Researching impeachment involves using primary materials, such as congressional procedures, hearings, reports, and proceedings, and examining scholarly commentary in journals and treatises. This section introduces researchers to the historical bases of impeachment, which are rooted in British legal history.

For a comprehensive introduction to the historical foundations for impeachment, you can access the following two guide sections here:

• British Practice: Foundations of Impeachment
  As a remedy for removing civil officers, impeachment was developed during the Middle Ages in England. This section provides resources documenting the history of impeachment in England, including the impeachment of Warren Hastings in the late 1700s.
• American Practice: Constitutional Convention and Ratification
  The resources in this section discuss impeachment in the context of the ratification of the United States Constitution.