Way a Former President Can Become President Again

1951 amendment limiting presidents to 2 terms

The Xx-second Subpoena (Amendment XXII) to the U.s.a. Constitution limits the number of times a person is eligible for ballot to the office of President of the United States to two, and sets boosted eligibility conditions for presidents who succeed to the unexpired terms of their predecessors.^[1]

Until the amendment's ratification, the president had not been subject to term limits, but George Washington had established a two-term tradition that many other presidents followed. But in the 1940 and 1944 presidential elections, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the beginning president to win third and fourth terms, giving rise to concerns nigh a president serving unlimited terms. After Roosevelt'due south 1945 expiry, Republicans and bourgeois Democrats were swept into Congress in the 1946 elections and were in position to propose an amendment restricting the number of presidential terms.^[2] Congress canonical the Twenty-second Amendment on March 21, 1947, and submitted it to the country legislatures for ratification. That procedure was completed on February 27, 1951, when the requisite 36 of the 48 states had ratified the amendment (neither Alaska nor Hawaii had still been admitted as states), and its provisions came into force on that date.

The amendment prohibits anyone who has been elected president twice from beingness elected again. Nether the subpoena, someone who fills an unexpired presidential term lasting more than than two years is also prohibited from beingness elected president more than once. Scholars debate whether the amendment prohibits affected individuals from succeeding to the presidency nether any circumstances or whether information technology applies only to presidential elections.

Text [edit]

Department 1. No person shall exist elected to the function of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the function of President, or acted equally President, for more than ii years of a term to which another person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not use to any person holding the function of President when this Commodity was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent whatsoever person who may exist holding the part of President, or acting equally President, during the term within which this Commodity becomes operative from belongings the part of President or acting every bit President during the remainder of such term.

Section two. This Article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified equally an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the engagement of its submission to united states of america by the Congress.^[3]

Background [edit]

The Twenty-second Subpoena was a reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt'due south election to an unprecedented iv terms as president, but presidential term limits had long been debated in American politics. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 considered the consequence extensively (alongside broader questions, such as who would elect the president, and the president's part). Many, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported lifetime tenure for presidents, while others favored stock-still terms. Virginia's George Stonemason denounced the life-tenure proposal equally tantamount to elective monarchy.^[4] An early draft of the U.S. Constitution provided that the president was restricted to one seven-year term.^[five] Ultimately, the Framers approved 4-year terms with no restriction on how many times a person could be elected president.

Though dismissed by the Constitutional Convention, term limits for U.S. presidents were contemplated during the presidencies of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. As his second term entered its final twelvemonth in 1796, Washington was wearied from years of public service, and his health had begun to decline. He was also bothered by his political opponents' unrelenting attacks, which had escalated after the signing of the Jay Treaty, and believed he had accomplished his major goals as president. For these reasons, he decided non to run for a third term, a decision he announced to the nation in his September 1796 Adieu Address.^[6] Eleven years afterwards, every bit Thomas Jefferson neared the halfway betoken of his second term, he wrote,

If some termination to the services of the chief magistrate be non stock-still by the Constitution, or supplied past practice, his part, nominally for years, volition in fact, become for life; and history shows how easily that degenerates into an inheritance.^[7]

Since Washington made his celebrated proclamation, numerous academics and public figures take looked at his conclusion to retire after 2 terms, and accept, according to political scientist Bruce Peabody, "argued he had established a two-term tradition that served as a vital check against any one person, or the presidency as a whole, accumulating also much power".^[8] Various amendments aimed at irresolute informal precedent to constitutional constabulary were proposed in Congress in the early to mid-19th century, only none passed.^{[4] [9]} Three of the next four presidents afterwards Jefferson—James Madison, James Monroe, and Andrew Jackson—served two terms, and each adhered to the two-term principle;^[1] Martin Van Buren was the simply president between Jackson and Abraham Lincoln to exist nominated for a second term, though he lost the 1840 ballot and and then served only one term.^[nine] At the outset of the Civil War the seceding States drafted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, which in well-nigh respects resembled the United States Constitution, but limited the president to a single 6-year term.

