It is the 22nd Amendment that creates a term limit on the presidency, but to say that the term limit is eight years is actually incorrect. The term limit is ten years. A president can serve out the term of a deceased, incapacitated, or impeached president, as long as that term remainder is less than two years, and still serve for two more full terms. The person who takes over in this way for a...
It is the 22nd Amendment that creates a term limit on the presidency, but to say that the term limit is eight years is actually incorrect. The term limit is ten years. A president can serve out the term of a deceased, incapacitated, or impeached president, as long as that term remainder is less than two years, and still serve for two more full terms. The person who takes over in this way for a term remainder of more than two years can only serve for one more full term.
This amendment was passed in 1951, as a response to the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), who was elected for four terms. Had he not died in his fourth term, it is difficult to know whether or not he would have been elected again. But the thought was that this was far too long for anyone to be president, that too much power was accrued over such a long period of time, and that presidencies could become more like monarchies if we had no term limits. There is no question that FDR acquired a great deal of power in his nearly sixteen years of serving as president, and since it is difficult to pass any constitutional amendment, it being a complex and drawn out process, it is clear that the sentiment of a majority of people was that too long a "reign" was not good for the country.
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