Why amendment 22 was passed

The delegates considered a fixed term for the chief executive among several options. Initial ideas included a three-year or seven-year term of office, limited to one term. When the delegates could not agree on a solution, the question was referred to the Committee on Postponed Matters, which included Gouverneur Morris and James Madison.

The Committee devised the Electoral College and a four-year term for the President with no term limits, among other important innovations. These doubts about unlimited presidential terms of office did not fade away after President Washington set the unofficial two-term precedent in Scholar Stephen W.

Stathis explains in a paper that Congress considered early versions of presidential term limit amendments in and , and the Senate approved term-limit resolutions in and , only to be rejected by the House. Ames listed versions of presidential term limit amendments proposed to Congress between and The controversy over President Ulysses S. President Ulysses S. Grant also sought a third term in , but he lacked enough party support to get a nomination. The first president, Washington, set the two-term precedent in when he decided to pass on a third term, setting up a scramble between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in the fall race.

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Twenty-Second Amendment: About. However, it is possible for an individual to serve up to ten years as president. If more than two years remain of the term when the successor assumes office, the new president may serve only one additional term.

Home 22nd Amendment. Grant lost a third campaign in , when James Garfield clinched the Republican nomination. Theodore Roosevelt lost his bid at a third nonconsecutive term in to William Howard Taft he had previously served out the remainder of President William McKinley 's term and then won reelection.

And Woodrow Wilson lost the Democratic nomination in Harry Truman , who succeeded FDR after his death, was president when the 22nd Amendment passed and so was exempt from the new rule. Truman campaigned for a third term in , but withdrew after losing in the New Hampshire primary. This photograph of Franklin D.

Roosevelt seated at his desk was the last color image of him before the announcement of his death. The National Constitution Center notes that his decision to run for a third term resulted in key Democratic supporters and advisors leaving his campaign.