Malcolm Rivera
In 2019, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) stated that Republicans amended the US Constitution to prevent Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) from being re-elected. She was referring to the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms and was passed in 1947, two years after Roosevelt died in office. While calls for such an amendment did intensify during Roosevelt's unprecedented third and fourth terms, the legislative process began in 1944 before his death. The amendment was introduced and passed by a Republican-controlled Congress in 1947 and ratified in 1951. AOC's comments sparked debate, with some accusing her of misrepresenting the facts, while others defended her interpretation of the historical context.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the person making the statement | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez |
| Position | Representative |
| Party | Democratic Party |
| State | New York |
| Statement | "They had to amend the Constitution of the United States to make sure Roosevelt did not get reelected." |
| Event | Night hall event with MSNBC and Chris Hayes |
| Date | 29 March 2019 |
| Amendment referred to | 22nd Amendment |
| Amendment content | "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." |
| Amendment introduction date | February 1947 |
| Amendment passage date | March 1947 |
| Amendment ratification date | 27 February 1951 |
| Amendment certification date | 1 March 1951 |
| Roosevelt death date | 12 April 1945 |
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What You'll Learn
AOC's statement
During a town hall meeting hosted by MSNBC in March 2019, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) made a statement regarding the historical context of the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution. The amendment, ratified in 1951, limits the President of the United States to two terms. In her statement, AOC asserted that:
> They had to amend the Constitution of the United States to make sure [Franklin] Roosevelt did not get re-elected.
It is important to note that while AOC's statement may oversimplify the complex historical factors influencing the 22nd Amendment, it does highlight the significance of FDR's presidency in sparking conversations about presidential term limits. The debate around this topic has a long history, dating back to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where delegates first discussed the idea of term limits for the president.
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The 22nd Amendment
> "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 once."
The process of amending the Constitution to limit the number of terms a president can serve began before Roosevelt's death. In 1944, Republican candidate Thomas Dewey said that a potential 16-year term for Roosevelt was a "threat to democracy". In a 1940 election advertisement, Republicans listed "The Third Term" as one of the major issues, stating:
> Violating all principles of freedom, and a sacred American tradition of 150 years' standing, the President forced his own nomination for a third term at the Chicago convention... and gave as an excuse I was drafted... Let us say together, 'There is no indispensable man. There shall be no third term.'"
In March 1947, a Republican-controlled Congress approved the 22nd Amendment, with an exception that would exclude a president in office from term limits during the ratification process. This allowed Truman, who had served nearly all of Roosevelt's unexpired 1945-1949 term, to run again in 1952.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been criticised for stating that Republicans amended the Constitution to prevent Roosevelt from being re-elected. However, while the 22nd Amendment was passed after Roosevelt's death, the process of amending the Constitution was started before he died and was motivated by Roosevelt's monopoly on the White House.
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FDR's four terms
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving four terms from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the only US president to have served more than two terms.
FDR's first two terms focused on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth terms saw him shift his attention to America's involvement in World War II. During his presidency, FDR authorized preliminary research into nuclear weapons, securing funding for the Manhattan Project, which aimed to develop the first nuclear weapons. He also extended the Lend-Lease program to Moscow, committing the American economy to the Allied cause.
Despite his popularity, FDR faced opposition from those who believed he was taking America towards socialism. Critics also questioned the consolidation of power in the White House during a time when dictators were rising in Europe and Asia.
The 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms, was passed in 1947, two years after FDR's death. While some have argued that the amendment was a direct response to FDR's unprecedented four terms, others note that discussions about term limits began before his death, with Republican candidate Thomas Dewey stating that a potential 16-year term for Roosevelt was a threat to democracy.
In summary, FDR's four terms were marked by significant domestic and foreign policy challenges, and his responses to these challenges left a lasting impact on American society and politics. The debate around term limits during his presidency ultimately led to the passage of the 22nd Amendment, ensuring that no future president could serve more than two terms.
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Republicans' intentions
In 1947, two years after the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution was passed, limiting presidents to two terms. This amendment was introduced and passed by a GOP-controlled Congress.
In 2019, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) stated that Republicans amended the Constitution to prevent Roosevelt from being re-elected. This assertion has been deemed incorrect by some commentators, as Roosevelt died before the amendment was passed. However, Ocasio-Cortez's statement is supported by the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan organisation, which explained that talk of a presidential term-limits amendment began in 1944 when Republican candidate Thomas Dewey said that a potential 16-year term for Roosevelt was a threat to democracy.
The controversy surrounding Roosevelt's decision to seek a third term in 1940 was a significant part of Republican candidate Wendell Willkie's platform that year. In a newspaper advertisement published before the election, Republicans listed "The Third Term" as one of the major issues, stating that Roosevelt had violated the principles of freedom and a sacred American tradition.
While it is true that the 22nd Amendment was not passed until after Roosevelt's death, the push for such an amendment did intensify during his time in office, and his unprecedented third and fourth elections likely played a role in its eventual passage.
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History of term limits
The concept of term limits in the United States has a long history, dating back to the country's early days. The idea of limiting the number of terms an individual can serve in office has been a topic of debate and discussion since the creation of the office of the president.
Prior to independence, several colonies had already experimented with term limits. For example, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut of 1639 prohibited the colonial governor from serving consecutive terms, setting a one-year term limit. The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, influenced by Benjamin Franklin, set a maximum service in the Pennsylvania General Assembly at "four years in seven."
During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, delegates extensively discussed the issue of term limits for presidents, along with questions such as the president's role and who would elect them. Some, like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported lifetime tenure for presidents, while others favoured fixed terms. The idea of a president serving for life was denounced as a potential "elective monarchy."
The first president, George Washington, voluntarily stepped down after two terms, establishing an unofficial two-term tradition that was followed for the next 150 years. Thomas Jefferson, the third president, also supported the two-term tradition, believing that a president without term limits resembled a hereditary monarch.
However, this tradition was broken by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected to four terms as president, serving from 1932 to 1945. Roosevelt's unprecedented four terms sparked concerns about executive overreach and the potential threat to freedom posed by a president serving for too long. This led to the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1951, which formally established a two-term limit for the presidency.
In recent years, there have been calls for term limits at the federal level, including for Congress, and some state legislators have approved resolutions requesting Congress to propose a federal constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed that Republicans amended the Constitution to prevent Franklin Delano Roosevelt from being re-elected.
Ocasio-Cortez said, "They had to amend the Constitution of the United States to make sure Roosevelt did not get re-elected."
AOC made the statement during a town hall event with MSNBC's Chris Hayes on March 29, 2019. She was referring to the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms.
No. FDR died in 1945, and the 22nd Amendment was introduced and passed in 1947, two years after his death. While there were calls for such an amendment before FDR's death, it was not passed until after the Republicans took control of the House and Senate in the 1946 elections.
AOC received backlash on Twitter for her statement, with some accusing her of fiddling with the facts. However, others defended her, arguing that discussions about the 22nd Amendment began before FDR's death and were motivated by his unprecedented third and fourth terms. Representative Liz Cheney, for example, responded to AOC's statement on Twitter, saying, "We knew the Democrats let dead people vote. According to @AOC, they can run for President, too." AOC then directed Cheney to sources that could "clarify [her] misunderstanding of the history of the 22nd Amendment".
