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Washington's Farewell Address
Washington was getting old and became tired of the constant harassment from political opponents. He also believed he accomplished all the major goals he needed to complete as president. September 1796, Washington announced he wouldn't serve another term in his "Farewell Address." -
12th Amendment
The 12th amendment sets the requirements to serve as president and vice president. When the 22nd amendment was put into place it limits the election of the president and vice president. So in a way the 22nd amendment put a limitation on the 12th amendment. -
1880 Election
Ulysses S. Grant served two terms in office from 1869-1877. He decided not to run in 1876. In 1880, Grant decided to run again for a third, nonconsecutive term. He lost by a narrow margin, but he would be the first person to attempt this. -
1940 Election
Franklin D Roosevelt ran for his third term. He ended up defeating Wendell Willkie by a large margin to become the first and only president to serve more than 2 terms. -
1944 Election
Once again, Franklin Roosevelt won the election, this time by not as large of a margin. His opponent, Thomas E. Dewey, stated that he believed a president should be limited to two terms, and that by serving four terms, Roosevelt was limiting our freedom. -
Roosevelt's Death
Roosevelt was 82 days into his fourth term as president when he died to a brain hemorrhage. Questions were raised at this point as to whether they should limit the number of terms someone can serve as president. -
22nd Amendment Proposal
In 1947 Republicans took control of both the house and the senate. The presidential term limits became the main concern in the 80th Congressional Convention. Their revisions to the amendment were finished three months after the convention and ratification started soon after. -
Ratification of the 22nd Amendment
Nearly 4 years after the proposal, the amendment was ratified. Minnesota was the 36th state to ratify and after they did, it became part of the constitution. Oklahoma and Massachusetts were the only states to reject the amendment, while five other states took no action whatsoever. Keep in mind, at this point Alaska and Hawaii were not part of the United States yet. -
Repeal Attempt
The first repeal attempt for the 22nd amendment came in 1956, only 5 years after its ratification. Over the next half decade, 54 amendments have been proposed to counteract the 22nd amendment. Some want to have unlimited terms, only one term, or more than two terms as long as they aren't consecutive. -
2016 Election
Hillary Clinton said that the idea of having Bill run as her VP had "crossed her mind." She was told it was unconstitutional because if she died he could not finish out the term. It was not stated in the amendment as to whether a two term president could serve as a Vice President, but if that were to have occurred, a judicial review would have been necessary.
