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George Washington was elected as our nation's first president in 1789. He only ran for 2 terms, and though many people claim it was because of his ailing health and desire to retire, it set a sort of precedent for others to follw.
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Thomas Jefferson warned of presidents becoming too powerful without a term limit, when he wrote "if some termination to the services of the chief of Magistrate be not fixed by the constituion, or supplied by practice, his office, normally four years, will in fact become for life."
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Ulysses S. Grant is the first president to run for a third term. He did not even win his own party's nomination, as he was defeated by James Garfield.
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Franklin Delanor Roosevelt was elected president in 1932 during The Great Depression. He did a good job of guiding the country through the tough time and was elected for his second term in 1936.
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As FDR's 2nd term was winding down, he had to make a decision on whether to run for the unprecedented 3rd term. People believed that he had the right skills to lead them through a possible world war, and that at the time a change would be bad for the country. He ran and was was the first president to serve 3 terms.
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In 1945 with the war winding down, FDR was elected to a 4th term. He died in office in 1945. People were worried about future presidents becoming too powerful and serving for life, and his 13 years in office lead to many people wanting an amendment that would limit the amount of time a president could be in office
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After FDR's presidency, a Republican controlled Congress approved a 22nd Amendment that would limit the number of terms a president could serve to 2.
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The 22nd Amendment was adopted on February 27, 1951 after it was ratified by 36 states. It did not appy to the current president Harry Truman, but he decided not to run for a 3rd term.
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During his final days in office, Presidnet Regan speaks out against the 22nd Amendment, saying it was a mistake and could seriously hurt the country. He vows to continue to push for the amendment to be repealed.
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Representative Jose Serrano proposes an amendment to repeal the 22nd amendment. He has done so every other year since 1997, though no attempts have had any success.
