How did the sexual transgressions of a popular president escalate into a constitutional crisis in 1998?

It is easy to get the impression that political partisanship has never been worse than in the present. Although the political deadlock in Washington frustrates in ever new and surprising ways, the deep divisions between party lines are as old as the first competitive presidential election, in 1800. And yet, Congress has rarely resorted to one of its most powerful and dangerous tools provided by the constitution; the impeachment of the president. The first time around, in 1868, Congress was grappling with the challenge of reconstruction after the Civil War and faced a president staunchly wedded to white supremacy and opposed to African-Americans’ rights to citizenship. In hindsight, it is not surprising that such a profound era of transition in the nation’s history would lead to a constitutional challenge to the president. The origins of the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton did not grow out of a deep national crisis, however. How did the sexual transgressions of a popular president escalate into a constitutional crisis in 1998? This interactive activity takes on this question.The primary document for this activity is a transcript of FBI officers assigned to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr confronting Monica Lewinsky with details of her relationship with the president, which they learned from Linda Tripp’s deposition in a sexual harassment suit against Clinton filed by Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee. However, the Office of the Independent Counsel under Kenneth Starr had begun investigating Bill Clinton regarding a real estate business deal in the Arkansas Ozarks, known as the Whitewater affair.FBI Transcripthttp://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/clinton/lewinskyday.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external siEssay Activities:Study the Constitution and the constitutional debate over impeachment.The Constitution and Impeachmenthttp://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/clinton/constitutionimpeach.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Given what you know of Bill Clinton’s conduct, was impeachment the appropriate response? For a more guided research on this, see this summary page of charges against Bill Clinton.Summary of Charges against Bill Clintonhttp://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/clinton/evidenceanalyzed.html#Grand_Jury (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Study other pages on the website “The Impeachment Trial of President Clinton.” How would they describe the president’s behavior? What do they think of Kenneth Starr’s conduct?