The 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed in an era when Americans were concerned about the rising power of dictators overseas. After Adolf Hilter and Mussolini both gained power in their respective countries, there was a concern that the same could happen in the United States. This concern was only exacerbated by the rise of Franklin D. Roosevelt who was elected to an unprecedented four terms in a row. This continual re-election of FDR was more concerning when he died not long into his fourth term. FDR’s actions were in contravention of a norm that had held until then in American politics that no one would run for a third term. Presidents had considered running for the unprecedented third term several times, and in the few instances where someone did seek a third term, such as in the case of Theodore Roosevelt, they failed in their re-election bids. Show Accordingly, after FDR died, at the urging of then-president Harry S Truman, Congress decided it was time to act. Congress created what is now the 22nd Amendment, which was reviewed by the States and passed with overwhelming support from the American people.
But an interesting ambiguity resulted. The 22nd Amendment only requires that someone not be elected to the Presidency more than twice. Someone who was elected to two terms on his own is still eligible to be Vice President and to rise to the Presidency upon the death, resignation or removal of the President. If we review the 12th Amendment, we find that there is a requirement that the Vice President must be eligible to become President. This has led many to conclude that someone who has already been “termed out” as President could not serve as Vice President; however, this does not appear to be correct. The 12th Amendment only requires that an individual who is ineligible to become President cannot be Vice President. It does not say that someone who is ineligible to be elected President could not be Vice President. Accordingly, the 22nd Amendment leaves open a loophole that an individual could be elected to the Vice Presidency (or the Speakership of the House), then rise to the Presidency. In a time of concern, perhaps the Nation could call on a former two-term President by electing him as Vice President even with the knowledge that the plan all along was for the President to resign immediately upon taking Office. This might violate the spirit of the Amendment, but it does not violate its letter. Government teachers and pundits like to boil down the 22nd Amendment to the proposition that the President cannot serve more than two terms. While this is useful in shorthand discourse, it is not precisely correct. And the degree to which it is not correct may create an enormous constitutional crisis if its ambiguities are ever exploited. On November 5, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a third term in office—an unprecedented act that would be barred by a constitutional amendment a decade later. Roosevelt’s decision to break the precedent set by George Washington was made in July 1940, as the United States neared its entry into World War II. The third-term decision dominated his election campaign against the Republican contender, Wendell Wilkie. In the end, Roosevelt won the election by a wide margin, and he was able to win a fourth election in 1944. But the popular fallout about the concept of a long-term president led to the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951. “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once,” the amendment read, in a clear reference to Roosevelt. So why were people so upset with Roosevelt’s decision to seek a third term, and even more people opposed enough to approve a constitutional amendment? Franklin Roosevelt wasn’t even the first Roosevelt to seek a third term in the White House. His distant cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, ran unsuccessfully as a third-party candidate in 1912, after declining to run in 1908. President Ulysses S. Grant also sought a third term in 1880, but he lacked enough party support to get a nomination. The first president, Washington, set the two-term precedent in 1796 when he decided to pass on a third term, setting up a scramble between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in the fall race. Continue reading from Constitution Daily, the National Constitution Center's Blog Which Amendment decided that a person could only be President for two terms?As worded, the focus of the 22nd Amendment is on limiting individuals from being elected to the presidency more than twice.
What does the 25th Amendment says?Section 1: In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
What does the 12th Amendment say?Constitution of the United States
But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.
When did the 2 term limit for President start?On this day in 1951, the 22nd Amendment was ratified, limiting the number of terms served by the President. The move ended a controversy over Franklin Roosevelt's four elected terms to the White House.
|
