Twenty-Second Amendment Packs a Wallop
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. Ulysses Grant was still popular after he left office in 1877. At the Republican National Convention in 1880, 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.
Perhaps no one enjoyed being president more than 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.
Woodrow Wilson, who was practically an invalid at the end of his second term, died only a few years after leaving office. Grover Cleveland carried the popular vote in three consecutive elections, only winning the Electoral College in two. He decided against a fourth consecutive run. Calvin Coolidge was expected to run for essentially a third term in 1928, but declined saying, “If I take another term, I will be in the White House till 1933…Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had it – too long!”
Still, Grant and TR were relatively young men after two terms, and both grasped for the brass ring again. FDR, still in his 50s, ran for his third term in 1940. He rejected the unwritten rule in American politics that no U.S. president should serve more than two terms. His enemies made it a written rule.
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 did not matter after 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 would have chosen not to run in either 2000 or 2004. Clinton was the first president to be truly term limited by the 22nd Amendment. Would George W. Bush have been a better candidate than John McCain in 2008 or Mitt Romney in 2012? Would Barack Obama be viable for a third term? He’s only 54 years old.
We will never know about these what-ifs of history because an amendment that had lain dormant for 50 years after its adoption has erupted with full force on the American political landscape in the 21st century. The seemingly inconsequential 22nd Amendment, which did not affect any election in the 20th century, has influenced all five presidential elections since 2000. 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. Ulysses Grant was still popular after he left office in 1877. At the Republican National Convention in 1880, 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.
Perhaps no one enjoyed being president more than 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.
Woodrow Wilson, who was practically an invalid at the end of his second term, died only a few years after leaving office. Grover Cleveland carried the popular vote in three consecutive elections, only winning the Electoral College in two. He decided against a fourth consecutive run. Calvin Coolidge was expected to run for essentially a third term in 1928, but declined saying, “If I take another term, I will be in the White House till 1933…Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had it – too long!”
Still, Grant and TR were relatively young men after two terms, and both grasped for the brass ring again. FDR, still in his 50s, ran for his third term in 1940. He rejected the unwritten rule in American politics that no U.S. president should serve more than two terms. His enemies made it a written rule.
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 did not matter after 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 would have chosen not to run in either 2000 or 2004. Clinton was the first president to be truly term limited by the 22nd Amendment. Would George W. Bush have been a better candidate than John McCain in 2008 or Mitt Romney in 2012? Would Barack Obama be viable for a third term? He’s only 54 years old.
We will never know about these what-ifs of history because an amendment that had lain dormant for 50 years after its adoption has erupted with full force on the American political landscape in the 21st century. The seemingly inconsequential 22nd Amendment, which did not affect any election in the 20th century, has influenced all five presidential elections since 2000. 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.