In spite of the stiff two-term tradition, a few presidents earlier Roosevelt attempted to secure a third term. Post-obit Ulysses Due south. Grant's reelection in 1872, in that location were serious discussions within Republican political circles near the possibility of his running again in 1876. But involvement in a third term for Grant evaporated in the low-cal of negative public stance and opposition from members of Congress, and Grant left the presidency in 1877 afterward 2 terms. Nonetheless, every bit the 1880 election approached, he sought nomination for a (non-sequent) third term at the 1880 Republican National Convention, but narrowly lost to James Garfield, who won the 1880 election.^[nine]

Theodore Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency on September 14, 1901, following William McKinley's bump-off (194 days into his second term), and was handily elected to a total term in 1904. He declined to seek a third (2nd full) term in 1908, but did run again in the election of 1912, losing to Woodrow Wilson. Wilson himself, despite his sick health post-obit a serious stroke, aspired to a third term. Many of his advisers tried to convince him that his health precluded another campaign, simply Wilson nonetheless asked that his proper noun be placed in nomination for the presidency at the 1920 Democratic National Convention.^[10] Democratic Party leaders were unwilling to support Wilson, and the nomination went to James M. Cox, who lost to Warren Chiliad. Harding. Wilson again contemplated running for a (nonconsecutive) tertiary term in 1924, devising a strategy for his improvement, merely again lacked any support; he died in Feb of that year.^[11]

Franklin Roosevelt spent the months leading up to the 1940 Democratic National Convention refusing to say whether he would seek a 3rd term. His Vice President, John Nance Garner, along with Postmaster Full general James Farley, announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination. When the convention came, Roosevelt sent a message to the convention saying he would run only if drafted, proverb delegates were gratis to vote for whomever they pleased. This message was interpreted to mean he was willing to be drafted, and he was renominated on the convention'due south outset ballot.^{[nine] [12]} Roosevelt won a decisive victory over Republican Wendell Willkie, condign the first (and to date only) president to exceed 8 years in role. His decision to seek a third term dominated the election campaign.^[xiii] Willkie ran against the open-ended presidential tenure, while Democrats cited the war in Europe as a reason for breaking with precedent.^[9]

Four years later, Roosevelt faced Republican Thomas East. Dewey in the 1944 election. Almost the stop of the campaign, Dewey appear his support of a constitutional amendment to limit presidents to ii terms. Co-ordinate to Dewey, "iv terms, or 16 years (a direct reference to the president's tenure in role four years hence), is the nearly dangerous threat to our freedom ever proposed."^[fourteen] He besides discreetly raised the issue of the president's age. Roosevelt exuded plenty energy and charisma to retain voters' confidence and was elected to a fourth term.^[15]

While he quelled rumors of poor health during the campaign, Roosevelt's health was deteriorating. On April 12, 1945, but 82 days after his fourth inauguration, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died, to be succeeded past Vice President Harry Truman.^[xvi] In the midterm elections 18 months later on, Republicans took control of the Business firm and the Senate. Every bit many of them had campaigned on the issue of presidential tenure, declaring their support for a constitutional amendment that would limit how long a person could serve every bit president, the issue was given priority in the 80th Congress when information technology convened in January 1947.^[8]

Proposal and ratification [edit]

Proposal in Congress [edit]

The House of Representatives took quick action, approving a proposed constitutional amendment (Business firm Joint Resolution 27) setting a limit of two four-twelvemonth terms for future presidents. Introduced by Earl C. Michener, the measure passed 285–121, with support from 47 Democrats, on February 6, 1947.^[17] Meanwhile, the Senate adult its ain proposed subpoena, which initially differed from the Business firm proposal by requiring that the amendment exist submitted to state ratifying conventions for ratification, rather than to the country legislatures, and by prohibiting any person who had served more than than 365 days in each of two terms from further presidential service. Both these provisions were removed when the full Senate took up the pecker, just a new provision was, however, added. Put frontward by Robert A. Taft, it antiseptic procedures governing the number of times a vice president who succeeded to the presidency might exist elected to role. The amended proposal was passed 59–23, with sixteen Democrats in favor, on March 12.^{[i] [18]}

