Event From the 1960s to the 1980s Essay

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1960's through the 1980's (and Beyond)

The chosen historical event is actually a 4 1/2-year phenomenon: Kenneth Starr's extensive investigation of President and Mrs. William Clinton, culminating in the impeachment of President Clinton. Given the leeway of choosing an event from later than the 1960s through the 1980s, an event was chosen from the 1990s. The choice was not necessarily made due to the writer's relative youth but due to the searing controversy and clear memory of the event. Patterson's recollection of the event is genteel compared to the acidic nastiness and political maneuvering recalled by this writer.

The appointment of Independent Counsel for investigation and possible prosecution was authorized by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, passed in at least partial reaction to the Watergate Scandal.[footnoteRef:1] According to Patterson, this appointment was used by conservative members of Congress to counter the political savvy of President William Clinton, "who gave as good as he got" against them.[footnoteRef:2] Conservative Congressmen used Independent Counsel for "a politics of R.I.P. -- Revelation, Investigation, Prosecution"[footnoteRef:3] against the Clinton Administration. By August of 1994, 5 independent counsels had already investigated the Cabinet of President William Clinton, resulting in the resignation of 2 Cabinet members but no findings of wrongdoing on the part of the Clintons.[footnoteRef:4] Patterson deems this "weapon" often used and sometimes abused, citing the example of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.

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[footnoteRef:5] In August of 1994, Kenneth Starr, a notable Republican attorney, was appointed to replace Carlton Fiske as Independent Counsel.[footnoteRef:6] Patterson states that Starr proved to be a highly partisan Independent Counsel who spent years investigating "Whitewater," "Travelgate," "Filegate," and the President's reported extramarital sexual dalliances.[footnoteRef:7] According to Patterson, Starr's investigations initiated 22 prosecutions, resulting only in the President's eventual impeachment for the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal and the President's felonious denial under oath that he had sexual relations with Lewinsky.[footnoteRef:8] Ultimately, according to Patterson, the President was not ousted from office but his law license was suspended for 5 years, while Starr was deemed a "prudish, sanctimonious, and vindictive"[footnoteRef:9] so-called Independent Counsel who raised a sex scandal to the level of a "constitutional crisis."[footnoteRef:10] Though Patterson addresses specifics of the event, he clearly leans toward a more politically liberal version that denounces Kenneth Starr as a partisan player in 1990s American politics. [1: James T. Patterson. Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush v. Gore. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. x.] [2: Ibid.] [3: Ibid.] [4: Ibid.] [5: Ibid., p. 86.] [6: Ibid., p. x.] [7: Ibid.] [8: Ibid., p. 394.] [9: Ibid.] [10: Ibid., p. x.]

The writer's recollection of the Starr-Clinton struggle is….....

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