Kelompok 7_Kelas A_Week 7

Fitra Shaumi Azzahra

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Oktaviana Verbaya Sagala

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Prettya Nur Kartikasari

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Anggia Rahmadini

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Aisyah Jazuli Putri

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Fahri Syadia Faiz

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Ramadhan Putra Baihaqi

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Twenty-Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

George Washington was the first to suggest that four years per term of presidency and maximum
amount of two terms is enough for any president. The proposed two-term limit became the
unwritten rule (convention) for every president which was the basis of how there be the thought
to limit the presidencys term. George Washington thought that it was important to make the
political atmosphere to be as open as possible as it was agreed from the very beginning that
United States of America really glorifies the liberty of all people, thus give the equal amount of
opportunity and giving them more access by limiting the ones who already successed getting in
into presidents office.
On February 27, 1951, the twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution was passed by the U.S.
Congress (Totallyhistory.com, 2015). The amendment was the response of Franklin Roosevelts
four terms presidential tenure. He broke George Washingtons two terms convention as president
of the United States. For the reason, Franklin D. Roosevelt had brought the nation through the
Great Depression of the 1930s and almost all of World War II in which he had won election in
1932 and reelection in 1936, also third term in 1940, and fourth in 1914 (Levy, 2015). Most
Americans at the time loved Roosevelt and were happy to have him stay in the White House to
help guide the country through the difficult challenges of the Great Depression and World War II.
After got himself elected president four times in a row, he died in office in 1945 (Shmoop, 2015).
However, since his death, many people began to think that the two-term limit really had been a
good thing. Also it didn't seem healthy for a democracy to be led by the same individual for
decades at a time.

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Soon after his death, Republicans in Congress began the work of creating Amendment XXII
(Usconstitution.net, 2015). The Twenty-second Amendment turned George Washington's
constitution into official constitutional law; today no president can serve more than two full
terms. A vice president who serves out less than two years of his predecessor's term is allowed
another two terms of his own, which means that it is theoretically possible for one individual to
serve a maximum of ten years in the White House; in more normal circumstances, eight years is
the max (Shmoop, 2015). By then, Roosevelt was the first and only President to serve more than
two terms.
In the second section, it states that the article remains inoperative unless ratified as amendment to
the U.S Constitution, and this ratification shall be made by the state legislatures of three-fourths
of the states, moreover, Congress must make the ratification within seven years upon the
submission date of the amendment. (Legal Information Institute, 2015).
Harry Truman was the president at the time the amendment was proposed and passed. As a
result, he was the last president eligible to be elected to the presidency for more than two fouryear terms.
Dwight Eisenhower was the first president affected by the 22nd Amendment. Elected in 1952
and 1956, Eisenhower was not eligible for election in 1960. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both
successfully concluded two four-year terms, becoming ineligible for re-election. Both Reagan
and Clinton remained fairly popular at the conclusion of their presidencies spurring short-lived
movements to repeal the 22nd Amendment. Richard Nixon had been elected twice, and though
he did not complete his second term, became ineligible for election. George W. Bush served two
full terms, but there was little talk of repealing the 22nd Amendment as Bush neared the end of
his service. Barack Obama has won two elections and is ineligible for a third term. (Shestokas,
2015)
Some also analyze regarding to the reason and importance of this twenty-second amendment.
Supporters of the amendment believe that the two-term limit provides several benefits.
Presidents will be less likely to be interested in handing out political favors such as subsidies and
grants just to get re-elected for another term (Totallyhistory.com, 2015). However, others believe

Kelompok 7_Kelas A_Week 7

that the presidents power may be less limited in his second term since he no longer worried
about being eligible to run for office again (Totallyhistory.com, 2015). Nearly everyone who
participates in the political process today believes that the 22nd Amendment is important. This
amendment aimed to set a limit to the number of terms that an individual could serve as the
countrys president. This means that anyone can only become the President up to two times and
thus, it gives the American people more opportunity for choice in their leadership; it is one of
form of action done to prevent any possibility of the condition that tends to be like dictatorship
(Cliffs Notes, 2013). So, we as the 7 th team submit that subsequently it is obvious that the very
first force agent was Washington, since he made it quite clear that he had no intention of doing so
when he was offered the third term opportunity. Then it was agreed by the citizen and previously
leaders inside of the Congress since it is a consistent move of democracy promoting.
References
Cliffs Notes. 2013. American Government: Why do some critics want the
22nd

Amendment

Available

repealed?.

at:

[online]

Houghton

Mifflin

Harcourt.

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/american-

government/why-do-some-critics-want-the-22nd-amendment-repealed
[Accessed 8 April 2015].
Legal Information Institute. 2011. 22nd Amendment. [online] Cornell University of Law.
Available at: http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxii [Accessed 8 April
2015]
Levy, Michael. 2015. Twenty-second Amendment. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/611038/Twenty-second-Amendment
[Accessed 8 April 2015].
Shestokas, David. 2015. Constitutions 22nd Amendment: Term Limits for the President. [online]
Shestokas.com.

Available

at:

http://www.shestokas.com/constitution-educational-

series/constitutions-22nd-amendment-term-limits-for-the-president/ [Accessed 8 April

2015].
Shmoop.

2015.

22nd

Amendment.

[online]

Available

http://www.shmoop.com/constitution/22nd-amendment.html [Accessed 8 April 2015].

at:

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Usconstitution.net. 2015. Notes on the Amendments - The U.S. Constitution Online USConstitution.net. [online] Available at: http://www.usconstitution.net/constamnotes.html
[Accessed 8 April 2015].