Twenty Second Amendment Background Essay

Introduction

The Twenty-Second Amendment to the United States Constitution limits the number of years any individual can serve as president to ten  years. Passed by Congress in 1947 and ratified by the states in 1951, the Amendment etched in law what had been a tradition of presidents serving, at most, two terms. Understanding the history of presidential term limits and the Twenty-Second Amendment provides insights into current debates around term limits.

Term limits in theory

The United States is a republic. This means the people hold supreme power and choose representatives to carry out their will. In most cases, representatives are elected for a particular term. Members of the House of Representatives, for example, serve for two years. Senators, six. Both representatives and senators can run and serve in office as many times as they please and are elected by the people,

Term length and term limits at the state level vary widely in the federal system. In some states like Virginia, the governor serves for a single four-year term but is ineligible to serve consecutive terms. Other states, like New Hampshire, have chosen to allow their governors to serve two-year terms and be reelected an unlimited number of times.

There are various justifications for the various term limits. Some argue that limiting the terms of an elected official supports limited government and prevent the people from electing demagogues who could serve indefinitely.

Others argue that term limits can prevent the best candidates from service. Public officials gain experience the longer they serve. Further, in the case of the executive, it might be beneficial to the country to have an executive continue to serve through a national crisis, like a war, to ensure stability.

History of Presidential Term Limits

This very question was debated in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention. As the delegates considered the number of executives (they decided to have one), and the mode of election, (they agreed to create the Electoral College for indirect election) they also debated the number of years an individual could serve. Some delegates even supported lifetime appointments for the president. They eventually settled on a four-year term without term limits.

When George Washington chose not to run for a third term in 1797, he set a moral precedent for his successors. Though there were presidents who thought about an additional run, like Ulysses S. Grant, it was not until Franklin D. Roosevelt that it happened. First elected in 1932, Roosevelt was elected four consecutive times, dying in office in 1945.

The Twenty-Second Amendment

When a new Congress was sat in 1947, they quickly moved to pass an amendment that would constitutionally bar an individual from serving more than two terms as president. This was the Twenty-Second Amendment, which Congress passed in 1947, and three-quarters of the state legislatures ratified by 1951, when it became part of the Constitution.

Conclusion

Understanding the theory, history, and text of the amendment helps us to actively and thoughtfully engage in debates around term limits at the national, state, and local level. These debates are just as vigorous today as they have been throughout our history. Many have called for term limits to be set on Congress, frustrated with increasing rates of an incumbent candidate being re-elected leading to what they see as an entrenched political class slowly becoming out of touch with the American people. Others have called for President Trump to serve a third term, despite being constitutionally barred from doing so by the Twenty-Second Amendment. Where these decisions fall will, as always, depend on the choice of the American people.