Can Former Presidents Be Elected to Public Office Again

1951 amendment limiting presidents to 2 terms

The Twenty-2nd Amendment (Amendment XXII) to the United States Constitution limits the number of times a person is eligible for election to the office of President of the United states of america to ii, and sets boosted eligibility atmospheric condition for presidents who succeed to the unexpired terms of their predecessors.^[1] Congress canonical the Twenty-second Subpoena on March 21, 1947, and submitted information technology to the state legislatures for ratification. That process was completed on February 27, 1951, when the requisite 36 of the 48 states had ratified the amendment (neither Alaska nor Hawaii had nevertheless been admitted as states), and its provisions came into force on that date.

The subpoena prohibits anyone who has been elected president twice from being elected again. Under the subpoena, someone who fills an unexpired presidential term lasting more than two years is also prohibited from being elected president more than once. Scholars debate whether the subpoena prohibits affected individuals from succeeding to the presidency under any circumstances or whether it applies only to presidential elections. Until the subpoena'southward ratification, the president had not been field of study to term limits, but both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (the first and 3rd presidents) decided not to serve a third term, establishing a two-term tradition that subsequent presidents followed. In the 1940 and 1944 presidential elections, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to win 3rd and fourth terms, giving rise to concerns about a president serving unlimited terms.^[2]

Text [edit]

Section 1. 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 every bit 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 in one case. But this Article shall not utilise to any person holding the office of President when this Commodity was proposed by the Congress, and shall not foreclose any person who may be property the role of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Commodity becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting every bit President during the residuum of such term.

Section 2. This Article shall be inoperative unless information technology shall accept been ratified every bit an subpoena to the Constitution by the legislatures of iii-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states past the Congress.^[3]

Background [edit]

The Twenty-2nd Amendment was a reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt's election to an unprecedented four terms as president, just presidential term limits had long been debated in American politics. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 considered the issue extensively (alongside broader questions, such as who would elect the president, and the president'southward role). Many, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported lifetime tenure for presidents, while others favored stock-still terms. Virginia'due south George Mason denounced the life-tenure proposal as tantamount to constituent monarchy.^[iv] An early typhoon of the U.S. Constitution provided that the president was restricted to one 7-year term.^[five] Ultimately, the Framers canonical 4-year terms with no restriction on how many times a person could be elected president.

Though dismissed by the Constitutional Convention, term limits for U.South. presidents were contemplated during the presidencies of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. As his second term entered its final year in 1796, Washington was wearied from years of public service, and his wellness had begun to decline. He was also bothered by his political opponents' unrelenting attacks, which had escalated after the signing of the Jay Treaty, and believed he had accomplished his major goals as president. For these reasons, he decided not to run for a tertiary term, a decision he appear to the nation in his September 1796 Farewell Address.^{[half dozen]} 11 years later, as Thomas Jefferson neared the halfway indicate of his second term, he wrote,

If some termination to the services of the chief magistrate exist not stock-still past the Constitution, or supplied past practice, his office, nominally for years, will in fact, get for life; and history shows how hands that degenerates into an inheritance.^[seven]

Since Washington made his celebrated annunciation, numerous academics and public figures take looked at his decision to retire after two terms, and take, according to political scientist Bruce Peabody, "argued he had established a two-term tradition that served as a vital bank check against whatsoever one person, or the presidency as a whole, accumulating too much power".^[8] Various amendments aimed at changing informal precedent to constitutional law were proposed in Congress in the early to mid-19th century, merely none passed.^{[4] [ix]} Three of the side by side 4 presidents subsequently Jefferson—James Madison, James Monroe, and Andrew Jackson—served 2 terms, and each adhered to the two-term principle;^[one] Martin Van Buren was the only president between Jackson and Abraham Lincoln to be nominated for a second term, though he lost the 1840 election and so served simply one term.^[ix] At the get-go of the Civil State of war the seceding States drafted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, which in well-nigh respects resembled the United States Constitution, simply limited the president to a unmarried six-yr term.