On March 21, the House agreed to the Senate'due south revisions and approved the resolution to amend the Constitution. Afterward, the amendment imposing term limitations on futurity presidents was submitted to the states for ratification. The ratification procedure was completed on February 27, 1951, 3 years, 343 days afterward it was sent to the states.^{[19] [twenty]}

Ratification by the states [edit]

A map of how the states voted on the Xx-second Amendment

Once submitted to the states, the 22nd Subpoena was ratified past:^[3]

1. Maine: March 31, 1947
2. Michigan: March 31, 1947
3. Iowa: Apr 1, 1947
4. Kansas: April one, 1947
5. New Hampshire: April 1, 1947
6. Delaware: Apr 2, 1947
7. Illinois: April 3, 1947
8. Oregon: April 3, 1947
9. Colorado: Apr 12, 1947
10. California: April 15, 1947
11. New Jersey: April 15, 1947
12. Vermont: Apr 15, 1947
13. Ohio: April 16, 1947
14. Wisconsin: April xvi, 1947
15. Pennsylvania: April 29, 1947
16. Connecticut: May 21, 1947
17. Missouri: May 22, 1947
18. Nebraska: May 23, 1947
19. Virginia: January 28, 1948
20. Mississippi: February 12, 1948
21. New York: March ix, 1948
22. South Dakota: January 21, 1949
23. N Dakota: February 25, 1949
24. Louisiana: May 17, 1950
25. Montana: January 25, 1951
26. Indiana: January 29, 1951
27. Idaho: January thirty, 1951
28. New Mexico: February 12, 1951
29. Wyoming: Feb 12, 1951
30. Arkansas: February 15, 1951
31. Georgia: February 17, 1951
32. Tennessee: Feb twenty, 1951
33. Texas: February 22, 1951
34. Utah: Feb 26, 1951
35. Nevada: February 26, 1951
36. Minnesota: Feb 27, 1951
    Ratification was completed when the Minnesota Legislature ratified the amendment. On March 1, 1951, the Ambassador of General Services, Jess Larson, issued a certificate proclaiming the 22nd Subpoena duly ratified and part of the Constitution. The amendment was subsequently ratified by:^[3]
37. North Carolina: Feb 28, 1951
38. South Carolina: March 13, 1951
39. Maryland: March 14, 1951
40. Florida: April sixteen, 1951
41. Alabama: May 4, 1951

Conversely, two states—Oklahoma and Massachusetts—rejected the amendment, while v (Arizona, Kentucky, Rhode Isle, Washington, and West Virginia) took no activeness.^[xviii]

Upshot [edit]

Because of the grandfather clause in Section 1, the subpoena did not apply to Harry Due south. Truman, equally he was the incumbent president at the fourth dimension it came into force. Truman, who had served nearly all of Franklin Roosevelt's unexpired 4th term and who was elected to a full term in 1948, was thus eligible for reelection in 1952.^[13] Only with his job approval rating at effectually 27%,^{[21] [22]} and after a poor operation in the 1952 New Hampshire master, Truman chose not to seek his party'due south nomination. Since becoming operative in 1951, the subpoena has been applicable to six presidents who have been elected twice: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nib Clinton, George Due west. Bush-league, and Barack Obama.

Interaction with the 12th Amendment [edit]

Equally worded, the focus of the 22nd Subpoena is on limiting individuals from being elected to the presidency more than twice. Questions take been raised about the amendment'south significant and application, peculiarly in relation to the twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, which states, "no person constitutionally ineligible to the function of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."^[23] While the 12th Amendment stipulates that the constitutional qualifications of historic period, citizenship, and residency utilize to the president and vice president, it is unclear whether someone who is ineligible to exist elected president due to term limits could exist elected vice president. Because of the ambivalence, a ii-term former president could peradventure be elected vice president then succeed to the presidency as a outcome of the incumbent's death, resignation, or removal from function, or succeed to the presidency from another stated role in the presidential line of succession.^{[9] [24]}

