The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation — Brenda Wineapple

A wonderful history of Andrew Johnson’s impeachment that reminds one just how little American politics has changed

Impeachment, they say, is not a legal process. It’s a political process. Despite the legal verbiage of “high crimes and misdemeanors” as the standard for impeaching a president, that isn’t much of a standard at all. This can be seen in today’s political punditry and leaked sources as officials consider impeachment, but it is especially poignant in Brenda Wineapple’s The Impeachers (available everywhere May 21st). In it, Wineapple brings to life the characters in Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial.

While the most striking characters are Thaddeus Stevens (whose rendering superb, and whom thanks to Lincoln I can’t see as anyone but Tommy Lee Jones) and Andrew Johnson himself, Wineapple brings an entire roster of important players to the commentary game such as Mark Twain (a James Harden type: high-usage, high-efficiency), Horace Greeley (Russell Westbrook: often misses but always high-intensity), and Georges Clemenceau (Montrezl Harrell: low-usage but brings the fire every time). With these characters plus the many members of the House involved in the impeachment process, the…