In spite of the strong ii-term tradition, a few presidents earlier Roosevelt attempted to secure a third term. Post-obit Ulysses Due south. Grant'southward reelection in 1872, there were serious discussions within Republican political circles about the possibility of his running again in 1876. But involvement in a 3rd term for Grant evaporated in the calorie-free of negative public stance and opposition from members of Congress, and Grant left the presidency in 1877 after two terms. All the same, equally the 1880 election approached, he sought nomination for a (non-consecutive) third term at the 1880 Republican National Convention, but narrowly lost to James Garfield, who won the 1880 election.^[9]

Theodore Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency on September fourteen, 1901, following William McKinley'south assassination (194 days into his 2d term), and was handily elected to a full term in 1904. He declined to seek a third (second full) term in 1908, only did run again in the election of 1912, losing to Woodrow Wilson. Wilson himself, despite his ill wellness following a serious stroke, aspired to a third term. Many of his directorate tried to convince him that his health precluded another campaign, simply Wilson nonetheless asked that his name exist placed in nomination for the presidency at the 1920 Democratic National Convention.^[10] Democratic Political party leaders were unwilling to support Wilson, and the nomination went to James M. Cox, who lost to Warren G. Harding. Wilson once again contemplated running for a (nonconsecutive) third term in 1924, devising a strategy for his comeback, only again lacked any support; he died in February of that year.^[11]

Franklin Roosevelt spent the months leading up to the 1940 Democratic National Convention refusing to say whether he would seek a third term. His Vice President, John Nance Garner, along with Postmaster General James Farley, announced their candidacies for the Autonomous nomination. When the convention came, Roosevelt sent a message to the convention proverb he would run only if drafted, saying delegates were complimentary to vote for whomever they pleased. This bulletin was interpreted to hateful he was willing to exist drafted, and he was renominated on the convention'due south outset election.^{[9] [12]} Roosevelt won a decisive victory over Republican Wendell Willkie, becoming the first (and to engagement merely) president to exceed eight years in office. His decision to seek a 3rd term dominated the ballot entrada.^[13] Willkie ran against the open-ended presidential tenure, while Democrats cited the war in Europe equally a reason for breaking with precedent.^[9]

Iv years later, Roosevelt faced Republican Thomas E. Dewey in the 1944 ballot. Nigh the finish of the entrada, Dewey announced his support of a constitutional subpoena to limit presidents to ii terms. Co-ordinate to Dewey, "four terms, or xvi years (a direct reference to the president'southward tenure in office four years hence), is the most dangerous threat to our freedom always proposed."^[14] He also discreetly raised the issue of the president'south age. Roosevelt exuded enough energy and charisma to retain voters' confidence and was elected to a 4th term.^[fifteen]

While he quelled rumors of poor health during the campaign, Roosevelt'south health was deteriorating. On April 12, 1945, but 82 days afterward his fourth inauguration, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died, to exist succeeded by Vice President Harry Truman.^[16] In the midterm elections 18 months subsequently, Republicans took control of the House and the Senate. Every bit many of them had campaigned on the consequence of presidential tenure, declaring their support for a constitutional amendment that would limit how long a person could serve as president, the issue was given priority in the 80th Congress when it convened in Jan 1947.^[viii]

Proposal and ratification [edit]

Proposal in Congress [edit]

The House of Representatives took quick action, approving a proposed constitutional amendment (House Joint Resolution 27) setting a limit of two four-year terms for future presidents. Introduced by Earl C. Michener, the measure passed 285–121, with support from 47 Democrats, on February 6, 1947.^[17] Meanwhile, the Senate developed its own proposed amendment, which initially differed from the Firm proposal past requiring that the amendment exist submitted to country ratifying conventions for ratification, rather than to the country legislatures, and by prohibiting any person who had served more than 365 days in each of two terms from further presidential service. Both these provisions were removed when the full Senate took up the bill, only a new provision was, however, added. Put forward by Robert A. Taft, information technology clarified procedures governing the number of times a vice president who succeeded to the presidency might be elected to office. The amended proposal was passed 59–23, with xvi Democrats in favor, on March 12.^{[1] [18]}

