Because we believe this idea so firmly, we are an inclusive rather than an exclusive party. . We have heard time and time again that the evidence reflects payment to the defendants of money. Jordan decided not to seek a fourth term and retired from Congress in 1979. BRIs Comprehensive US History digital textbook, BRIs primary-source civics and government resource, BRIs character education narrative-based resource. What stood out about Jordans speech was how she used the Constitution to support her claim for articles of impeachment against Nixon, as opposed to making it a partisan affair. Barbara Jordan: (04:36) . Indignation so great as to overgrow party interest may secure a conviction; but nothing else can., Impeachment criteria: James Madison, from the Virginia. If the impeachment provision in the Constitution of the United States will not reach the offenses charged here, then perhaps that eighteenth century Constitution should be abandoned to a twentieth century paper shredder. Consider, for instance, the following question from the Barbara Jordan speech we discussed in Chapter 6. The purpose of the speech was to tell the problem that the Constitution had with the wordings. Her statement appears below: It is reason, and not passion, which must guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. More is required. In some cases, such as the United States, the constitution is a specific written document. Easily integrate Rev using our robust APIs to start building your product quickly. If that happens, who then will speak for America? We should now forthwith proceed to answer the question. A government is invigorated when each one of us is willing to participate in shaping the future of this nation. But tonight, here I am. It is wrong, I suggest, it is a misreading of the Constitution for any member here to assert that for a member to vote for an article of impeachment means that that member must be convinced that the President should be removed from office. Although she acquired a reputation as an effective legislator, Jordan did not become a national figure until 1974 during the Watergate scandal, when her participation in the hearings held by the House Judiciary Committee on the impeachment of U.S. Pres. Respectful and Reasoned are the words which best describes the tone of Barbara Jordan's speech. Omissions? Easily integrate Rev using our robust APIs to start building your product quickly. It's a very eloquent beginning. "1 Jordan was named Best Living Orator by a professional speakers' organization. Barbara Jordan: (03:08) 5. Make your content more accessible to people with disabilities. Audience - Jordan's audience was like-minded democrats who saw Jimmy Carter as their hope for a new direction in American government. Barbara Jordan served in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 18th district of Texas between 1973 and 1979. A lot of years passed since 1832. An hyperbole would not be fictional and would not overstate the solemnness that I feel right now. Of the impeachment process, it was Woodrow Wilson who said that, Nothing short of the grossest offenses against the plain law of the land will suffice to give them speed and effectiveness. Pettiness cannot be allowed to stand in the face of such overwhelming problems. Ibid., 193. Her own legislative work focused on the environment, antidiscrimination clauses in state business contracts, and urban legislation, the last being a political challenge in a state dominated by rural interests. Read the transcript of her speech here. Beginning shortly after the Watergate break-in and continuing to the present time, the President has engaged in a series of public statements and actions designed to, James Madison, again at the constitutional convention: A President is impeachable if he attempts to subvert the Constitution.. Barbara Jordan: (10:11) Try Rev and save time transcribing, captioning, and subtitling. "It is to be used only for great misdemeanors," so it was said in the North Carolina ratification convention. What the President did know on the 23rd of June was the prior activities of E. Howard Hunt, which included his participation in the break-in of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, which included Howard Hunt's participation in the Dita Beard ITT affair, which included Howard Hunt's fabrication of cables designed to discredit the Kennedy administration. Its the news, without the news. The purpose of Barbara Jordan's speech is to explain a problem with the wording of the Constitution. On July 25, 1974, Barbara Jordan delivered a speech on Impeachment. It was 144 years ago that members of the Democratic Party first met in convention to select a presidential candidate. May 2013. According to Jordan, why did a member of Congress not need to be convinced that the president should be removed from office in order to vote for impeachment? Get a weekly digest of the weeks most important transcripts in your inbox. Convert your audio or video into 99% accurate text by a professional. Well I am going to close my speech by quoting a Republican President and I ask you that as you listen to these words of Abraham Lincoln, relate them to the concept of a national community in which every last one of us participates: As a high school student, she became a skilled public speaker, winning a national debate contest in 1952. We are a heterogeneous party made up of Americans of diverse backgrounds. We are a generous people, so why cant we be generous with each other? Add English on-screen subtitles for videos. We are a people in search of a national community. We must not become the new puritans and reject our society. Why do you think Representative Jordan juxtaposed impeachment criteria with Nixons actions? Section 107, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Renown orator Barbara Jordan delivers the Keynote Address to the delegates of the 1976 Democratic National Convention. What the President did know on the 23rd of June was the prior activities of E. Howard Hunt, which included his participation in the break-in of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, which included Howard Hunt's participation in the Dita Beard ITT affair, which included Howard Hunt's fabrication of cables designed to discredit the Kennedy Administration. She passed the Massachusetts bar exam but moved to Tuskegee Institute (later renamed Tuskegee University) in Alabama and taught there for one year before returning to Texas and gaining admittance to the bar there. More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. We must be. In methodical and determined tones, she unfolded the constitutional standards that President Nixon had appeared to have violated. The fact is that on yesterday, the American people waited with great anxiety for eight hours, not knowing whether their President would obey an order of the Supreme Court of the United States. If we do not, we not only blaspheme our political heritage, we ignore the common ties that bind all Americans. