Can an Ex-president Run for President Again?

1951 amendment limiting presidents to two terms

The Twenty-second Subpoena (Subpoena XXII) to the United states Constitution limits the number of times a person is eligible for election to the office of President of the U.s. to two, and sets boosted eligibility conditions for presidents who succeed to the unexpired terms of their predecessors.^[ane]

Until the amendment's ratification, the president had non been subject to term limits, merely George Washington had established a two-term tradition that many other presidents followed. But in the 1940 and 1944 presidential elections, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the offset president to win third and fourth terms, giving rise to concerns about a president serving unlimited terms. Subsequently Roosevelt's 1945 death, Republicans and bourgeois Democrats were swept into Congress in the 1946 elections and were in position to advise an amendment restricting the number of presidential terms.^[two] Congress canonical the Twenty-2nd Subpoena on March 21, 1947, and submitted it to the country legislatures for ratification. That procedure was completed on February 27, 1951, when the requisite 36 of the 48 states had ratified the amendment (neither Alaska nor Hawaii had yet been admitted as states), and its provisions came into force on that date.

The amendment prohibits anyone who has been elected president twice from being elected over again. Under the amendment, someone who fills an unexpired presidential term lasting more than two years is besides prohibited from being elected president more than once. Scholars contend whether the amendment prohibits affected individuals from succeeding to the presidency under whatever circumstances or whether information technology applies merely to presidential elections.

Text [edit]

Department 1. No person shall be elected to the part of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the function of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which another person was elected President shall be elected to the role of the President more than once. Simply this Article shall not apply to any person holding the function of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall non prevent any person who may be holding the role 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 two. This Article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an subpoena to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to usa by the Congress.^[three]

Background [edit]

The Twenty-second Subpoena was a reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt'south election to an unprecedented four terms as president, only 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 equally who would elect the president, and the president's role). Many, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported lifetime tenure for presidents, while others favored fixed terms. Virginia's George Mason denounced the life-tenure proposal equally tantamount to elective monarchy.^[4] An early draft of the U.South. Constitution provided that the president was restricted to one seven-twelvemonth term.^[5] Ultimately, the Framers approved 4-twelvemonth 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. Equally his 2nd term entered its final year in 1796, Washington was exhausted from years of public service, and his health had begun to refuse. He was also bothered by his political opponents' unrelenting attacks, which had escalated afterward the signing of the Jay Treaty, and believed he had accomplished his major goals equally president. For these reasons, he decided not to run for a third term, a decision he announced to the nation in his September 1796 Goodbye Address.^[six] Eleven years later, as Thomas Jefferson neared the halfway signal of his second term, he wrote,

If some termination to the services of the chief magistrate be not fixed by the Constitution, or supplied by practice, his part, nominally for years, will in fact, become for life; and history shows how easily that degenerates into an inheritance.^[seven]

Since Washington made his historic announcement, numerous academics and public figures take looked at his decision to retire later two terms, and accept, co-ordinate to political scientist Bruce Peabody, "argued he had established a two-term tradition that served every bit a vital check against any one person, or the presidency as a whole, accumulating too much power".^[8] Diverse amendments aimed at irresolute breezy precedent to constitutional law were proposed in Congress in the early to mid-19th century, just none passed.^{[4] [9]} Three of the next iv presidents after Jefferson—James Madison, James Monroe, and Andrew Jackson—served two terms, and each adhered to the two-term principle;^[1] Martin Van Buren was the only president between Jackson and Abraham Lincoln to exist nominated for a second term, though he lost the 1840 election and so served only one term.^[9] At the first of the Civil War the seceding States drafted the Constitution of the Amalgamated States of America, which in most respects resembled the United States Constitution, but express the president to a unmarried six-year term.