On March 21, the House agreed to the Senate'south revisions and approved the resolution to improve the Constitution. Afterward, the amendment imposing term limitations on futurity presidents was submitted to u.s. for ratification. The ratification process was completed on February 27, 1951, 3 years, 343 days after it was sent to the states.^{[xix] [xx]}

Ratification past the states [edit]

A map of how the states voted on the Twenty-second Amendment

Once submitted to the states, the 22nd Amendment was ratified by:^[three]

1. Maine: March 31, 1947
2. Michigan: March 31, 1947
3. Iowa: Apr 1, 1947
4. Kansas: April i, 1947
5. New Hampshire: April one, 1947
6. Delaware: April 2, 1947
7. Illinois: April 3, 1947
8. Oregon: Apr iii, 1947
9. Colorado: Apr 12, 1947
10. California: April fifteen, 1947
11. New Jersey: Apr fifteen, 1947
12. Vermont: April xv, 1947
13. Ohio: April 16, 1947
14. Wisconsin: April 16, 1947
15. Pennsylvania: April 29, 1947
16. Connecticut: May 21, 1947
17. Missouri: May 22, 1947
18. Nebraska: May 23, 1947
19. Virginia: Jan 28, 1948
20. Mississippi: February 12, 1948
21. New York: March nine, 1948
22. Southward Dakota: January 21, 1949
23. N Dakota: February 25, 1949
24. Louisiana: May 17, 1950
25. Montana: January 25, 1951
26. Indiana: January 29, 1951
27. Idaho: January 30, 1951
28. New United mexican states: February 12, 1951
29. Wyoming: February 12, 1951
30. Arkansas: February xv, 1951
31. Georgia: Feb 17, 1951
32. Tennessee: February 20, 1951
33. Texas: February 22, 1951
34. Utah: February 26, 1951
35. Nevada: February 26, 1951
36. Minnesota: February 27, 1951
    Ratification was completed when the Minnesota Legislature ratified the subpoena. On March 1, 1951, the Administrator of General Services, Jess Larson, issued a certificate proclaiming the 22nd Subpoena duly ratified and part of the Constitution. The subpoena was subsequently ratified by:^[3]
37. North Carolina: February 28, 1951
38. South Carolina: March 13, 1951
39. Maryland: March 14, 1951
40. Florida: April sixteen, 1951
41. Alabama: May 4, 1951

Conversely, two states—Oklahoma and Massachusetts—rejected the amendment, while v (Arizona, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Washington, and West Virginia) took no action.^[18]

Effect [edit]

Considering of the grandfather clause in Section ane, the amendment did non apply to Harry S. Truman, every bit he was the incumbent president at the time it came into forcefulness. Truman, who had served nearly all of Franklin Roosevelt's unexpired fourth term and who was elected to a full term in 1948, was thus eligible for reelection in 1952.^[thirteen] But with his job approving rating at around 27%,^{[21] [22]} and after a poor operation in the 1952 New Hampshire master, Truman chose non to seek his party'south nomination. Since becoming operative in 1951, the subpoena has been applicable to six presidents who have been elected twice: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George West. Bush, and Barack Obama.

Interaction with the Twelfth Amendment [edit]

As worded, the focus of the 22nd Subpoena is on limiting individuals from beingness elected to the presidency more than than twice. Questions have been raised well-nigh the subpoena's pregnant and application, peculiarly in relation to the 12th Amendment, ratified in 1804, which states, "no person constitutionally ineligible to the function of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."^[23] While the 12th Amendment stipulates that the constitutional qualifications of age, citizenship, and residency use to the president and vice president, it is unclear whether someone who is ineligible to be elected president due to term limits could be elected vice president. Because of the ambivalence, a two-term former president could possibly be elected vice president and and so succeed to the presidency as a result of the incumbent's death, resignation, or removal from office, or succeed to the presidency from some other stated part in the presidential line of succession.^{[9] [24]}

