Can a Former Us President Run Again

1951 amendment limiting presidents to two terms

The Twenty-second Amendment (Amendment XXII) to the Us Constitution limits the number of times a person is eligible for election to the office of President of the United States to 2, and sets boosted eligibility atmospheric condition for presidents who succeed to the unexpired terms of their predecessors.^[1] Congress approved the Twenty-second Amendment on March 21, 1947, and submitted it to the state 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 nevertheless been admitted as states), and its provisions came into force on that appointment.

The amendment prohibits anyone who has been elected president twice from being elected once again. Nether the amendment, someone who fills an unexpired presidential term lasting more than two years is as well prohibited from being elected president more than once. Scholars debate whether the amendment prohibits affected individuals from succeeding to the presidency under any circumstances or whether information technology applies only to presidential elections. Until the amendment's ratification, the president had not been subject to term limits, but both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (the first and tertiary presidents) decided not to serve a third term, establishing a two-term tradition that subsequent presidents followed. In the 1940 and 1944 presidential elections, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the kickoff president to win 3rd and 4th terms, giving rising to concerns about a president serving unlimited terms.^[2]

Text [edit]

Section 1. 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 one time. But this Article shall non use to any person belongings the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the part of President, or interim as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from property the role of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Department 2. This Article shall be inoperative unless it shall take been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of iii-fourths of the several states inside seven years from the date of its submission to the states past the Congress.^[3]

Background [edit]

The Twenty-2d Amendment was a reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt's 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 issue extensively (aslope broader questions, such as who would elect the president, and the president's office). Many, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported lifetime tenure for presidents, while others favored stock-still terms. Virginia's George Mason denounced the life-tenure proposal as tantamount to elective monarchy.^[4] An early on draft of the U.S. Constitution provided that the president was restricted to one seven-year term.^[five] Ultimately, the Framers canonical four-year terms with no brake 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 exhausted from years of public service, and his health had begun to turn down. He was also bothered by his political opponents' unrelenting attacks, which had escalated after the signing of the Jay Treaty, and believed he had achieved his major goals as president. For these reasons, he decided not to run for a tertiary term, a decision he announced to the nation in his September 1796 Farewell Accost.^{[half dozen]} Eleven years subsequently, equally Thomas Jefferson neared the halfway point of his 2d term, he wrote,

If some termination to the services of the chief magistrate be not stock-still past the Constitution, or supplied by practice, his part, nominally for years, will in fact, become for life; and history shows how easily that degenerates into an inheritance.^[7]

Since Washington made his historic announcement, numerous academics and public figures take looked at his decision to retire after two terms, and have, co-ordinate to political scientist Bruce Peabody, "argued he had established a ii-term tradition that served as a vital bank check against whatever ane person, or the presidency as a whole, accumulating too much power".^[8] Various amendments aimed at changing informal precedent to constitutional police were proposed in Congress in the early to mid-19th century, merely none passed.^{[iv] [9]} Three of the next four presidents after 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 only president betwixt Jackson and Abraham Lincoln to be nominated for a 2d term, though he lost the 1840 election and so served just i term.^[9] At the showtime of the Civil State of 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 six-year term.

In spite of the strong two-term tradition, a few presidents before Roosevelt attempted to secure a tertiary term. Following Ulysses Due south. Grant'south reelection in 1872, at that place were serious discussions within Republican political circles about the possibility of his running once more in 1876. Just interest in a third term for Grant evaporated in the light of negative public opinion and opposition from members of Congress, and Grant left the presidency in 1877 after 2 terms. Even and then, as the 1880 election approached, he sought nomination for a (non-consecutive) third term at the 1880 Republican National Convention, but narrowly lost to James Garfield, who won the 1880 election.^[9]

Theodore Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency on September 14, 1901, post-obit William McKinley'south assassination (194 days into his second term), and was handily elected to a full term in 1904. He declined to seek a third (second full) term in 1908, just did run once again in the ballot of 1912, losing to Woodrow Wilson. Wilson himself, despite his sick health following a serious stroke, aspired to a tertiary term. Many of his advisers tried to convince him that his health precluded another entrada, but Wilson yet asked that his name be placed in nomination for the presidency at the 1920 Democratic National Convention.^[10] Democratic Political party leaders were unwilling to support Wilson, and the nomination went to James K. Cox, who lost to Warren Yard. Harding. Wilson once again contemplated running for a (nonconsecutive) 3rd term in 1924, devising a strategy for his comeback, only over again lacked any support; he died in February 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 third term. His Vice President, John Nance Garner, along with Postmaster 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 but if drafted, maxim delegates were free to vote for whomever they pleased. This message was interpreted to mean he was willing to exist drafted, and he was renominated on the convention's commencement ballot.^{[9] [12]} Roosevelt won a decisive victory over Republican Wendell Willkie, condign the first (and to appointment only) president to exceed eight years in part. His decision to seek a third term dominated the ballot campaign.^[13] Willkie ran against the open-ended presidential tenure, while Democrats cited the war in Europe as a reason for breaking with precedent.^[ix]

