment of William Belknap from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, March 18, 1876. Source: United States House of Representatives   Not all impeachments receive the same level of media scrutiny as presidential impeachments, yet even those less-known ones are notable in their own ways. Most historians point to President Ulysses S. Grant’s terms as some of the most corrupt in American history. Still, those very same scholars quickly point out that it was not the president’s fault but that of others within his administration. One of early history’s most infamous impeachment cases not directly involving the president occurred in 1876 under the former Civil War general’s watch.   Grant’s Secretary of War and former Union General, William W. Belknap of New York, held the office during some of the most tumultuous times in the nation’s history, the Reconstruction Era. Belnkap’s responsibility included managing the military affairs in the South, where the United States deployed federal troops to maintain order and protect the rights of formerly enslaved people. While a controversial post, especially in the South, Belknap held his own and garnered respect from most Northerners, especially former Abolitionists, and President Grant for a job well done.   However, things began to unravel when it was discovered that the Secretary of War secretly accepted bribes for granting military contracts. Each time John A.C.H. Cambell, who operated a trading post in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, received another federal contract, Belknap and his associates in the scheme would pocket kickbacks amounting to thousands of dollars. Because the Secretary of War’s actions were not isolated but involved collusion with other government officials and contractors, Belknap essentially oversaw, or some claim, headed, an extensive network of corruption within the War Department.   Secretary of War William W. Belknap, whose case allowed the House to continue with impeachment trials after the accused had already left office. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Following petitions and attorneys alleging corruption, the Congressional investigation was launched on February 27, 1876. The House voted to impeach Belknap on corruption, misuse of power, and failure to uphold the law, with the final verdict coming on March 2. Before the Senate trial began, the Secretary of War resigned to avoid removal and criminal prosecution. The Senate chose to proceed in an unprecedented move and a significant precedent. At the center of the trial was whether the Senate had the authority to try a former official, which the court decided was appropriate due to the ambiguity of the Constitutional wording.   After arguing that the charges against him were politically motivated and lacked sufficient evidence to warrant impeachment, Belknap was acquitted on May 26, 1876. As is usually the case, the vote fell along party lines.

  The Tower of London has a long history, beginning with William the Conqueror in 1066, undergoing significant changes throughout various reigns. Its history continues into the present day. The architecture of the Tower of London has its own story, as the figures of English History interacted with it and changed it to fit their needs as monarchs throughout the years.   The Tower of London and William the Conqueror The White Tower by William the Conqueror . Source: Flickr   The Tower of London was born as a result of the Norman invasion led by William the Conqueror. Edward the Confessor offered him the role of succession, and Queen Edith’s father, Harold Godwinson, had sworn to support William’s claim to the throne when the time came. When Edward the Confessor died in January of 1066, and Harold II promptly took the throne for himself, William raised arms to take what had been promised to him. After the Battle of Hastings, through which William the Conqueror would take power over England, the local population was angry about a Frenchman ruling a mostly Anglo-Saxon population.   He was crowned on December 25th, 1066, as a show of Christian faith, but the coronation did not go well. The ceremony was held in Westminster Abbey, where a large crowd was outside. The crowd erupted into cheers when asked if they would accept William as their King. It had been a year without a crowned King, which held the kingdom in political uncertainty. They were ready for a King. However, due to the language barrier, the cheers were misinterpreted by William’s guards. The guards set fire to buildings to disperse the crowd. Riots broke out, causing true hostility. William finished his coronation alone and trembling.   The King ordered a fortified castle to be built near the Thames River. Its purpose was to protect his rule from enemies and angry Londoners. Construction finished in 1097, under the rule of William the Conqueror’s son and successor, William II. Three years later, in 1100, the castle held its first state prisoner, marking the beginning of a long history as a notorious prison.   