Amendment XXII · Later Amendment
Twenty-Second Amendment: Presidential term limits
About 15 min total: 5 min reading + 10 min for its 9 practice questions
No one may be elected President more than twice.
- Proposed by Congress
- March 21, 1947
- Ratified
- February 27, 1951
- Group
- Later Amendment
The text
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 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.
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.
What it means
- No one can be elected President more than twice.
- Someone who served more than two years of another person's term can be elected only once, so the maximum is 10 years.
- It did not apply to President Truman, who held office when it was proposed.
Who proposed it
Introduced in the 80th Congress in 1947 as H.J. Res. 27 by Representative Earl C. Michener of Michigan (per congressional records summarized by secondary sources), with strong support from the new Republican majority.
When it was proposed and ratified
- Proposed by Congress: March 21, 1947. The National Archives lists March 21, 1947 (final House approval). Constitution Annotated gives March 24, 1947.
- Ratified: February 27, 1951. Minnesota was the 36th state. Certified March 1, 1951.
Amendments are not signed into law. Congress proposes them by a two-thirds vote of both houses, and they become part of the Constitution when three-fourths of the states ratify. The President has no formal role (Article V).
Why it was made
George Washington set a two-term tradition by declining a third term. Franklin D. Roosevelt broke it, winning four elections (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944). After his death, Republicans who won control of Congress in 1946, joined by some Democrats, wrote the two-term tradition into the Constitution.
Key Supreme Court cases
None of the FCLE landmark cases centers on this amendment. See all landmark cases.
FCLE tips
- Maximum time as President is 10 years.
| This | With this |
|---|---|
| 22nd: two-term limit | 20th: when terms start |
Sources: National Archives (text and dates); Constitution Annotated (Congress.gov) (proposal and ratification history); U.S. Senate Historical Office and Library of Congress (sponsors).