Some argue that the 22nd Amendment and twelfth Amendment bar any 2-term president from after serving as vice president likewise as from succeeding to the presidency from any point in the presidential line of succession.^[25] Others contend that the original intent of the twelfth Amendment concerns qualification for service (age, residence, and citizenship), while the 22nd Subpoena, concerns qualifications for election, and thus a former ii-term president is still eligible to serve as vice president. Neither amendment restricts the number of times someone tin be elected to the vice presidency and then succeed to the presidency to serve out the residuum of the term, although the person could be prohibited from running for ballot to an boosted term.^{[26] [27]}

The applied applicability of this distinction has non been tested, as no twice-elected president has e'er been nominated for the vice presidency. While Hillary Clinton in one case suggested she considered former President Bill Clinton every bit her running mate,^[28] the constitutional question remains unresolved.^[1]

Attempts at repeal [edit]

Over the years, several presidents take voiced their antipathy toward the amendment. After leaving part, Harry Truman described the amendment every bit stupid and one of the worst amendments of the Constitution with the exception of the Prohibition Amendment.^[29] A few days earlier leaving office in January 1989, President Ronald Reagan said he would button for a repeal of the 22nd Amendment considering he idea information technology infringed on people'due south democratic rights.^[xxx] In a November 2000 interview with Rolling Stone, President Beak Clinton suggested that the 22nd Amendment should be contradistinct to limit presidents to two consecutive terms but then allow not-consecutive terms, considering of longer life expectancies.^[31] Donald Trump questioned presidential term limits on multiple occasions while in role, and in public remarks talked well-nigh serving across the limits of the 22nd Amendment. During an April 2022 White House event for the Wounded Warrior Projection, he suggested he would remain president for 10 to 14 years.^{[32] [33]}

The showtime efforts in Congress to repeal the 22nd Amendment were undertaken in 1956, five years afterwards the amendment's ratification. Over the next 50 years, 54 joint resolutions seeking to repeal the two-term presidential election limit were introduced.^[i] Betwixt 1997 and 2013, José E. Serrano, Democratic representative for New York, introduced nine resolutions (one per Congress, all unsuccessful) to repeal the amendment.^[34] Repeal has likewise been supported past Representatives Barney Frank and David Dreier and Senators Mitch McConnell^[35] and Harry Reid.^[36]

See also [edit]