Some fence that the 22nd Amendment and 12th Amendment bar any two-term president from later on serving as vice president as well as from succeeding to the presidency from any point in the presidential line of succession.^[25] Others argue that the original intent of the 12th Amendment concerns qualification for service (age, residence, and citizenship), while the 22nd Subpoena, concerns qualifications for election, and thus a erstwhile ii-term president is still eligible to serve as vice president. Neither amendment restricts the number of times someone tin exist elected to the vice presidency and then succeed to the presidency to serve out the residue of the term, although the person could be prohibited from running for election to an boosted term.^{[26] [27]}

The practical applicability of this distinction has not been tested, every bit no twice-elected president has ever been nominated for the vice presidency. While Hillary Clinton once suggested she considered one-time President Bill Clinton as her running mate,^[28] the ramble question remains unresolved.^[1]

Attempts at repeal [edit]

Over the years, several presidents have voiced their contempt toward the amendment. Later on leaving office, Harry Truman described the amendment as stupid and ane of the worst amendments of the Constitution with the exception of the Prohibition Amendment.^[29] A few days before leaving office in Jan 1989, President Ronald Reagan said he would push for a repeal of the 22nd Amendment because he thought it infringed on people's democratic rights.^[30] In a Nov 2000 interview with Rolling Rock, President Bill Clinton suggested that the 22nd Subpoena should be altered to limit presidents to 2 consecutive terms but then allow non-sequent terms, because of longer life expectancies.^[31] Donald Trump questioned presidential term limits on multiple occasions while in office, and in public remarks talked about serving across the limits of the 22nd Amendment. During an Apr 2022 White Firm event for the Wounded Warrior Project, he suggested he would remain president for 10 to 14 years.^{[32] [33]}

The offset efforts in Congress to repeal the 22nd Amendment were undertaken in 1956, five years after the amendment'due south ratification. Over the adjacent 50 years, 54 joint resolutions seeking to repeal the two-term presidential election limit were introduced.^[1] Between 1997 and 2013, José E. Serrano, Democratic representative for New York, introduced 9 resolutions (one per Congress, all unsuccessful) to repeal the amendment.^[34] Repeal has also been supported past Representatives Barney Frank and David Dreier and Senators Mitch McConnell^[35] and Harry Reid.^[36]

See likewise [edit]