Four years later, Roosevelt faced Republican Thomas E. Dewey in the 1944 ballot. Most the end of the entrada, Dewey announced his support of a constitutional amendment to limit presidents to two terms. According to Dewey, "iv terms, or sixteen years (a direct reference to the president's tenure in office four years hence), is the most dangerous threat to our freedom ever proposed."^[fourteen] He also discreetly raised the issue of the president'southward age. Roosevelt exuded enough 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, simply 82 days after his 4th inauguration, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died, to be succeeded by Vice President Harry Truman.^[xvi] In the midterm elections xviii months later on, Republicans took control of the Business firm and the Senate. Every bit many of them had campaigned on the result of presidential tenure, declaring their support for a constitutional subpoena that would limit how long a person could serve as president, the issue was given priority in the 80th Congress when it convened in Jan 1947.^[8]

Proposal and ratification [edit]

Proposal in Congress [edit]

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

On March 21, the Business firm agreed to the Senate'due south revisions and approved the resolution to amend the Constitution. Later, the amendment imposing term limitations on time to come presidents was submitted to us for ratification. The ratification procedure was completed on Feb 27, 1951, 3 years, 343 days after information technology was sent to the states.^{[19] [20]}

Ratification past united states of america [edit]

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

In one case submitted to the states, the 22nd Amendment was ratified by:^[3]

1. Maine: March 31, 1947
2. Michigan: March 31, 1947
3. Iowa: April 1, 1947
4. Kansas: Apr 1, 1947
5. New Hampshire: April 1, 1947
6. Delaware: April 2, 1947
7. Illinois: April three, 1947
8. Oregon: April 3, 1947
9. Colorado: April 12, 1947
10. California: April 15, 1947
11. New Jersey: April xv, 1947
12. Vermont: April xv, 1947
13. Ohio: April sixteen, 1947
14. Wisconsin: April 16, 1947
15. Pennsylvania: Apr 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 9, 1948
22. S Dakota: January 21, 1949
23. North Dakota: Feb 25, 1949
24. Louisiana: May 17, 1950
25. Montana: Jan 25, 1951
26. Indiana: January 29, 1951
27. Idaho: January thirty, 1951
28. New Mexico: February 12, 1951
29. Wyoming: February 12, 1951
30. Arkansas: Feb 15, 1951
31. Georgia: February 17, 1951
32. Tennessee: February 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 Administrator of Full general Services, Jess Larson, issued a document proclaiming the 22nd Amendment duly ratified and office of the Constitution. The amendment was subsequently ratified by:^[iii]
37. Northward Carolina: February 28, 1951
38. South Carolina: March 13, 1951
39. Maryland: March 14, 1951
40. Florida: April 16, 1951
41. Alabama: May 4, 1951

Conversely, 2 states—Oklahoma and Massachusetts—rejected the amendment, while five (Arizona, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Washington, and Due west Virginia) took no action.^[18]

Outcome [edit]

Because of the gramps clause in Department 1, the amendment did not apply to Harry S. Truman, as he was the incumbent president at the fourth dimension it came into strength. Truman, who had served nearly all of Franklin Roosevelt's unexpired quaternary term and who was elected to a full term in 1948, was thus eligible for reelection in 1952.^[13] Only with his chore approving rating at around 27%,^{[21] [22]} and afterwards a poor performance in the 1952 New Hampshire primary, Truman chose not to seek his party's nomination. Since becoming operative in 1951, the subpoena has been applicable to 6 presidents who have been elected twice: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Pecker Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

Interaction with the Twelfth Subpoena [edit]

As worded, the focus of the 22nd Subpoena is on limiting individuals from being elected to the presidency more than twice. Questions have been raised about the amendment'south meaning and awarding, specially in relation to the 12th Amendment, ratified in 1804, which states, "no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the Usa."^[23] While the 12th Amendment stipulates that the constitutional qualifications of age, citizenship, and residency utilize to the president and vice president, information technology is unclear whether someone who is ineligible to be elected president due to term limits could be elected vice president. Because of the ambivalence, a two-term old president could possibly be elected vice president and then succeed to the presidency as a result of the incumbent'southward death, resignation, or removal from function, or succeed to the presidency from another stated function in the presidential line of succession.^{[ix] [24]}

Some argue that the 22nd Amendment and 12th Amendment bar any two-term president from afterward serving as vice president too as from succeeding to the presidency from any point in the presidential line of succession.^[25] Others contend that the original intent of the 12th Amendment concerns qualification for service (age, residence, and citizenship), while the 22nd Amendment, concerns qualifications for ballot, and thus a onetime two-term president is withal eligible to serve as vice president. Neither amendment restricts the number of times someone can be elected to the vice presidency and so succeed to the presidency to serve out the rest of the term, although the person could be prohibited from running for election to an additional term.^{[26] [27]}

The practical applicability of this distinction has not been tested, as no twice-elected president has e'er been nominated for the vice presidency. While Hillary Clinton once suggested she considered former President Neb Clinton as her running mate,^[28] the constitutional question remains unresolved.^[1]

Attempts at repeal [edit]

