Thammasat University students in the Faculties of History, Political Science, Economics, Law, and related fields have noticed that the word impeachment is often discussed now in the United States of America.
The Thammasat University Library has acquired a new book on the subject, Impeach: the Case Against Donald Trump.
Its author is Professor Neal Kumar Katyal, an American lawyer and former Acting Solicitor General of the United States, who is Professor of National Security Law at Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C., USA. Katyal, of Indian ancestry, has argued more United States Supreme Court cases than any other minority group lawyer in American history.
As of 2017, he had presented 35 oral arguments to the Supreme Court, a number he has considerably surpassed since.
His book Impeach is shelved in the General Stacks of the Pridi Banomyong Library.
The verb impeach means to call into question the integrity or truth of some activity. The word originates in a Latin term meaning to catch or entangle.
The TU Library owns other books about impeachment, analyzed from legal and political science points of view.
During impeachment, a legislative body brings charges against an official. A trial usually results.
Impeachment exists under constitutional law in many countries around the world.
Although the United States is the focus of current attention for impeachment, there are laws about impeachment processes in many other nations, for example:
- Austria
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Iran
- Ireland
- Italy
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Norway
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Peru
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Singapore
- South Korea (Republic of Korea)
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
In remembering the correct spelling of the word, all writers of Thai English will notice that the verb impeach contains within it the noun peach. As we know, a peach is a round fruit with yellow flesh and pinkish-yellow skin. However the origins of the word peach are different from those of impeach. The noun peach derives from a Latin term meaning Persian apple. It is useful to remember that the word impeachment has nothing to do with a peach.
Agricultural tradition in Thailand
An article posted on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations website by Professor Suranant Subhadrabandhu of the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsaart University, Bangkok, describes the history of peach cultivation in the Kingdom:
In Thailand, deciduous fruit production has been focused in the Northern region which represents one of the most important areas of the country from the standpoint of socio-economic, agro-ecological and political considerations. The region accounts for about one-quarter of the country’s forest area, and the majority of hill tribes live in this region. The population of the hill tribes has been growing rapidly, causing expansion of slash and burn agriculture as well as shifting cultivation of the opium poppy in the region. This situation has caused damage to natural resources in the form of soil deterioration, flooding in wet periods and critical water shortages in the summer months (Subhadrabandhu and Punsri, 1987). In an effort to improve the highlands, deciduous fruit crops were introduced as substitution crops and are expected to serve as the main source of income for the hill tribes. Perennial fruit trees are believed to have great potential in the highland areas of Northern Thailand, both commercially and socially, as they can provide a steady and reliable income to the hill tribe farmers. If successfully established, these trees will eventually minimize the practice of shifting cultivation by encouraging more permanent settlement of hill tribe people and may curtail the growing of opium poppy. Furthermore, planting of fruit trees is an acceptable practice in reforestation and conservation programs, thus rendering an overall improvement to the environment. However, at present there are many limitations confronting the production of high quality deciduous fruits in Northern Thailand. The problems include among others, lack of suitable cultivars, insufficient chilling and improper cultural practices… Peach and nectarine are some of the deciduous fruits that receive much attention for growing in the highland areas of Northern Thailand. Previous reports on the performance of the introduced cultivars were documented (Subhadrabandhu, 1981, 1987). In the highlands of Northern Thailand, peach trees have been grown by hill tribes for many centuries. It is believed that the trees were brought in by villagers migrating from China (Subhadrabandhu, 1973). Over many centuries, the peach trees adapted to the growing conditions in the highland areas by the process of natural selection, resulting in the variety being known as ‘local’ peach. These peaches produce small, low quality fruits that could be eaten fresh. They are cling stone types and the hill tribe growers can only sell the fruits at rather low prices to the processing factories for processing into pickles. Therefore, many peach cultivars of low chilling requirement and having better quality for fresh consumption, have been introduced for testing their performance in the highland areas of Northern Thailand using these local peaches as rootstocks (Subhadrabandhu, et. al., 1989). At present, the introduced peach cultivars that have been tested in Northern Thailand and have been extended to hill tribe communities for cultivation are Early Grande, Flordabelle and Flordasun.
American history
In the United States, three presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019. To better understand the process involved, The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson: Seventeenth President of the United States by David Miller DeWitt (1903) may be borrowed by TU students through the TU Library Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service.
The website of the United States National Archives offers a brief explanation of the historical events:
Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
After the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson and Congress were divided on how to rebuild the former Confederacy. Johnson saw reconstructing the South as an executive responsibility and vetoed all congressional initiatives. Tensions between the President and Congress reached the boiling point when Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, violating the Tenure of Office Act. On February 24, 1868 the outraged House voted in favor of a resolution to impeach the President. The subsequent Senate trial resulted with Johnson escaping removal from office by one vote.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)