In spite of the strong two-term tradition, a few presidents before Roosevelt attempted to secure a tertiary term. Post-obit Ulysses S. Grant's reelection in 1872, at that place were serious discussions within Republican political circles almost the possibility of his running again in 1876. Simply interest in a 3rd term for Grant evaporated in the lite of negative public opinion and opposition from members of Congress, and Grant left the presidency in 1877 after two terms. Even and so, every bit the 1880 election approached, he sought nomination for a (not-consecutive) third term at the 1880 Republican National Convention, but narrowly lost to James Garfield, who won the 1880 election.^[ix]

Theodore Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency on September 14, 1901, post-obit William McKinley'due south assassination (194 days into his 2d term), and was handily elected to a full term in 1904. He declined to seek a tertiary (2nd full) term in 1908, but did run once again in the election of 1912, losing to Woodrow Wilson. Wilson himself, despite his ill health following a serious stroke, aspired to a tertiary term. Many of his advisers tried to convince him that his health precluded another campaign, simply Wilson nonetheless asked that his proper name be placed in nomination for the presidency at the 1920 Autonomous National Convention.^[ten] Democratic Party leaders were unwilling to support Wilson, and the nomination went to James M. Cox, who lost to Warren One thousand. Harding. Wilson once again contemplated running for a (nonconsecutive) third term in 1924, devising a strategy for his improvement, but again lacked whatever back up; he died in February of that year.^[xi]

Franklin Roosevelt spent the months leading up to the 1940 Democratic National Convention refusing to say whether he would seek a tertiary term. His Vice President, John Nance Garner, along with Postmaster General James Farley, appear their candidacies for the Democratic nomination. When the convention came, Roosevelt sent a message to the convention saying he would run only if drafted, saying delegates were free to vote for whomever they pleased. This bulletin was interpreted to mean he was willing to be drafted, and he was renominated on the convention's first ballot.^{[9] [12]} Roosevelt won a decisive victory over Republican Wendell Willkie, becoming the kickoff (and to date only) president to exceed eight years in function. His decision to seek a third term dominated the election entrada.^[13] Willkie ran against the open-concluded presidential tenure, while Democrats cited the war in Europe as a reason for breaking with precedent.^[9]

Four years later, Roosevelt faced Republican Thomas E. Dewey in the 1944 election. Near the end of the entrada, Dewey announced his support of a constitutional amendment to limit presidents to two terms. According to Dewey, "iv terms, or sixteen years (a direct reference to the president's tenure in part four years hence), is the nearly unsafe threat to our freedom always proposed."^[fourteen] He too discreetly raised the consequence of the president's age. Roosevelt exuded enough energy and charisma to retain voters' confidence and was elected to a fourth term.^[15]

While he quelled rumors of poor health during the campaign, Roosevelt'southward health was deteriorating. On April 12, 1945, just 82 days after his fourth inauguration, he suffered a cognitive hemorrhage and died, to be succeeded by Vice President Harry Truman.^[16] In the midterm elections 18 months later, Republicans took command of the House and the Senate. As many of them had campaigned on the issue of presidential tenure, declaring their support for a constitutional amendment that would limit how long a person could serve as president, the outcome was given priority in the 80th Congress when information technology convened in Jan 1947.^[8]

Proposal and ratification [edit]

Proposal in Congress [edit]

The Business firm of Representatives took quick activity, blessing a proposed constitutional subpoena (House Articulation Resolution 27) setting a limit of 2 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 adult its ain proposed subpoena, which initially differed from the House proposal by requiring that the amendment exist submitted to state ratifying conventions for ratification, rather than to the state legislatures, and by prohibiting whatsoever 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 pecker, but a new provision was, all the same, added. Put forward by Robert A. Taft, it clarified procedures governing the number of times a vice president who succeeded to the presidency might be elected to role. The amended proposal was passed 59–23, with 16 Democrats in favor, on March 12.^{[one] [18]}

On March 21, the House agreed to the Senate's revisions and approved the resolution to amend the Constitution. Later, the amendment imposing term limitations on future presidents was submitted to the states for ratification. The ratification process was completed on February 27, 1951, 3 years, 343 days after information technology was sent to the states.^{[19] [20]}

Ratification by the states [edit]

A map of how the states voted on the Twenty-2nd Subpoena

One time submitted to the states, the 22nd Subpoena was ratified past:^[3]

1. Maine: March 31, 1947
2. Michigan: March 31, 1947
3. Iowa: Apr i, 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 fifteen, 1947
11. New Jersey: April 15, 1947
12. Vermont: Apr 15, 1947
13. Ohio: Apr xvi, 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. S 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: Feb 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 Amendment duly ratified and part of the Constitution. The amendment was subsequently ratified by:^[3]
37. North Carolina: Feb 28, 1951
38. Due south Carolina: March 13, 1951
39. Maryland: March 14, 1951
40. Florida: Apr xvi, 1951
41. Alabama: May 4, 1951

