-
The United State Constitution of 1787
The Constitution of 1787 had no limit of terms or how long presidents could serve. But George Washington, the first president, only wanted presidents to serve two terms because he thought a Monarchy could start. -
Ulysses S Grant
Ulysses S Grant became the first president to try to run for a third term in 1880. He did end up losing but broke the pattern of serving two terms and never trying for a third. -
FDR Third Term
Franklin D. Roosevelt didn’t want to leave office in a time of crisis. So he ran again and won. The citizens also didn’t trust a new president to come into office at a time of crisis so the people voted for FDR. -
FDR Fourth Term
Many people wanted a new president by FDR’s fourth term. They also wanted to limit the amount of terms one president could serve. But FDR pulled the United States through the Great Depression and helped the Allies defeat the Nazi’s in WWII. Because of this many citizens became fond of FDR and many people thought it was best her was reelected. -
FDR Dies while serving Fourth Term in Office
After FDR’s death and WWII many Congress members thought it was time to limit how many terms a president can serve. This has been a talk since the writing of the Constitution and now is finally being addressed. -
22nd Amendment Proposal Stage
This amendment was brought to Congress shortly after FDR died in the beginning of his fourth straight term being the president of the United States. This amendment stated that no president should serve more than two terms. More and more citizens realized that having the same president for more than two terms was bad for the government. The 22nd Amendment was approved by ⅔ of both the House and Senate and is now on to the ratification stage. -
Truman doesn’t want Third Term
After the death of FDR, Truman served the rest of FDR's fourth term and then one of his own. Truman ended up not running for a third term. Most believe he didn’t because the 22nd Amendment hadn’t been ratified yet. -
22nd Amendment Ratification Stage
During the first couple of months of the amendment being in the ratification stage 18 states had already ratified it. But for the amendment to officially be ratified it took four years to get ¾ of states to ratify it. -
Eisenhower was denied a Third Term
After the 22nd Amendment was put into place the first president to get held to a two term limit was Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was very upset about the new term but left very strong suggestions for what the government and congress should do in the future. -
Repeal the 22nd Amendment
Ronald Reagan was the first president to push to repeal the 22nd Amendment. He thought it limited the power of the presidency and didn’t think eight years was enough time to get anything done. He mentioned repealing the amendment multiple times, but no action was even taken. The 22nd Amendment still remains in place today.