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Article: When evidence mattered.(Warren Hastings' impeachment trial in 1786 )(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- U.S. News & World Report
- Article date:
- January 25, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 All rights reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As we watch the impeachment trial of William Jefferson Clinton, it is worth looking back on the British impeachment that was foremost in the minds of the framers of the Constitution. This was the impeachment of Warren Hastings as governor general of the East India Co., begun in the House of Commons in February 1786, just 15 months before the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia.
The charge against Hastings was that he had used force to extort wealth from local Indian rulers. He insisted that he had done nothing wrong, and he refused to confess error and plead that he had made mistakes under difficult circumstances.
His defenders included ...