Richard the Lionheart & William de Longchamp Richard the Lionheart by Baron Carlo Marochetti, 1856. Source: Pixabay   In 1190, King Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart, left England for the Crusades. Upon leaving, he chose William de Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, as his regent. He would live at the Tower of London until the King returned. Longchamp took advantage of the power he held while the King was away, seizing land from the city around the Tower of London, including a hospital, and expanding the fortress. New towers included the Wardrobe Tower and Bell Tower.   The monarch stored their clothing, armor, and other equipment in the Wardrobe Tower. Today, the Wardrobe Tower barely exists—it’s a crumbling tower of stone situated near the White Tower. A small sign marks it and can be easy to miss, though it once would have been plush with expensive fabrics and royal attire inside.   The Bell Tower was not completed during Richard I’s reign, finishing in 1210. It was initially used for defense, with tall, skinny windows for archers to safely shoot their arrows, while lowering the chance of getting hit themselves. It was once called the Bowyer’s Tower, named after the men who made the longbows. The Bell Tower became a more common name due to the belfry on the top. The bell would be rung to warn of invasion, and the portcullis would be dropped. The drawbridge would be raised, and archers would be put into position for defense. Later, the bell tower would be used as a holding cell for notable prisoners, such as the future Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Thomas More, and Lady Jane Grey. Later, it was used to store gunpowder. Today, it’s well-known for its carved graffiti.   The locals were understandably upset about William de Longchamp seizing land for the Tower of London. Prince John, the youngest son of Henry II and brother of Richard the Lionheart, placed the fortress under siege in opposition to Longchamp. Despite the extensive additions, it only took three days for Longchamp to surrender due to a lack of necessary provisions.   John Lackland King John of England by Renold Elstrack , 1571-1625. Source: The National Gallery, Washington D.C.   Prince John, also known as John Lackland, was the younger brother to Richard the Lionheart and their father’s youngest son. He grew up understanding that he would not inherit land, hence his nickname. When his older brothers rebelled in 1172, he became his father’s favorite son and was given land and favor. Richard the Lionheart began to worry that John might be given the role of succession. Richard returned from his travels and made peace with his father to ensure he kept his place in the line of succession. Nonetheless, John would become king after his older brother’s death and would be disliked for cruelty and oppressive taxes, immortalized in the tale of Robin Hood.   When Prince John became King in 1199, he founded a royal menagerie at the Tower of London, which would be filled with exotic animals over the next seven centuries. In 1235, Henry III, John’s son and successor, received three leopards. In reality, these were three lions, which were put into his Plantagenet crest design. It became an essential symbol for England. In 1252, the King of Norway gifted Henry III a polar bear. They fed the bear by tying a rope around its neck and allowing it to swim the Thames to hunt fish. When it was not hunting, the bear was kept muzzled and chained inside.   In 1255, the King received an elephant from the King of France, but England in the 13th century did not have proper knowledge of exotic animal care. In 1264, the menagerie moved to the Lion Tower. People began to pay for entry in 1360, starting a tradition of tourism at the Tower of London that proved extremely dangerous for everyone involved. Visitors, animal caretakers, soldiers, and other animals were seriously injured or killed throughout the centuries.   Wire Sculptures by Kendra Haste , 2010. Source: Flickr   Public interest eventually declined. In 1822, the menagerie was in a deep state of decline, and the headkeeper, Alfred Cops, made it his mission to bring it back to life by adding various animals to the fortress’s collection. It worked, becoming a popular tourist attraction once again. However, concerns for the animals’ welfare began to be raised, and the Duke of Wellington, the constable of the Tower, believed that the animals were creating a nuisance and subtracting from the fortress’s value for military purposes. In 1835, the Duke of Wellington had the animals removed from the Tower of London and placed elsewhere. This was the beginning of the famous London Zoo in Regent Park. Today, the animals at the Tower of London are commemorated with metal wire sculptures by Kendra Haste, located near the modern entrance. The Lion Tower, where they were kept, was torn down shortly after.   Henry III & Edward I Photograph of St. Thomas’s Tower Interior by Kerigan Pickett , 2023. Source: Flickr.   