Omar Bennett
The Twenty-Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1951, limits the number of times a person can be elected to the office of President to two terms. The amendment was a reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt's election to an unprecedented four terms as president, and the broader question of term limits for elected officials has been debated since the Constitution's first ratification.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Amendment number | 22nd Amendment |
| Date proposed by Congress | 24th March 1947 |
| Date ratified | 27th February 1951 |
| Number of terms a person can be elected to the office of President | Twice |
| Number of years a person can act as President and be eligible for re-election | More than two years |
| Number of states that ratified the Amendment | 36 of 48 |
| Number of states that rejected the Amendment | 2 (Massachusetts and Oklahoma) |
| Number of states that took no action | 5 (Arizona, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Washington, and West Virginia) |
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What You'll Learn
The Twenty-Second Amendment
The idea of term limits for elected officials goes back to the first debates surrounding the Constitution’s ratification. Under the Articles of Confederation, the office of President did not exist, as the Congress held both legislative and executive authority. When the concept of a President was created, there were differing views on how long they should serve. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, for example, envisioned a president who would be nominated by Congress and serve for life. This idea was denounced by others, including Virginia's George Mason, who saw it as an "elective monarchy". It was eventually determined that presidents would be voted for by the people and would not be bound by term limits.
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Presidential eligibility
The Twenty-Second Amendment, which was ratified on February 27, 1951, limits presidential eligibility by restricting individuals to being elected to the presidency no more than twice. This amendment was enacted in response to Franklin D. Roosevelt's unprecedented four terms as president, which raised concerns about executive overreach and the potential for America to become an "elective monarchy."
Prior to the Twenty-Second Amendment, there were no official term limits for the presidency. The first president, George Washington, established a tradition of serving no more than two terms, which was largely adhered to until Roosevelt's presidency.
In addition to term limits, the U.S. Constitution outlines further requirements for presidential eligibility. According to Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, also known as the Qualifications Clause, the president must be a natural-born citizen, at least thirty-five years of age, and a resident of the United States for at least fourteen years.
The interpretation of "natural-born citizen" is a subject of debate, but it is generally understood to include the children of U.S. citizens born overseas. This interpretation is supported by the presidential candidacies of individuals born outside the U.S., such as John McCain, George Romney, and Barry Goldwater.
These eligibility requirements, including term limits, ensure that presidential candidates possess the necessary maturity, integrity, and loyalty to effectively serve the nation's interests and prevent executive overreach.
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Presidential succession
The Twenty-Second Amendment, which was ratified in 1951, limits a person to being elected to the presidency no more than twice. This amendment was passed after Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president four times from 1932 to 1944. Roosevelt's unprecedented third and fourth terms, in 1940 and 1944, respectively, raised concerns in Congress about the risk of executive overreach. In 1947, two years after Roosevelt's death, the House of Representatives proposed Joint Resolution 27, which recommended a two-term limit for all future presidents.
The Presidential Succession Act of 1947, as amended, outlines the presidential order of succession. The vice president is first in line, followed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, and then the secretary of state. The remaining Cabinet secretaries follow in the order of when their departments were created. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment, adopted in 1967, establishes procedures for filling an intra-term vacancy in the office of the vice president.
The succession of the vice president to the office of president upon the president's death or resignation has been the practice since the early days of the Republic. On April 4, 1841, President William Henry Harrison became the first president to die in office. His vice president, John Tyler, took the position that he had become the president automatically. This precedent was followed until the Twenty-Fifth Amendment conclusively established that the vice president succeeds to the presidency upon the president's death or resignation.
Since 1789, the vice president has succeeded to the presidency intra-term on nine occasions: eight times due to the incumbent's death and once due to resignation. No one lower in the line of succession has ever been called upon to act as president. However, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, demonstrated the potential for a decapitation strike that could kill or incapacitate multiple individuals in the presidential line of succession. In the years following the attacks, there were discussions about continuity of government concerns and potential amendments to the laws for succession to the presidency.
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Lifetime tenure
The concept of a president serving a lifetime tenure was considered during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, with several delegates, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supporting the idea of a president serving a lifetime tenure. Hamilton wrote in Federalist 69:
> "That magistrate is to be elected for four years; and is to be re-eligible as often as the people of the United States shall think him worthy of their confidence."
Hamilton also argued in Federalist 71 in favour of a life term for the president. However, this proposal was denounced by Virginia's George Mason as tantamount to an "elective monarchy". The Framers eventually approved four-year terms with no restriction on how many times a person could be elected president.
The Twenty-second Amendment, ratified in 1951, now limits presidents to two terms in office. This was a reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt's election to an unprecedented four terms as president, which raised concerns in Congress about the risk of executive overreach. Roosevelt led the country through the Great Depression and served as Commander-in-Chief during the Second World War, using his executive power to produce several federal work programs.
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Ratification
The US Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788, when the required nine out of 13 states approved it. The first state to approve it was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and South Carolina. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire cast the ninth vote in favor of ratification. All 13 states eventually ratified the Constitution by May 29, 1790.
The topic of term limits for elected officials was first debated during the Constitution's initial ratification. At the time, the office of President did not exist under the Articles of Confederation, as the Congress held both legislative and executive authority. When the concept of a President was introduced, there were differing opinions on how long they should serve. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison envisioned a president who would be nominated by Congress and serve for life, but this idea was rejected due to concerns about an "elective monarchy." It was eventually decided that the president would be elected by the people and not bound by term limits.
However, this changed with the 22nd Amendment, which was ratified on February 27, 1951. This amendment established term limits for the presidency, limiting individuals to being elected to the office of the President no more than twice. It also outlines stipulations regarding the eligibility of succession for unfinished presidential terms. The 22nd Amendment states:
> "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 President more than once."
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Frequently asked questions
The Twenty-Second Amendment (Amendment XXII) to the US Constitution limits the number of times a person can be elected to the office of President of the United States to two terms.
The Amendment states that "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 Twenty-Second Amendment was ratified on February 27, 1951, by 36 of the 48 states.
The Twenty-Second Amendment was a reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt's election to an unprecedented four terms as president. However, the question of term limits for elected officials goes back to the first debates surrounding the Constitution's ratification.
