Remember the 22nd Amendment
By Brother Rogers
Nearly every amendment to the U.S. Constitution has had an immediate effect on American politics. For example, women, blacks, or 18-year-olds could suddenly vote, or alcohol was outlawed or made legal again. Interestingly, the 22nd Amendment ratified in 1951 did not have any effect on American politics for nearly 50 years. But it is having a major impact today.
Haven’t thought about the 22nd Amendment lately? Here is a quick refresher. It limits the president to two four-year terms in office, formally enshrining in the Constitution a practice that began with George Washington. Its adoption by a Republican Congress was a backlash against Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who won four consecutive presidential elections during the most cataclysmic era of the 20th century.
FDR was not the first man to desire more than two terms as president. Between the Civil War and FDR’s time in office, only three men served more than one term as president. The first was Ulysses Grant. Despite a presidency characterized by cronyism and corruption from 1868 to 1876, Grant was immensely popular in 1880. That year at the Republican National Convention, delegates could not decide between Grant and a popular U.S. Senator, paving the way for a dark horse candidate, James Garfield. However, if nominated and elected, Grant would have gladly returned to the White House.
The second two-term president in the post Civil War era was Theodore Roosevelt. He disliked the performance of his handpicked successor, William Howard Taft, and ran against him in 1912, splitting the Republican Party and tilting the election in favor of Woodrow Wilson. Teddy Roosevelt still was considered a possible contender for the Republican nomination in the election of 1920, until he died at age 60 in 1919.
The third president to serve eight years was Woodrow Wilson, who was practically an invalid at the end of his second term, and died only a few years after leaving office.
Thus, the only two men who physically could have served more than two terms in the White House after the Civil War, Grant and TR, both grasped for the brass ring again.
With the passage of the 22nd Amendment, no one can ever impact a presidential election the way Grant and both Roosevelts did as candidates for a third term. This restriction has not mattered since the amendment was ratified in 1951, until the election of 2000. Only Eisenhower and Reagan, assuming no term limits, could have run for a third term, but both were ready to retire.
But who seriously believes Bill Clinton, like Grant and the two Roosevelts before him, would have chosen not to run in either 2000 or 2004. Clinton is the first president to be truly term limited by the 22nd Amendment. We can only speculate about the impact of his candidacy in 2000 or 2004, but most agree he is a better campaigner than Gore or Kerry, who both lost close races.
Interestingly, George W. Bush will be the second president limited to two terms. His argument to stay the course with him in the war on terror could still be persuasive to a majority of Americans in 2008.
But we will never know about these what-ifs of history because an amendment that has lain dormant since its inception over 50 years ago is now erupting with full force on the American political landscape. The seemingly inconsequential 22nd Amendment will have influenced the first three presidential elections of the 21st century. Its impact was not immediate, but it sure packs a wallop today.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works at the Stennis Center for Public Service.
Nearly every amendment to the U.S. Constitution has had an immediate effect on American politics. For example, women, blacks, or 18-year-olds could suddenly vote, or alcohol was outlawed or made legal again. Interestingly, the 22nd Amendment ratified in 1951 did not have any effect on American politics for nearly 50 years. But it is having a major impact today.
Haven’t thought about the 22nd Amendment lately? Here is a quick refresher. It limits the president to two four-year terms in office, formally enshrining in the Constitution a practice that began with George Washington. Its adoption by a Republican Congress was a backlash against Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who won four consecutive presidential elections during the most cataclysmic era of the 20th century.
FDR was not the first man to desire more than two terms as president. Between the Civil War and FDR’s time in office, only three men served more than one term as president. The first was Ulysses Grant. Despite a presidency characterized by cronyism and corruption from 1868 to 1876, Grant was immensely popular in 1880. That year at the Republican National Convention, delegates could not decide between Grant and a popular U.S. Senator, paving the way for a dark horse candidate, James Garfield. However, if nominated and elected, Grant would have gladly returned to the White House.
The second two-term president in the post Civil War era was Theodore Roosevelt. He disliked the performance of his handpicked successor, William Howard Taft, and ran against him in 1912, splitting the Republican Party and tilting the election in favor of Woodrow Wilson. Teddy Roosevelt still was considered a possible contender for the Republican nomination in the election of 1920, until he died at age 60 in 1919.
The third president to serve eight years was Woodrow Wilson, who was practically an invalid at the end of his second term, and died only a few years after leaving office.
Thus, the only two men who physically could have served more than two terms in the White House after the Civil War, Grant and TR, both grasped for the brass ring again.
With the passage of the 22nd Amendment, no one can ever impact a presidential election the way Grant and both Roosevelts did as candidates for a third term. This restriction has not mattered since the amendment was ratified in 1951, until the election of 2000. Only Eisenhower and Reagan, assuming no term limits, could have run for a third term, but both were ready to retire.
But who seriously believes Bill Clinton, like Grant and the two Roosevelts before him, would have chosen not to run in either 2000 or 2004. Clinton is the first president to be truly term limited by the 22nd Amendment. We can only speculate about the impact of his candidacy in 2000 or 2004, but most agree he is a better campaigner than Gore or Kerry, who both lost close races.
Interestingly, George W. Bush will be the second president limited to two terms. His argument to stay the course with him in the war on terror could still be persuasive to a majority of Americans in 2008.
But we will never know about these what-ifs of history because an amendment that has lain dormant since its inception over 50 years ago is now erupting with full force on the American political landscape. The seemingly inconsequential 22nd Amendment will have influenced the first three presidential elections of the 21st century. Its impact was not immediate, but it sure packs a wallop today.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works at the Stennis Center for Public Service.