• Term limits in the United states of america
• List of political term limits

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Neale, Thomas H. (October 19, 2009). "Presidential Terms and Tenure: Perspectives and Proposals for Change" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Inquiry Service, The Library of Congress. Archived (PDF) from the original on Apr 12, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
2. ^ "FDR'south third-term election and the 22nd amendment". Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: National Constitution Heart. November 5, 2020. Retrieved Apr 29, 2022.
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Constitution of the U.s.a. of America: Analysis and Interpretation" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Baronial 26, 2017. pp. 39–forty. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
4. ^ ^{a b} Buckley, F. H.; Metzger, Gillian. "20-second Amendment". The Interactive Constitution. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The National Constitution Center. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March xix, 2018.
5. ^ First draft United statesCONST., art. X, section 1.
6. ^ Ferling, John (2009). The Ascent of George Washington: The Subconscious Political Genius of an American Icon. New York: Bloomsbury Printing. pp. 347–348. ISBN978-1-59691-465-0.
7. ^ Jefferson, Thomas (December x, 1807). "Letter to the Legislature of Vermont". Ashland, Ohio: TeachingAmericanHistory.org. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
8. ^ ^{a b} Peabody, Bruce. "Presidential Term Limit". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
9. ^ ^{a b c d east f} Peabody, Bruce G.; Gant, Scott East. (February 1999). "The Twice and Hereafter President: Ramble Interstices and the Twenty-Second Amendment". Minnesota Law Review. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Law School. 83 (three): 565–635. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
10. ^ Pietrusza, David (2007). The Twelvemonth of the Six Presidents. New York: Carroll and Graf. pp. 187–200. ISBN978-0-78671-622-7.
11. ^ Saunders, Robert Grand. (1998). In Search of Woodrow Wilson: Beliefs and Behavior. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 260–262. ISBN9780313305207.
12. ^ Rosen, Elliot A. (1997). "'Non Worth a Pitcher of Warm Piss': John Nance Garner as Vice President". In Walch, Timothy (ed.). At the President's Side: The Vice Presidency in the Twentieth Century. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Printing. pp. 52–53. ISBN0-8262-1133-X . Retrieved March 20, 2018.
13. ^ ^{a b} "FDR'southward third-term conclusion and the 22nd amendment". Constitution Daily. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The National Constitution Center. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
14. ^ Jordan, David M. (2011). FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Printing. p. 290. ISBN978-0-253-35683-3.
15. ^ Leuchtenburg, William E. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Campaigns and Elections". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
16. ^ Leuchtenburg, William East. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Expiry of the President". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
17. ^ Congressional Quarterly. (1947). Limitations of Presidential Tenure. Congressional Quarterly Vol. III. 92-93, 96.
18. ^ ^{a b} Rowley, Sean (July 26, 2014). "Presidential terms limited by 22nd Amendment". Tahlequah Daily Press. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
19. ^ "22nd Amendment: 2-Term Limit on Presidency". constitutioncenter.org. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: National Constitution Centre. Archived from the original on Feb 20, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
20. ^ Mountain, Steve. "Ratification of Constitutional Amendments". usconstitution.net. Archived from the original on Apr 23, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
21. ^ Weldon, Kathleen (August 11, 2015). "The Public and the 22nd Amendment: Tertiary Terms and Lame Ducks". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on January fourteen, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
22. ^ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Presidential Job Approval: F. Roosevelt (1941)—Trump". Data adapted from the Gallup Poll and compiled past Gerhard Peters. Santa Barbara, California: The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
23. ^ "The Constitution: Amendments xi-27". America'south Founding Documents. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March xi, 2018.
24. ^ Gear up, Joel A. "The 22nd Subpoena Doesn't Say What You Think It Says". Blandon, Pennsylvania: Cornerstone Law Firm. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
25. ^ Franck, Matthew J. (July 31, 2007). "Constitutional Sleight of Hand". National Review. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
26. ^ Dorf, Michael C. (August two, 2000). "Why the Constitution permits a Gore-Clinton ticket". CNN. Archived from the original on October one, 2005.
27. ^ Gant, Scott E.; Peabody, Bruce M. (June 13, 2006). "How to bring back Pecker: A Clinton-Clinton 2008 ticket is constitutionally possible". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
28. ^ LoBianco, Tom (September 15, 2015). "Hillary Clinton: Bill as VP has 'crossed her listen'". CNN. Archived from the original on January fourteen, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
29. ^ Lemelin, Bernard Lemelin (Wintertime 1999). "Opposition to the 22nd Amendment: The National Committee Against Limiting the Presidency and its Activities, 1949-1951". Canadian Review of American Studies. Academy of Toronto Press on behalf of the Canadian Clan for American Studies with the back up of Carleton Academy. 29 (3): 133–148. doi:10.3138/CRAS-029-03-06. S2CID 159908265.
30. ^ Reagan, Ronald (January xviii, 1989). "President Reagan Says He Will Fight to Repeal 22nd Amendment". NBC Nightly News (Interview). Interviewed past Tom Brokaw. New York: NBC. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
31. ^ "Clinton: I Would've Won Third Term". ABC News. Dec 7, 2000. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
32. ^ Einbinder, Nicole (June 17, 2019). "Trump suggested his supporters want him to serve more than ii terms as president". Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved September xiv, 2019.
33. ^ Croucher, Shane (September 11, 2019). "Donald Trump Posts Paradigm on Twitter, Instagram Joking That He'll Stand in 2024". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
34. ^ "H.J.Res. 15 (113th): Proposing an subpoena to the Constitution of the U.s. to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve every bit President". Washington, D.C.: GovTrack, a project of Civic Impulse, LLC. 2013. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
35. ^ "Bill to Repeal the 22nd Amendment". Snopes.com . Retrieved Oct 19, 2018.
36. ^ potus_geeks (February 27, 2012). "The 22nd Amendment". Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved Oct 19, 2018.

External links [edit]

• The Annenberg Guide to the United States Constitution: Twenty-second Amendment
• CRS Annotated Constitution: Twenty-2d Amendment

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

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