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United States Constitution
PREAMBLE : We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty
to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution
The Twenty-Second Amendment
Text of Constitution:
SECTION 1:
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
SECTION 2:
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.
The 'Travis Translation' of Constitution:
SECTION 1:
Nobody can be elected President more than twice. Nobody who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of someone else’s term, can be elected more than once. This amend¬ment does not affect the President now, and it does not affect anyone who may act as President until this amendment is officially added to the Constitution.
SECTION 2:
This amendment will not work unless it is added to the Constitution by the State Legislatures, like the Constitution says, seven years from the day after it is given to the States by Congress.
| The Two-Term Limit for Presidents of the United States | Important Cases | |
|---|---|---|
| It is not historically clear whether George Washington did not seek a third term because he was tired or because he was seeking to establish a precedent – but whatever the underlying reason, two terms became the norm for Presidents of the Untied States. It was followed by the third President, Thomas Jefferson (the second President, John Adams lost reelection for his second term), and – though a few Presidents did unsuccessfully attempt to seek a third term – no President ever served more than two until President Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated for a third time in 1940 and then again for a fourth time in 1944. That Mr. Roosevelt was able to achieve such a feat might be testament to his own personal popularity. But the idea of a President serving for a decade or more – possibly for his life – was distasteful and disconcerting to the dictator-fearful American electorate. Hence, within a few short years of President Roosevelt’s death, the 22nd Amendment was ratified. It’s text reads as follows: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.” “This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.” No President since has served more than two terms. The restriction is no longer custom. It is law. |
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