The Twenty-Fifth Amendment - Its Complete History and Applications

In 1919, as negotiations to form the Lease of Nations were in progress after the conclusion of the First World War, Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States suffered a stroke that partly paralyzed him. For a year and a half Wilson was basically incapacitated - weak, and barely able to communicate. The postwar world was being shaped and the nation was in domestic turmoil, plagued by major social unrest with widespread riots, lynchings, and demonstrations. Yet for six months almost no one was permitted to see the secluded president; demands that the public be informed of the true state of his health were ignored. In the absence of disclosure, rumors multiplied. Only Wilson's wife, doctor, and private secretary had access to him and knew what was really happening; this clique kept Congress, the cabinet, and even the vice president in the dark, completely controlling the flow of information. The cabinet's desperate attempt to install the vice president as leader of the nation and to shape policy was stymied; for 18 months the business of the U.S. government came to a virtual standstill. In effect, the executive branch was being run by three unelected individuals. The crisis ended only with a change in administration at the conclusion of Wilson's second term. Throughout this alarming situation debate had raged over what to do. The Constitution in it s original text said a president could be removed for "inability," but was vague on who should determine that status and by what criteria. Wilson's incapacitation was only the most spectacular of many similar episodes, which are largely unfamiliar to the general public. The Twenty-fifth Amendment was ratified in 1967 to address these ambiguous situations. The book is your guide to the legal meaning and historical context for this important Constitutional tool- and the only tool available, other than impeachment, to remove a sitting president from power.