Quote:
Originally Posted by OneHungLo
(Post 22490602)
:1orglaugh:1orglaugh
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Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution was an addition to the United States Constitution that put a limit on how many times a person could be elected to be President. A person is limited to eight years as president. Congress passed the amendment on March 21, 1947. It was ratified on February 27, 1951
The President of the United States is elected to have that position for a period, or "term", that lasts for four years. The Constitution had no limit on how many times a person could be elected as president. The nation’s first president, George Washington chose not to try to be elected for a third term. This suggested that two terms were enough for any president. Washington’s two-term limit became the unwritten rule for all Presidents until 1940.
In 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt won a third term. He also won a fourth in 1944. Roosevelt was president through the Great Depression of the 1930's and almost all of World War II. He held approval ratings in the mid-50% to the low 60% ranges over his many years in office. Roosevelt died of heart failure in April of 1945, just months after the start of his fourth term. Soon after, Republicans in Congress began the work of creating Amendment XXII. Roosevelt was the first and only President to serve more than two terms. |
