Barbara Jordan on Nixon’s Articles of Impeachment

Description

This partial transcript contains Congresswoman Barbara Jordan’s edited remarks from the Judiciary Committee’s July 25, 1974, debate to determine whether to recommend that the House adopt articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon. Stenographers generated the transcript during the televised hearing, and each Member corrected the transcript for accuracy and clarity before it was printed as an official document—a practice committees still follow.

Jordan received a seat on the prestigious Judiciary Committee during her first term in Congress. Although only a freshman House Member, her experience in the Texas state legislature prepared her for the role. She edited the transcript carefully to emphasize her closing point: “It is reason, not passion, which must guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision.” President Nixon resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974, shortly after the Judiciary Committee had sent three articles of impeachment to the full House to debate.