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, unemployment, inflation, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America. But when that document was completed on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that "We, the people." Transcripts & captions for a better media workflow. They have often turned to the Democratic Party. Mr. Chairman, I join my colleague Mr. Rangel in thanking you for giving the junior members of this committee the glorious opportunity of sharing the pain of this inquiry. Today, I am an inquisitor, and hyperbole would not be fictional and would not overstate the solemnness that I feel right now. 7. And these are principles which are not negotiable. It is designed as a method of national inquest into the conduct of public men. More is required. Now, that I have this grand distinction, what in the world am I supposed to say? Being a part of the civil rights movement she strived for change and cared about her constitution she gave a great speech and it really showed that she would not stand or tolerate even the president to disobey to constitution. Of the impeachment process, it was Woodrow Wilson who said that "Nothing short of the grossest offenses against the plain law of the land will suffice to give them speed and effectiveness. I could list the problems which cause people to feel cynical, angry, frustrated. We know about the break-in of the psychiatrist's office. Barbara Jordan: (14:23) The framers confined in the Congress the power if need be, to remove the president in order to strike a delicate balance between a president swollen with power and grown tyrannical, and preservation of the independence of the executive. She then accepted a position at the University of Texas, Austin, where she taught at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs until her death. Barbara Jordan: (09:21) The committee subpoena is outstanding, and if the President wants to supply that material, the committee sits here. Students can listen through a close reading lens documenting parts of Jordan's speech that they felt were convincing. We call ourselves public servants. We are trying to be big, because the task we have before us is a big one. The drawing of political lines goes to the motivation behind impeachment; but impeachment must proceed within the confines of the constitutional term "high crimes and misdemeanors." The nature of impeachment: a narrowly channeled exception to the separation-of-powers maxim. . When we read the speech given by Barbara Jordan we can easily make out that . This morning, in a discussion of the evidence, we are told that the evidence which purports to support the allegations of misuse of the CIA by the President is thin. "It was as though she--a black woman, one of my. Transcribe your audio files to find high-impact insights in minutes. The nature of impeachment, is a narrowly channeled exception to the separation-of-powers maxim; the Federal Convention of 1787 said that. Explain the importance of Representative Jordan using the Constitution as the means to bring the impeachment charges against President Nixon. Common sense would be revolted if we engaged upon this process for petty reasons. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. What did Representative Jordan imply when she brought up the idea of pain in her first sentence? Copyright 2023. Get a weekly digest of the weeks most important transcripts in your inbox. It limited impeachment to high crimes and misdemeanors and discounted and opposed the term maladministration. But when that document was completed on the 17th of September in 1787, I was not included in that We the people. Ive felt somehow, for many years, that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. We know that the President met with Mr. Henry Petersen 27 times to discuss matters related to Watergate, and immediately thereafter met with the very persons who were implicated in the information Mr. Petersen was receiving. The federal convention of 1787 said that. Not only was Jordan one of the younger members of the Judiciary Committee, she was also one of the few women. If the president be connected in any suspicious manner with any person, and there be grounds to believe that he will shelter him, he may be impeached. We have heard time and time again, that they evidence reflects the payment to defendants, money, the President had knowledge that these funds were being paid and these were funds collected for the 1972 Presidential campaign. '"5 The next evening, when the camera focused on her, Jordan opened with an African American perspective on the Constitution, then quickly moved her rhetorical position to that of all "the people" covered by that document of protections and promises. Alternate titles: Barbara Charline Jordan. A constitution sets out how all the elements of government are organised and how power is carved up among differen t political units. Fielding's office, after having met with Mr. Ehrlichman and Mr. Young. And I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the Constitution. We are a people in a quandary about the present. It was a speech she did not initially want to make. Its tough, difficult, not easy, but a spirit of harmony will survive in America only if each of us remembers that we share a common destiny. We admit our mistakes. "The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men." 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