Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution

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Amendment XXII in the National Archives
Amendment XXII in the National Archives

The Twenty-second Amendment of the United States Constitution sets a term limit for the President of the United States, providing 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." Prior to the adoption of the amendment, the Constitution set no limit on the number of presidential terms. The United States Congress passed the amendment on March 21, 1947.[1] It was ratified by the requisite number of states on February 27, 1951.

Franklin Roosevelt, who served from 1933 to 1945, is the only president to have been elected to more than two terms.[2]

Contents

[edit] Text

“ 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 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. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress.

 ”

[edit] History

George Washington, the first President of the United States, is often said to have established the tradition of limiting service as President to two terms only. His Farewell Address, however, suggests that it was because of his age that he did not seek re-election. Thomas Jefferson also contributed to the convention of a two-term limit; in 1807 he wrote, "if some termination to the services of the chief Magistrate be not fixed by the Constitution, or supplied by practice, his office, nominally four years, will in fact become for life."[3] Jefferson’s immediate successors, James Madison and James Monroe, also adhered to the two-term principle.

Prior to Franklin Roosevelt, few Presidents attempted to serve for more than two terms. Ulysses S. Grant sought a third term in 1880 after serving from 1869 to 1877, but his party failed to nominate him. Theodore Roosevelt, who served from 1901 to 1909, sought to be elected in 1912 (non-consecutively) for a second time—he had succeeded to the presidency upon William McKinley's assassination and already been elected in 1904 to a full term himself—but he lost to Woodrow Wilson. In 1940 Franklin Roosevelt became the first person to be elected more than twice, with supporters citing the war in Europe as a reason for breaking with precedent. In the 1944 election, during World War II, he won a fourth term, but died in office the following year.

After Roosevelt's death, the newly Republican 80th United States Congress desired to establish a firm constitutional provision barring presidents from being elected more than twice. The rationale was a concern that without limits, the presidential position could become too similar to that of a benevolent dictator lasting not just four years but a lifetime, that the position could become too powerful and upset the separation of powers, and that he could become so powerful that elections would become dispensable. Hence, the Twenty-second Amendment was adopted.

[edit] Proposal and ratification

Congress proposed the Twenty-second Amendment on March 21, 1947.[4] The following states ratified the amendment:

  1. Maine (March 31, 1947)
  2. Michigan (March 31, 1947)
  3. Iowa (April 1, 1947)
  4. Kansas (April 1, 1947)
  5. New Hampshire (April 1, 1947)
  6. Delaware (April 2, 1947)
  7. Illinois (April 3, 1947)
  8. Oregon (April 3, 1947)
  9. Colorado (April 12, 1947)
  10. California (April 15, 1947)
  11. New Jersey (April 15, 1947)
  12. Vermont (April 15, 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 (January 28, 1948)
  20. Mississippi (February 12, 1948)
  21. New York (March 9, 1948)
  22. South Dakota (January 21, 1949)
  23. North 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 Mexico (February 12, 1951)
  29. Wyoming (February 12, 1951)
  30. Arkansas (February 15, 1951)
  31. Georgia (February 17, 1951)
  32. Tennessee (February 20, 1951)
  33. Texas (February 22, 1951)
  34. Nevada (February 26, 1951)
  35. Utah (February 26, 1951)
  36. Minnesota (February 27, 1951)

Ratification was completed on February 27, 1951. The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following states:

  1. North Carolina (February 28, 1951)
  2. South Carolina (March 13, 1951)
  3. Maryland (March 14, 1951)
  4. Florida (April 16, 1951)
  5. Alabama (May 4, 1951)

The amendment was rejected by the following states:

  1. Oklahoma (June, 1947)
  2. Massachusetts (June 9, 1949)

[edit] Criticism of the amendment

Eisenhower expressed his strong opposition to term limits, saying, "The United States ought to be able to choose for its President anybody it wants, regardless of the number of terms he has served."[5] Ronald Reagan publicly supported repealing the amendment. Bill Clinton stated his opposition to repealing the amendment, but supported modifying it to prohibit former presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms, but permitting them to seek election after an intervening term.[6]

