Twenty-Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

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Twenty-Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

George Washington was the first to suggest that four years per term of presidency and maximum

amount of two terms is enough for any president. The proposed ‘two-term limit’ became the

unwritten rule (convention) for every president which was the basis of how there be the thought

to limit the presidency’s term. George Washington thought that it was important to make the

political atmosphere to be as open as possible as it was agreed from the very beginning that

United States of America really glorifies the liberty of all people, thus give the equal amount of

opportunity and giving them more access by limiting the ones who already successed getting in

into president’s office.

On February 27, 1951, the twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution was passed by the U.S.

Congress (Totallyhistory.com, 2015). The amendment was the response of Franklin Roosevelt’s

four terms presidential tenure. He broke George Washington’s two terms convention as president

of the United States. For the reason, Franklin D. Roosevelt had brought the nation through the

Great Depression of the 1930s and almost all of World War II in which he had won election in

1932 and reelection in 1936, also third term in 1940, and fourth in 1914 (Levy, 2015). Most

Americans at the time loved Roosevelt and were happy to have him stay in the White House to

help guide the country through the difficult challenges of the Great Depression and World War

II. After got himself elected president four times in a row, he died in office in 1945 (Shmoop,

2015). However, since his death, many people began to think that the two-term limit really had

been a good thing. Also it didn't seem healthy for a democracy to be led by the same individual

for decades at a time.


Soon after his death, Republicans in Congress began the work of creating Amendment XXII

(Usconstitution.net, 2015). The Twenty-second Amendment turned George Washington's

constitution into official constitutional law; today no president can serve more than two full

terms. A vice president who serves out less than two years of his predecessor's term is allowed

another two terms of his own, which means that it is theoretically possible for one individual to

serve a maximum of ten years in the White House; in more normal circumstances, eight years is

the max (Shmoop, 2015). By then, Roosevelt was the first and only President to serve more than

two terms.

In the second section, it states that the article remains inoperative unless ratified as amendment to

the U.S Constitution, and this ratification shall be made by the state legislatures of three-fourths

of the states, moreover, Congress must make the ratification within seven years upon the

submission date of the amendment. (Legal Information Institute, 2015).

Harry Truman was the president at the time the amendment was proposed and passed. As a

result, he was the last president eligible to be elected to the presidency for more than two four-

year terms.

Dwight Eisenhower was the first president affected by the 22nd Amendment. Elected in 1952

and 1956, Eisenhower was not eligible for election in 1960. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both

successfully concluded two four-year terms, becoming ineligible for re-election. Both Reagan

and Clinton remained fairly popular at the conclusion of their presidencies spurring short-lived

movements to repeal the 22nd Amendment. Richard Nixon had been elected twice, and though

he did not complete his second term, became ineligible for election. George W. Bush served two

full terms, but there was little talk of repealing the 22nd Amendment as Bush neared the end of

his service. Barack Obama has won two elections and is ineligible for a third term. (Shestokas,

2015)

Some also analyze regarding to the reason and importance of this twenty-second amendment.

Supporters of the amendment believe that the two-term limit provides several benefits.

Presidents will be less likely to be interested in handing out political favors such as subsidies and

grants just to get re-elected for another term (Totallyhistory.com, 2015). However, others believe


that the president’s power may be less limited in his second term since he no longer worried

about being eligible to run for office again (Totallyhistory.com, 2015). Nearly everyone who

participates in the political process today believes that the 22nd Amendment is important. This

amendment aimed to set a limit to the number of terms that an individual could serve as the

country’s president. This means that anyone can only become the President up to two times and

thus, it gives the American people more opportunity for choice in their leadership; it is one of

form of action done to prevent any possibility of the condition that tends to be like dictatorship

(Cliffs Notes, 2013). So, we as the 7th team submit that subsequently it is obvious that the very

first force agent was Washington, since he made it quite clear that he had no intention of

doing so when he was offered the third term opportunity. Then it was agreed by the citizen and

previously leaders inside of the Congress since it is a consistent move of democracy promoting.

References

Cliffs Notes. 2013. American Government: Why do some critics want the 22nd Amendment

repealed?. [online] Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Available at:

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/american-government/why-do-some-critics-want-

the-22nd-amendment-repealed [Accessed 8 April 2015].

Legal Information Institute. 2011. 22nd Amendment. [online] Cornell University of Law.

Available at: http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxii [Accessed 8 April

2015]

Levy, Michael. 2015. Twenty-second Amendment. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available

at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/611038/Twenty-second-Amendment

[Accessed 8 April 2015].

Shestokas, David. 2015. Constitution’s 22nd Amendment: Term Limits for the President. [online]

Shestokas.com. Available at:

http://www.shestokas.com/constitution-educational-series/constitutions-22nd-amendment-

term-limits-for-the-president/ [Accessed 8 April 2015].

Shmoop. 2015. 22nd Amendment. [online] Available at:

http://www.shmoop.com/constitution/22nd-amendment.html [Accessed 8 April 2015].


Usconstitution.net. 2015. Notes on the Amendments - The U.S. Constitution Online -

USConstitution.net. [online] Available at: http://www.usconstitution.net/constamnotes.html

[Accessed 8 April 2015].

Documents

Twenty-Second Amendment to the United States Constitution