• Term limits in the United states of america
• Listing of political term limits

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b c d east} Neale, Thomas H. (October nineteen, 2009). "Presidential Terms and Tenure: Perspectives and Proposals for Alter" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
2. ^ "FDR's third-term election and the 22nd amendment - National Constitution Center". National Constitution Middle – constitutioncenter.org . Retrieved September thirty, 2021.
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Estimation" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. August 26, 2017. pp. 39–40. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
4. ^ ^{a b} Buckley, F. H.; Metzger, Gillian. "Twenty-2nd Amendment". The Interactive Constitution. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The National Constitution Center. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
5. ^ Offset typhoon U.s.CONST., art. 10, section i.
6. ^ Ferling, John (2009). The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon. New York: Bloomsbury Press. pp. 347–348. ISBN978-1-59691-465-0.
7. ^ Jefferson, Thomas (December ten, 1807). "Alphabetic character to the Legislature of Vermont". Ashland, Ohio: TeachingAmericanHistory.org. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March xix, 2018.
8. ^ ^{a b} Peabody, Bruce. "Presidential Term Limit". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved Jan x, 2017.
9. ^ ^{a b c d east f} Peabody, Bruce G.; Gant, Scott E. (Feb 1999). "The Twice and Time to come President: Constitutional Interstices and the Twenty-Second Amendment". Minnesota Law Review. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Law Schoolhouse. 83 (iii): 565–635. Archived from the original on Jan fifteen, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
10. ^ Pietrusza, David (2007). The Year of the Half dozen Presidents. New York: Carroll and Graf. pp. 187–200. ISBN978-0-78671-622-7.
11. ^ Saunders, Robert M. (1998). In Search of Woodrow Wilson: Beliefs and Behavior. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 260–262. ISBN9780313305207.
12. ^ Rosen, Elliot A. (1997). "'Not Worth a Pitcher of Warm Piss': John Nance Garner as Vice President". In Walch, Timothy (ed.). At the President'due south Side: The Vice Presidency in the Twentieth Century. Columbia, Missouri: Academy of Missouri Printing. pp. 52–53. ISBN0-8262-1133-Ten . Retrieved March xx, 2018.
13. ^ ^{a b} "FDR'south third-term decision and the 22nd amendment". Constitution Daily. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The National Constitution Middle. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
14. ^ Hashemite kingdom of jordan, David M. (2011). FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Printing. p. 290. ISBN978-0-253-35683-three.
15. ^ Leuchtenburg, William E. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Campaigns and Elections". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Centre of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
16. ^ Leuchtenburg, William E. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Decease of the President". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Diplomacy, Academy of Virginia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
17. ^ Congressional Quarterly. (1947). Limitations of Presidential Tenure. Congressional Quarterly Vol. Iii. 92-93, 96.
18. ^ ^{a b} Rowley, Sean (July 26, 2014). "Presidential terms limited by 22nd Amendment". Tahlequah Daily Press. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
19. ^ "22nd Subpoena: 2-Term Limit on Presidency". constitutioncenter.org. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: National Constitution Middle. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved June vii, 2020.
20. ^ Mount, Steve. "Ratification of Constitutional Amendments". usconstitution.cyberspace. Archived from the original on Apr 23, 2018. Retrieved June ix, 2020.
21. ^ Weldon, Kathleen (August xi, 2015). "The Public and the 22nd Amendment: Third Terms and Lame Ducks". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
22. ^ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Presidential Task Approval: F. Roosevelt (1941)—Trump". Data adapted from the Gallup Poll and compiled by Gerhard Peters. Santa Barbara, California: The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
23. ^ "The Constitution: Amendments 11-27". America's Founding Documents. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
24. ^ Ready, Joel A. "The 22nd Amendment Doesn't Say What Yous Think It Says". Blandon, Pennsylvania: Cornerstone Law Firm. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved Nov 6, 2017.
25. ^ Franck, Matthew J. (July 31, 2007). "Ramble Sleight of Hand". National Review. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
26. ^ Dorf, Michael C. (Baronial two, 2000). "Why the Constitution permits a Gore-Clinton ticket". CNN. Archived from the original on Oct 1, 2005.
27. ^ Gant, Scott E.; Peabody, Bruce Thousand. (June thirteen, 2006). "How to bring back Bill: A Clinton-Clinton 2008 ticket is constitutionally possible". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
28. ^ LoBianco, Tom (September fifteen, 2015). "Hillary Clinton: Bill equally VP has 'crossed her mind'". CNN. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
29. ^ Lemelin, Bernard Lemelin (Winter 1999). "Opposition to the 22nd Amendment: The National Committee Against Limiting the Presidency and its Activities, 1949-1951". Canadian Review of American Studies. University of Toronto Press on behalf of the Canadian Clan for American Studies with the support of Carleton University. 29 (3): 133–148. doi:10.3138/CRAS-029-03-06. S2CID 159908265.
30. ^ Reagan, Ronald (January 18, 1989). "President Reagan Says He Will Fight to Repeal 22nd Amendment". NBC Nightly News (Interview). Interviewed by Tom Brokaw. New York: NBC. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
31. ^ "Clinton: I Would've Won Third Term". ABC News. December vii, 2000. Archived from the original on January fourteen, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
32. ^ Einbinder, Nicole (June 17, 2019). "Trump suggested his supporters desire him to serve more 2 terms as president". Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved September fourteen, 2019.
33. ^ Croucher, Shane (September 11, 2019). "Donald Trump Posts Image on Twitter, Instagram Joking That He'll Stand in 2024". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
34. ^ "H.J.Res. 15 (113th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of subpoena, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President". Washington, D.C.: GovTrack, a project of Civic Impulse, LLC. 2013. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
35. ^ "Bill to Repeal the 22nd Subpoena". Snopes.com . Retrieved October 19, 2018.
36. ^ potus_geeks (February 27, 2012). "The 22nd Amendment". Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2018.

External links [edit]

• The Annenberg Guide to the United States Constitution: Twenty-second Amendment
• CRS Annotated Constitution: Twenty-2nd Amendment

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#:~:text=The%20amendment%20prohibits%20anyone%20who,elected%20president%20more%20than%20once.

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