Henry III admired the Tower of London and wanted to contribute to it. He hired an architect named Henry de Reyns to build more towers. The list includes the towers Wakefield, Lanthorn, Byward, Middle, Salt, Flint, Martin, Brick, Constable, Broad Arrow, Garden, and Bowyer. Wakefield Tower was built to be private quarters for the King. Meanwhile, Lanthorn Tower was the Queen’s private quarters. Though the Tower of London was undoubtedly known as a notorious prison by now, it still accommodated the royal family as a royal residence.   Henry III’s son and successor, Edward I, also known as Longshanks, continued his father’s construction efforts at the Tower of London. He added St. Thomas’s Tower, the Well Tower, the Beauchamp Tower, and a small structure called the Develin Tower. The moat was also completed under his reign, strengthening the castle’s defense. In 1303, the Crown Jewels were moved from Westminster Abbey to the Tower of London for safekeeping, where they remain to this day.   St. Thomas’s Tower is currently set up to look at how it would have been when Longshanks lived, nicknamed for his towering height, which caused him to need an especially large bed. This bed is recreated by the Historic Royal Palaces at the Tower of London for visitors to see.   Edward III & Richard II Photograph of the Doors to Byward Postern by Kerigan Pickett , 2023. Source: Flickr.   Edward III would see the Cradle Tower built, but he would have bigger problems on his hands than extending the castle and its various towers. The Black Death hit England, and London’s population was nearly halved in a short amount of time. The moats around the Tower of London were drained to help prevent the spreading of disease, as there were plague pits of deceased plague victims situated around the Tower of London.   It was also during Edward III’s reign that the name The White Tower caught on as they began painting the castle a stark white. The reason Edward decided to paint the castle is unknown, but some historians theorize that it was simply an aesthetic choice to make the building look nicer according to European styles at the time. He also added decorations to the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, located in the White Tower. Decorations included new stained glass windows, paintings, and some sculptures.   His grandson and successor, Richard II, would be the only English monarch to see the Tower of London breached. In 1381, angry peasants revolted against the climbing taxes as they struggled to afford to live. Once inside the Tower of London, they dragged Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, out onto Tower Hill and violently beheaded him and a few others whom they believed were responsible for the oppressive taxes.   Henry VIII View of the Tower of London in 1553 by Unknown Artist , 1840. Source: Art Institute of Chicago.   During Henry VIII’s reign, the Tower of London underwent many changes as well. Guns were fairly new inventions in early-16th-century England, but the King had them incorporated into the Tower of London to keep up with new military innovations. However, the roof of the White Tower needed to be strengthened before they could add cannons to the top.   Henry VIII had a royal wedding to plan and wanted the Tower of London to be newly renovated for his new Queen. He ordered Thomas Cromwell to be in charge of revamping the structures, including redecorating the Great Hall. In 1533, Anne Boleyn began her coronation procession to Westminster Abbey out of the newly built Queen’s House, which were special apartments constructed by Henry VIII for his new Queen. He also changed the White Tower, adding metal onion-shaped cupolas with weathervanes for the event, which are still visible today. Only a few years later, in 1536, Anne Boleyn would once again find herself at the Tower of London, this time as a prisoner.   Tower of London by Wenceslaus Hollar , 1625-77. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.   The Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula burned down and was rebuilt in 1512, which is the current building that remains today. It is unclear when the original chapel was built, though we know it was already there by 1100. Some believe it may have been a parish church for locals before the Tower of London grew out around it, though evidence is scarce.   The Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula, which would have been only about twenty years old at the time due to the fire in 1512, is now the resting place for important historical figures, like Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey. Anne Boleyn was beheaded on May 19th, 1536, by a French swordsman, aged 29-35, on the orders of her husband, the King. Amidst the chaos of the trial and imprisonment, her ladies had forgotten to secure a coffin for her and used an arrow chest instead. They refused to let a man touch her body and took it upon themselves to carry her out of respect.   