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Washington Sets Precedent
As the first president of the United States George Washington set the precedent for future leaders that lasted almost 150 years. Washington chose to serve only two terms-he did not want the presidentcy to turn into anything resembling a monarchy. -
Jefferson Writing
Thomas Jefferson 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." He was saying that if there is no limit set for how many terms a president could serve, they would be president forever. -
James Madison Serves Two Terms
Following the precedent set by Washington, and keeping suit with Jefferson, Madison served only two terms. -
Monroe Also Serves Two Terms
James Monroe, the fifth president, also only serves two terms as president. The early presidents all followed Washington's example. -
Grant Attempts Third Term
President Ulysses S. Grant tried to serve a third term in 1880 after serving from 1869-1877. Grant did not have enough support, and lost to James Garfield. -
Cleveland Attempts Third Term
Grover Cleveland wanted to serve a third consecutive term in 1896. He didn't have enough support because of the Panic of 1893. It's clear that at the time, Americans weren't interested in a president serving more than two terms. -
T. Roosevelt Attempts Third Term
Teddy Roosevelt succeeded the presidency after McKinley's assasination. He was elected in 1904 to a full term, so he served from 1904 to 1909. He tried to serve a non-consecutive term in 1912 but lost to Woodrow Wilson. -
Wilson Attempts Third Term
Woodrow Wilson also tried to get elected to a third term in 1920, but he was not popular enough in his own party. -
FDR Elected to Third & Fourth Term
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to a third term; his supporterts said their reason to break the precedent was the war in Europe. He also won the 1944 election, winning his fourth term, but died in office. He was elected again because people didn't think he should leave office while he was guiding our nation through WWII. -
Congress Passed 22nd Amendment
Congress proposed the 22nd Amendment on March 24, 1947. Although FDR had been popular, many Americans decided that they did not want any president to serve more than two terms again. -
Ratification Complete
The majority of the states voted to ratify the 22nd Amendment and it went into effect.