Conversely, two states—Oklahoma and Massachusetts—rejected the amendment, while five (Arizona, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Washington, and Due west Virginia) took no activeness.^[18]

Effect [edit]

Considering of the grandfather clause in Department ane, the amendment did non apply to Harry Southward. Truman, as he was the incumbent president at the fourth dimension it came into force. Truman, who had served virtually all of Franklin Roosevelt'southward unexpired fourth term and who was elected to a full term in 1948, was thus eligible for reelection in 1952.^[thirteen] Just with his job approval rating at around 27%,^{[21] [22]} and afterward a poor performance in the 1952 New Hampshire chief, Truman chose not to seek his party'due south nomination. Since becoming operative in 1951, the subpoena has been applicative to 6 presidents who take been elected twice: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Pecker Clinton, George Westward. Bush-league, and Barack Obama.

Interaction with the Twelfth Subpoena [edit]

Every bit worded, the focus of the 22nd Amendment is on limiting individuals from being elected to the presidency more than twice. Questions take been raised about the amendment's meaning and application, especially in relation to the 12th Amendment, ratified in 1804, which states, "no person constitutionally ineligible to the office 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 historic period, citizenship, and residency apply 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 ambiguity, a two-term one-time president could possibly exist elected vice president and so succeed to the presidency every bit a event of the incumbent'south death, resignation, or removal from office, or succeed to the presidency from some other stated function in the presidential line of succession.^{[9] [24]}

Some argue that the 22nd Amendment and 12th Subpoena bar whatever two-term president from subsequently serving equally vice president as well as from succeeding to the presidency from whatever betoken in the presidential line of succession.^[25] Others argue that the original intent of the 12th Amendment concerns qualification for service (age, residence, and citizenship), while the 22nd Amendment, concerns qualifications for election, and thus a sometime two-term president is all the same eligible to serve as vice president. Neither amendment restricts the number of times someone can be elected to the vice presidency and and then succeed to the presidency to serve out the remainder of the term, although the person could exist prohibited from running for election to an additional term.^{[26] [27]}

The practical applicability of this stardom has not been tested, equally no twice-elected president has e'er been nominated for the vice presidency. While Hillary Clinton once suggested she considered former President Bill Clinton as her running mate,^[28] the constitutional question remains unresolved.^[1]

Attempts at repeal [edit]

Over the years, several presidents accept voiced their antipathy toward the subpoena. Afterwards leaving office, Harry Truman described the amendment every bit stupid and ane of the worst amendments of the Constitution with the exception of the Prohibition Subpoena.^[29] A few days before leaving office in January 1989, President Ronald Reagan said he would push for a repeal of the 22nd Amendment considering he thought information technology infringed on people's democratic rights.^[30] In a November 2000 interview with Rolling Rock, President Bill Clinton suggested that the 22nd Amendment should exist altered to limit presidents to two consecutive terms just and then allow non-sequent terms, because of longer life expectancies.^[31] Donald Trump questioned presidential term limits on multiple occasions while in office, and in public remarks talked about serving beyond the limits of the 22nd Amendment. During an April 2019 White House event for the Wounded Warrior Project, he suggested he would remain president for 10 to xiv years.^{[32] [33]}

The first efforts in Congress to repeal the 22nd Amendment were undertaken in 1956, five years after the amendment'south ratification. Over the next 50 years, 54 joint resolutions seeking to repeal the two-term presidential election limit were introduced.^[1] Between 1997 and 2013, José Due east. Serrano, Democratic representative for New York, introduced nine resolutions (one per Congress, all unsuccessful) to repeal the amendment.^[34] Repeal has also been supported past Representatives Barney Frank and David Dreier and Senators Mitch McConnell^[35] and Harry Reid.^[36]

See as well [edit]