Over the years, several presidents take voiced their contempt toward the amendment. After 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 January 1989, President Ronald Reagan said he would push for a repeal of the 22nd Amendment because he thought it infringed on people'south democratic rights.^[thirty] In a Nov 2000 interview with Rolling Stone, President Nib Clinton suggested that the 22nd Amendment should be altered to limit presidents to 2 sequent terms but then allow non-consecutive terms, because of longer life expectancies.^[31] Donald Trump questioned presidential term limits on multiple occasions while in role, and in public remarks talked about serving beyond the limits of the 22nd Amendment. During an April 2019 White House event for the Wounded Warrior Project, he suggested he would remain president for ten to 14 years.^{[32] [33]}

The first efforts in Congress to repeal the 22nd Amendment were undertaken in 1956, five years after the amendment'due south ratification. Over the next l years, 54 articulation resolutions seeking to repeal the 2-term presidential election limit were introduced.^[1] Betwixt 1997 and 2013, José Due east. Serrano, Democratic representative for New York, introduced nine resolutions (one per Congress, all unsuccessful) to repeal the amendment.^[34] Repeal has likewise been supported by Representatives Barney Frank and David Dreier and Senators Mitch McConnell^[35] and Harry Reid.^[36]

Run into also [edit]

• Term limits in the Us
• List of political term limits

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Neale, Thomas H. (October 19, 2009). "Presidential Terms and Tenure: Perspectives and Proposals for Change" (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'southward 3rd-term election and the 22nd amendment". Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: National Constitution Eye. Nov five, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Constitution of the United states of america of America: Analysis and Interpretation" (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 nineteen, 2018.
5. ^ First draft The statesCONST., art. X, section 1.
6. ^ Ferling, John (2009). The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon. New York: Bloomsbury Printing. pp. 347–348. ISBN978-1-59691-465-0.
7. ^ Jefferson, Thomas (December 10, 1807). "Letter to the Legislature of Vermont". Ashland, Ohio: TeachingAmericanHistory.org. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
8. ^ ^{a b} Peabody, Bruce. "Presidential Term Limit". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
9. ^ ^{a b c d due east f} Peabody, Bruce K.; Gant, Scott E. (February 1999). "The Twice and Hereafter President: Constitutional Interstices and the Twenty-2nd Amendment". Minnesota Law Review. Minneapolis: Academy of Minnesota Law School. 83 (three): 565–635. Archived from the original on January fifteen, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
10. ^ Pietrusza, David (2007). The Year of the Six 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's Side: The Vice Presidency in the Twentieth Century. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN0-8262-1133-X . Retrieved March 20, 2018.
13. ^ ^{a b} "FDR's third-term determination and the 22nd amendment". Constitution Daily. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The National Constitution Middle. Archived from the original on Jan xiv, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
14. ^ Jordan, David M. (2011). FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana Academy Printing. p. 290. ISBN978-0-253-35683-three.
15. ^ Leuchtenburg, William East. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Campaigns and Elections". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March twenty, 2018.
16. ^ Leuchtenburg, William Eastward. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Expiry of the President". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Diplomacy, Academy of Virginia. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved March twenty, 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 express past 22nd Amendment". Tahlequah Daily Press. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
19. ^ "22nd Amendment: Two-Term Limit on Presidency". constitutioncenter.org. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: National Constitution Centre. Archived from the original on Feb xx, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
20. ^ Mount, Steve. "Ratification of Ramble Amendments". usconstitution.net. Archived from the original on Apr 23, 2018. Retrieved June nine, 2020.
21. ^ Weldon, Kathleen (August xi, 2015). "The Public and the 22nd Subpoena: Tertiary Terms and Lame Ducks". Huffington Mail. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
22. ^ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Presidential Job Approval: F. Roosevelt (1941)—Trump". Information adapted from the Gallup Poll and compiled past 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 Subpoena Doesn't Say What You Recollect It Says". Blandon, Pennsylvania: Cornerstone Law House. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved November 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. (August 2, 2000). "Why the Constitution permits a Gore-Clinton ticket". CNN. Archived from the original on October 1, 2005.
27. ^ Gant, Scott E.; Peabody, Bruce 1000. (June 13, 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 as VP has 'crossed her mind'". CNN. Archived from the original on January xiv, 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 back up 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 seven, 2000. Archived from the original on January fourteen, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
32. ^ Einbinder, Nicole (June 17, 2019). "Trump suggested his supporters want him to serve more 2 terms equally president". Business Insider. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
33. ^ Croucher, Shane (September xi, 2019). "Donald Trump Posts Image on Twitter, Instagram Joking That He'll Stand up in 2024". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved September xiv, 2019.
34. ^ "H.J.Res. 15 (113th): Proposing an subpoena 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 private may serve equally President". Washington, D.C.: GovTrack, a project of Civic Impulse, LLC. 2013. Archived from the original on January fourteen, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
35. ^ "Bill to Repeal the 22nd Amendment". Snopes.com . Retrieved October xix, 2018.
36. ^ potus_geeks (Feb 27, 2012). "The 22nd Amendment". Archived from the original on Jan fourteen, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2018.

External links [edit]

• The Annenberg Guide to the Us 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

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