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Only one person, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, has ever served more than two terms as president of the United States. This is for two reasons. First, prior to Roosevelt's election to a third term in 1940 there was a longstanding American tradition that presidents not serve more than two terms.
This tradition was established by the decisions of early presidents such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison not to seek a third term. This tradition was later adopted by other presidents. Second, after Roosevelt died in office in 1945 during his fourth term, Congress and the people of the United States decided to turn the long-standing tradition that presidents should not serve more than two terms into a part of constitutional law.
This was done through the passage and ratification of the 22nd Amendment, which became part of the U.S. Constitution in 1951.
Intent is clear The key provision of the 22nd Amendment 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." The intent is clear. No one is supposed to serve more than two full terms as president.
READ MORE: Gwen's Take: The third term myth The only way someone can serve more than two terms is if they served less than two years in a previous term in which they weren't elected president. Here's an example: If a vice president becomes president during the final year of a term because the president died, that vice president could still run for two terms. But that exception is still meant to bar anyone from serving more than a total of 10 years as president.
It is worth understanding why the two-term tradition was considered so important that it was turned into constitutional law the first time it was violated. Starting the..
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