What to know about past impeachments

Plus: Hong Kong and the Gettysburg Address |

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. SUBSCRIBE to TIME Magazine November 21, 2019 By Lily Rothman As public testimony has gotten underway in the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry, that very particular subset of the country's political history is likely on Americans' minds. We at TIME History are no exception, so we're taking a look back at our explorations of the history and process of impeachment. You can click here to find out more about every U.S. President who has been impeached—and the ones who came close—or take a walk through what exactly went down last time it happened. Here, learn about American history's most famous whistle-blowers, and read the story of how impeachment made it into the Constitution . As always, you can find more at TIME.com/history. Here's more of the history that made news this week: HISTORY ON TIME.COM Here's Why It's So Important to Get Medieval History Right Plundering the Middle Ages in order to find the origins of the modern world doesn't only happen in far-right corners of the web and at racist rallies. It also happens in academic circles, and even among those who may not know they're doing it, these historians argue The Deep American Origins of Ideas in the Gettysburg Address What more is there to say about America's most famous speech? Maybe this: that it was not meant to be unique, writes Richard Brookhiser The Day Clocks Changed Across America What happened when the U.S. adopted standardized time Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution Started 30 Years Ago But it was decades in the making Even Before the Wall, Berlin's Zoos Were Cold War Rivals The zoo was the number one recreational attraction in the eastern part of the city and a popular destination for visitors from the West FROM THE TIME VAULT Today in 1960: Celebrating Hong Kong “The jet swoops past the great city rising from the water's edge toward the towering Peak—shipyards, smoking factories, villas drowned in gardens, balconied tenements, squatters' huts clinging to bare rock, bright new skyscrapers still wrapped in bamboo scaffolding. Coming in low over rooftops fluttering with blue and white laundry, the jet roars down upon the 8,000-foot runway of Kai Tak Airport. Thus, last week, another planeload of tourists landed amid the sights, sounds, smells and bracing excitement of Hong Kong." (Nov. 21, 1960) Read the full story Today in 1977: South Africa’s Problem “The main problem is South Africa itself—and the future of the Afrikaner. Since Vorster's National Party gained power in the 1948 elections, it has been committed to the oppressive policy known as apartheid (separateness). In theory, apartheid means that South Africa's 4.3 million whites, 18.6 million blacks, 2.5 million mixed-blood ‘coloreds’ and 750,000 Asians will proceed along separate lines of development under the government's benign guidance. In practice, apartheid has meant the disfranchisement of a huge majority, which is subjected to one of the most repressive and discriminatory systems of racial laws in the world.” (Nov. 21, 1977) Read the full story This Week in 1963: D.C. Society “[In] Washington the dinner table is merely an after-hours extension of the office desk, and at 5 p.m., when the lights wink off in thousands of offices all over town, the working day is only half over. Then the Senators and socialites, the diplomats and department heads begin to flow in a river of limousines toward the mansions on Foxhall Road, the shuttered houses of Georgetown and the row of embassies along Massachusetts Avenue. From September to May, there are roughly 200 official parties a month in Washington, perhaps 20 times as many private ones. ‘During this season,’ says one diplomat, ‘there is hardly time between gulps of champagne and mouthfuls of canapes to think of anything but your feet, your stomach and your head' —and all three ache.’" (Nov. 22, 1963) Read the full story HIGHLIGHTS FROM AROUND THE WEB The Way Things Work On All Things Considered, historian Jeffrey Engel talked to Michel Martin about listeners' most pressing questions on impeachment.  Royal Mess With Prince Andrew taking a step out of the public eye in the wake of a disastrous BBC interview about Jeffrey Epstein, Jennifer Hassan at the Washington Post looks back at a handful of other times British royals have made headlines with their statements in interviews. Speaking of Royals… Kelly Lawler at USA Today talks to historian Robert Lacey about the true story behind the new season of The Crown. La Guerre The Acadiana Advocate has this fascinating story from George Morris, about a historian’s search for Cajun Louisianans who were specially recruited to serve in World War II because of their ability to speak French. Going Home Aisha Salaudeen at CNN reports on the repatriation of a Senegalese sword that was taken by the French in the 1800s. To Unsubscribe Unsubscribe here if you do not want to receive this newsletter. Update Email Click here to update your email address. Privacy Policy Please read our Privacy Policy. TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. For Further Communication Please email history@time.com TIME USA, LLC 225 Liberty Street New York, NY 10128 Connect with TIME Find TIME on Facebook Follow TIME on Twitter Subscribe to more TIME Newsletters Get TIME on your Mobile Device Get TIME on your iPad Subscribe to RSS Feed