From 1789-1787, George Washington was President of the United States, serving for 2 terms. Thereafter, no President served more than 2 terms, until FDR.
Originally, FDR had not planned to run for a third term, but with the war going on in Europe, he felt it only safe if he were to be at the head of the US keeping things going, and because of the impending likelihood of war, Americans voted the known variable that was FDR into a third term of Presidency rather than try to face this oncoming threat under a new leader they didn't know.
FDR ran for his third term of presidency because the country was on the brink of war, but during the war, when he ran for his fourth term, proposals began floating around that would limit a president's ability to run for more than the 2 terms every President of the United States had served since Washington set the precedent. This was because people felt that allowing a President to run for an unlimited number of terms would be a threat to democracy because it would lead to a monarchy or dictator like ruling.
In 1947, President Harry S. Truman proposed the Hoover Commission which recommended presidents only be allowed to serve 2 terms. From this proposal came the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution.
https://biography.yourdictionary.com/articles/which-president-served-more-than-two-terms.html
I thought it was interesting that after Roosevelt had a third term the 22nd Amendment was passed, but do you think that Roosevelt was enabled to have a third term because of the war?
ReplyDeleteI was very surprised when I heard that Roosevelt served for four terms and I'm glad you covered that fact and explained why now we are so familiar with a president only being able to serve two terms. It was a well-written and researched post, good job!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that Washington set this precedent for 2 term maximums, though not legally established, and so many presidents followed his lead. Roosevelt's fourth term seemed excessive, and even in wartime, it is probably not best to simultaneously threaten your people's democracy whilst asking them to die for you. It is a good thing that amendment was passed promptly for that kind of threat to democracy is often what gets people going, going to all extents to protect themselves and their rights. See: French Revolution, American Revolution, etc.
ReplyDeleteBefore taking USHAP, I always thought that from the very start there was a 2 term law, and for some reason it had been ignored due to the war, but being in class has cleared that up. This is a very concise explanation of that concept. I think it's really interesting how the american public was willing to put Roosevelt in as president again for the oncoming war, mostly because they didn't want a president who would get them involved or was clueless. I was wondering, what did you think about Roosevelt's competitors, and do you think it was a good idea for there to be more than 2 terms for Roosevelt?
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