The formal opening of an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump late last month has focused the nation’s attention on what happens next. What does history suggest?

The impeachment power, as outlined in Article II of the US Constitution, is straightforward but also vague: “The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Over the two centuries since the nation’s founding, just three other presidents have been seriously threatened with removal from office: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, who were impeached by the House but acquitted in Senate trials, and Richard Nixon, who resigned as impeachment loomed.

If Trump is next in line, what does history teach us?

Here, Mary Frances Berry, professor of American social thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the historical parallels and what sets this moment apart:

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