Essentially, this agency that someone could serve for life, which many people equated amongst monarchical rule.
Beginning amongst George Washington too lasting through Harry S. Truman, presidents could serve every bit many damage every bit they could win. It wasn’t until afterwards Franklin D. Roosevelt won iv consecutive presidential elections, leaving share only because of his death, that the authorities warmed upward to the stance of having term limits.
Let's locomote dorsum inwards fourth dimension to the founding era. Back then, the U.S. of A. had no presidential term limits because nether the Articles of Confederation, in that place was no such matter every bit a president. (There was a president of the Continental Congress inwards the 1780s, but it was non a master copy executive position.)
The Articles’ framers inwards the Second Continental Congress deliberately left out a head-of-state because they fretted over creating some other manful somebody monarch inwards the mold of King George III of Great Britain, amongst whom they’d merely severed ties afterwards winning independence from the woman nurture country.
Yet inwards 1787, a novel Constitutional Convention formed to flake the Articles too draft a Constitution that was completely different. The upshot was much less democratic than the Articles or whatever province constitution at the time.
Some of the Constitutional framers silent had serious qualms nigh creating a master copy executive who was also much similar a king. But they came pretty around the border amongst things similar the presidential pardon -- a ability that brings to withdraw heed the British King’s “royal prerogative of mercy" -- too past times nearly making the presidency a straightforward lifetime appointment.
Many of the Framers -- including James Madison too Alexander Hamilton -- backed a lifetime engagement for presidents selected past times Congress too non elected past times the people, which would accept made the presidency a so-called elective monarchy. However, when this was seat to a vote, it failed past times only half-dozen votes to four.
Instead, they came upward amongst a complex voting arrangement involving the electoral college that would silent guarantee, every bit the framers desired, that presidential elections were non alone inwards the hands of ordinary voters. Within this system, they shortened a president’s engagement to iv years. Because most of the framers didn’t wishing to laid upward whatever limits on how many four-year damage a president could serve, however, they made no elevate of it inwards the Constitution.
Nonetheless, George Washington too Thomas Jefferson ended upward setting a two-term precedent. Washington passed on running a tertiary time, but did clarify that he would’ve if he felt he was needed. Jefferson, on the other hand, felt that 2 damage was sufficient for i person, too that to a greater extent than powerfulness overreach executive power. Thus, 2 damage became the unofficial measure thereafter.
That is, until Franklin D. Roosevelt bucked tradition past times winning successive elections inwards 1932, 1936, 1940, too 1944. He served a full of 12 years too died merely a few months next his concluding inauguration.
So why did FDR serve thence long?
When a terra firma faces national too international crises, it powerfulness prefer to hit the same authorities inwards ability for longer than usual. And during that time, the U.S. of A. was contending amongst the extraordinary circumstances of both the Great Depression too World War II. Still, FDR’s long tenure created unease nigh the prospect of presidential tyranny.
By the destination of his tertiary term, Roosevelt’s high blood pressure level too the beginnings of congestive see failure were making him also sick to serve, rendering him incapable of working to a greater extent than than nigh iv hours a day. Many who regularly saw the president doubted that he would consummate his 4th term. Unfortunately, they were correct.
These concerns led to the 22nd Amendment, ratified on Feb 27, 1951, which established a two-term bound for presidents.
