65 years ago, the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, establishing that the same person could serve no more than two terms as president, whether consecutive or intermittent.
It was passed by Congress on March 21, 1947. Then it took almost four more years for its ratification by state legislatures.
Previously, the limitation of the presidential legislature to two terms existed as an unwritten rule, which is generally characteristic of Anglo-Saxon political culture.
Franklin Roosevelt broke with tradition, which prompted the amendment. Society and legislators decided that, with all due respect to the deceased, this should not be allowed to happen in the future.
There is an opinion (a very common one) that the presence of such a restriction in a state constitution is one of the key differences between a genuine and a formal democracy.
According to supporters of forced removability, most voters instinctively fear change, forget that any other life is possible during a long period of rule by one person, and accept too readily that there is no alternative to the incumbent leader. And the latter, having at least a theoretical possibility of making his power last a lifetime, would resort to unworthy tricks and even crimes for the sake of it.
But there is also the opposite point of view: the will of the citizens should not be restricted, and people have the right to choose who and how many they want.
Interesting Facts
- The U.S. Constitution, adopted by a special convention in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, and effective March 4, 1789, is the oldest in the world. Nevertheless, according to sociologists, 90% of Americans believe that it meets modern requirements.
- The American Constitution was written by 30 people in about 100 working days. It is also the shortest: a preamble, seven articles and 27 amendments, about 4,400 words in all, including the articles.
- The U.S. Constitution does not mention the word “democracy.”
- Restrictions on the time in power of the highest officials were first established in ancient Athens. In republican Rome, consuls and other magistrates were elected for one year, and could not hold the same office again until ten years later.
- After declaring independence on July 4, 1776, and winning the war with Britain, the United States remained an amorphous confederation for 13 years. The first president in the modern sense, George Washington, was elected in 1789. Before him, presidents were referred to as presidents of the unicameral Congress, who changed annually, had limited powers, and were not included in the official count.
- The two-term provision is considered part of Washington’s political will. He did not run for a third term in 1797, although, according to almost unanimous historians, he could have been reelected again and again and even proclaimed himself king. In his famous Farewell Address, however, Washington spoke of age and fatigue, not of a desire to set any precedent.
- “Unless a limitation on the period of service of the highest officer is established by the Constitution or tradition, he will de facto be made a lifetime,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1807.
- Before Franklin Roosevelt, Ulysses Grant, Grover Cleveland, and Theodore Roosevelt unsuccessfully attempted to run for a third term.