• Term limits in the The states
• 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 Enquiry Service, The Library of Congress. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
2. ^ "FDR's third-term election and the 22nd subpoena - National Constitution Center". National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org . Retrieved September 30, 2021.
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Constitution of the Us of America: Analysis and Interpretation" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. August 26, 2017. pp. 39–40. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
4. ^ ^{a b} Buckley, F. H.; Metzger, Gillian. "Twenty-second Subpoena". The Interactive Constitution. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The National Constitution Center. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
5. ^ Get-go typhoon U.s.a.CONST., art. X, section 1.
6. ^ Ferling, John (2009). The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon. New York: Bloomsbury Printing. pp. 347–348. ISBN978-1-59691-465-0.
7. ^ Jefferson, Thomas (December 10, 1807). "Letter of the alphabet 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 x, 2017.
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Peabody, Bruce Thou.; Gant, Scott E. (Feb 1999). "The Twice and Time to come President: Constitutional Interstices and the 20-2d Amendment". Minnesota Law Review. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Police School. 83 (three): 565–635. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
10. ^ Pietrusza, David (2007). The Yr of the 6 Presidents. New York: Carroll and Graf. pp. 187–200. ISBN978-0-78671-622-7.
11. ^ Saunders, Robert M. (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'south Side: The Vice Presidency in the Twentieth Century. Columbia, Missouri: Academy of Missouri Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN0-8262-1133-X . Retrieved March 20, 2018.
13. ^ ^{a b} "FDR's third-term conclusion and the 22nd amendment". Constitution Daily. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The National Constitution Eye. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
14. ^ Jordan, David One thousand. (2011). FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Printing. p. 290. ISBN978-0-253-35683-3.
15. ^ Leuchtenburg, William Eastward. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Campaigns and Elections". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
16. ^ Leuchtenburg, William E. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Decease of the President". Charlottesville, Virginia: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March twenty, 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 past 22nd Amendment". Tahlequah Daily Press. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
19. ^ "22nd Amendment: 2-Term Limit on Presidency". constitutioncenter.org. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: National Constitution Heart. Archived from the original on Feb twenty, 2020. Retrieved June vii, 2020.
20. ^ Mount, Steve. "Ratification of Constitutional Amendments". usconstitution.cyberspace. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved June ix, 2020.
21. ^ Weldon, Kathleen (Baronial xi, 2015). "The Public and the 22nd Subpoena: Third Terms and Lame Ducks". Huffington Mail. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
22. ^ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Presidential Task Approving: F. Roosevelt (1941)—Trump". Data adapted from the Gallup Poll and compiled by 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 11-27". America'due south Founding Documents. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
24. ^ Prepare, Joel A. "The 22nd Amendment Doesn't Say What Yous Call back It Says". Blandon, Pennsylvania: Cornerstone Law Firm. Archived from the original on Jan 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 2, 2000). "Why the Constitution permits a Gore-Clinton ticket". CNN. Archived from the original on October 1, 2005.
27. ^ Gant, Scott E.; Peabody, Bruce G. (June thirteen, 2006). "How to bring dorsum Bill: A Clinton-Clinton 2008 ticket is constitutionally possible". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on January fourteen, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
28. ^ LoBianco, Tom (September xv, 2015). "Hillary Clinton: Bill every bit VP has 'crossed her mind'". CNN. Archived from the original on January xiv, 2021. Retrieved Oct 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. University of Toronto Press on behalf of the Canadian Association for American Studies with the support of Carleton University. 29 (three): 133–148. doi:10.3138/CRAS-029-03-06. S2CID 159908265.
30. ^ Reagan, Ronald (January 18, 1989). "President Reagan Says He Will Fight to Repeal 22nd Amendment". NBC Nightly News (Interview). Interviewed by Tom Brokaw. New York: NBC. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
31. ^ "Clinton: I Would've Won Third Term". ABC News. December seven, 2000. Archived from the original on January 14, 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 organization Insider. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved September fourteen, 2019.
33. ^ Croucher, Shane (September 11, 2019). "Donald Trump Posts Epitome on Twitter, Instagram Joking That He'll Stand in 2024". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January fourteen, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
34. ^ "H.J.Res. fifteen (113th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-2d commodity of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve equally President". Washington, D.C.: GovTrack, a project of Borough Impulse, LLC. 2013. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
35. ^ "Nib to Repeal the 22nd Amendment". Snopes.com . Retrieved October xix, 2018.
36. ^ potus_geeks (February 27, 2012). "The 22nd Subpoena". Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved October nineteen, 2018.

External links [edit]

• The Annenberg Guide to the U.s.a. 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#:~:text=The%20amendment%20prohibits%20anyone%20who,elected%20president%20more%20than%20once.

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