Some have criticized the Amendment as a potential erosion of a second-term president's power and influence, as the president becomes a political lame duck. The term was coined by 18th century English stockbrokers to mean someone who is bankrupt, but later came to mean anyone who has been made weak and ineffective. It now most often applies to politicians who are soon to leave office. This effect was referred to by President George W. Bush when, after winning his second term, he told the media "I'm going to come out strong after my swearing-in. We have to move quickly, because after that I'll be quacking like a duck."[7]

[edit] The relationship between the 22nd and 12th amendments

Some have questioned the interpretation of the Twenty-second Amendment as it relates to the Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, which provides that "no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."[8]

While it is clear that under the Twelfth Amendment the original constitutional qualifications of age, citizenship, and residency apply to both the president and vice president, it is unclear if a two-term president could later be elected—or appointed—vice president. Some argue that the Twenty-second Amendment and Twelfth Amendment bar any two-term president from later serving as vice president as well as from succeeding to the presidency from any point in the United States Presidential line of succession. Others contend that while a two-term president is ineligible to be elected or appointed to the office of Vice President, he could succeed from a lower position in the line of succession which he is not excluded from holding. Others contend that the Twelfth Amendment concerns qualification for service, while the Twenty-second Amendment concerns qualifications for election. Neither theory has ever been tested, as no former president has ever sought the vice presidency, and thus, the courts have never had an opportunity to decide the question.

The Amendment prohibits any person who has succeeded to the presidency and served as president or acting president for more than two years of their predecessor's unexpired term from being elected more than once. As of 2006, the only president who could have served more than two terms under this circumstance was Lyndon B. Johnson. He became president in 1963 when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, served only 14 months of Kennedy's term, and won an election of his own. Had he stayed in the race in 1968 and won, he would have served nine years and two months in all when he reached the end of the new term. The amendment specifically excluded the sitting president, Harry S. Truman. Truman began a campaign for a third term in 1952, but quit after a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary.

Gerald Ford became president on 9 August 1974 and was in office for more than 2 years of the unexpired term of Richard Nixon. Had Ford won a full term in 1976 (he narrowly lost to Jimmy Carter), he would have been barred from being elected again despite only being elected once.

Because there is less than two years remaining in George W. Bush's current term, Vice President Dick Cheney would not be restricted by this amendment if he were to succeed to the Presidency during the current term. He would be eligible to seek two additional full terms as President.

[edit] Individuals currently restricted by the amendment

As of 2007, the following (living) current and former presidents are restricted by this amendment:

[edit] In popular culture

In the graphic novel Watchmen, a crushing U.S. victory in the Vietnam War leads to the repeal of the 22nd Amendment and the repeated reelection of President Richard M. Nixon, who still serves as of 1985, the year in which Watchmen is set. Similarly, in the time-travel movie Back to the Future Part II, an alternate timeline newspaper headline, before changing to report Reagan considering a second term, reports Nixon considering a fifth term.

On his radio show, Al Franken has jokingly suggested that he would run for president with former president Bill Clinton as his running mate, on the platform that as soon as he is sworn in he will resign, allowing Bill Clinton to bypass the 22nd amendment and serve a third term in office. (See above for discussion on the viability of such action.)

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html
  2. ^ List of United States Presidents by time in office
  3. ^ Thomas Jefferson: Reply to the Legislature of Vermont, 1807. ME 16:293
  4. ^ Mount, Steve (Jan 2007). Ratification of Constitutional Amendments. Retrieved on Feb 24, 2007.
  5. ^ Sherman Adams, "First Hand Report," 1961, p. 296) ("Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower", 1956, p. 862) [1]
  6. ^ http://www.termlimits.org/Press/Press_Releases/20030529.html
  7. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/magazine/17BUSH.html?ex=1255665600en=890a96189e162076ei=5090
  8. ^ http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0613/p09s02-coop.html

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