Catherine Howard was beheaded by ax on February 13th, 1542, aged 18-20, on the orders of her husband, the King. Her body is lost, as it is believed to have been covered in Quicklime to speed up decomposition in an attempt to eliminate her entirely from the earth. Lady Jane Grey was beheaded by ax on February 12th, 1554, aged 17, on the reluctant orders of her cousin, Mary I. She had been wrapped up in her family’s plots to put her on the throne, and there was fear of an uprising against Mary I, requiring Lady Jane Grey to no longer be an option for the throne.   The Mint The Mint by Thomas Rowlandson , 1809. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York   After the death of Elizabeth I, the Tower of London became a less popular residence for the royal family. Though it never fell into disuse, the following royal families became much less interested in staying at their Tower of London residences, let alone spending the money to improve or expand. During the Commonwealth of the 17th century, the Crown Jewels were taken apart and sold, though they were able to get most of them back after the monarchy had been restored.   The Tower had held the Mint since the 13th century when Edward I moved it to the tower for safety reasons. It was hazardous work. Poisonous gasses filled the room. It would have been unbearably hot from the melting metals, and losing a finger or eye was common as they hammered coins into shape. Punishments were harsh, too. The employees were instructed to stay away from other employees at the Tower of London and were closely watched by guards as they came and went. A counterfeiter or thief would have their right hand cut off after the first offense. After the second offense, the punishment was genital mutilation, such as castration. In 1810, the Mint was moved from inside the Tower to a new building on Tower Hill. Today, the Mint has been moved to Wales.   Queen Victoria’s Use of the Tower of London Queen Victoria by Franz Winterhalter , 1857-61. Source: ArtUK   Queen Victoria ordered the Tower of London to be re-medievalized in 1851, to open up the fortress to the public for tourism. The Bloody Tower (previously the Garden Tower), White Tower, St. Thomas’s Tower, and the Salt Tower were all restored to appear more medieval. The first guidebook was written and a ticket office was built outside of the entrance.   In 1876, the Chapel Royal St. Peter ad Vincula underwent restoration, including the altar floor, under which Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey were buried. The bones were exhumed and briefly studied before being returned to their graves after restoration. World War I and II also affected the Tower of London. During World War I, a German bomb hit the moat, allowing experts in the 1930s to excavate what would have been the menagerie, where they found countless animal bones and skulls from the animals who had lived there for centuries.   In 1967, a new underground structure was built to house the Crown Jewels. However, the small size of the structure could not accommodate the daily number of visitors, which numbered almost 15,000 in just a single day. Instead, they were moved to their current location in the Jewel House. The Tower of London has a long history of architectural changes, transforming throughout the centuries to fit the needs of the reigning monarch. Today, the Tower of London is open to the public, where the ancient buildings allow the present to meet the past.

On today’s episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast,” Tim Goeglein discusses his new book, “Stumbling Toward Utopia: How the 1960s Turned Into a National Nightmare and How We Can Revive the American Dream.” Goeglein’s book explores the dramatic cultural, social, and political shifts of the 1960s and how those changes continue to impact American society today. “The reason we’re in the spiritual crisis that we are in across all of our institutions is because of the moral and social revolution of the 1960s,” he tells The Daily Signal. Goeglien, who serves as vice president of external and government relations for Focus on the Family, explores what he calls the many “stumbles” of the 1960s—from morality and religion to education and entertainment. “Progressives ultimately believe in the perfectibility of man and that it can all be socially engineered in places like Washington and Hollywood,” Goeglein says. “But I demonstrate in ‘Stumbling Toward Utopia’ that this is a bunch of false promises.” He also shares his thoughts on how America can restore its moral foundation and revive the American Dream. “I believe already the seeds are being planted for a restoration,” Goeglein says. “There are all kinds of things happening, and I believe that the American Dream will be restored.” Listen to hear his insights on education, family values, and the role of government in shaping the future. The post Why the 1960s Are to Blame for America’s Cultural Crisis appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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