The 22nd Amendment – A Look Inside

On February 27, 1951, the United States Constitution was amended to include a new law limiting the amount of time that the president has to rule the land. This is the 22nd Amendment. While people do not generally hold the 22nd Amendment in as much regard as they do for the Bill of Rights it is still a valuable rule in that it helps to make the country different from others in terms of how one person rules the land.

 

Before the 22nd Amendment came around the idea of limiting oneself to only two terms as president was generally unofficial. George Washington started the precedent, and Franklin Roosevelt broke it. The 22nd Amendment makes sure, however, that the president only holds offices for two terms.

According to the 22nd Amendment no president will be allowed to hold office for more than two terms. Also, any person who has hold the office of President for over two years in a term where another person was elected to the office can be elected to the office more than one time.

The purpose of the 22nd Amendment was to help and make the style of rule that is used in the United States different from what is done in other countries. The concept of this is that the United States will never be run like a monarchy where one person runs the country for life. In other words, there will be no “president for life” or any type of rule that is done by someone who acts as a king.

This also is reflective of why the United States was created in the first place. The people who moved to this country were not fond of the rule of kings and how they had unlimited powers. The 22nd Amendment, along with the rules of the system of checks and balances, work to make sure that this never happens in the United States. This means that all people in the country’s government are going to be held accountable for everything that they do. It also allows for others to be competitive for governmental positions. The idea of “citizen rulers” has been used as a result, meaning that the idea of the “career politician” is now obsolete.

The 22nd Amendment has also helped to secure a system of elections that will be especially useful in giving the general public the power to determine who is going to be running the country. Every two years people can vote out those who they either disagree with or feel who has not been effective enough. This makes for a more democratic nation where people will be able to replace who they are unsupportive of and a nation where there will be no rule like what a king would have in earlier times.

Overall, the 22nd Amendment, while it may sound simple, is valuable to the country. It helps to protect the country from a monarchy-like rule and gives more power to the general public in terms of who they are going to elect for president.



 

American History Recommended Products


American History Encyclopedia News


Muppets, madness and magic -- behind the scenes on 'Sesame Street' (The Buffalo News)

“Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street” is more Cliff Notes than encyclopedia. It breezes through more than 50 years of children's television history in zigzag fashion, dropping names and facts so fast that it's hard to keep track. In the end, it's less a complete history than a loosely structured collection of anecdotes. But the subject matter is so compelling -- how a ragtag bunch ...

Read more...


Sail on: Le Mars native tells sea tales before final leg of voyage (Le Mars Daily Sentinel)

Editor's Note: This is a follow up story on Hugh Morrow, the Le Mars native who is crossing the Pacific Ocean in a boat designed after the ancient Chinese junk. We caught up with him via email during his stopover in Hawaii.

Read more...


Griffin Bell remembered as ‘Quintessential Southern gentleman’ (Macon Telegraph)

Griffin B. Bell, the Mercer graduate who as a federal judge enforced early civil rights laws in the segregated South and as U.S. attorney general restored confidence to the Justice Department following the Watergate scandal, died Monday. He was 90.

Read more...


Social Security the Greatest Ponzi Scheme Ever? (HispanicBusiness.com)

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. -- For weeks the U.S. and international media have been following the story of Bernard Madoff and his "giant Ponzi scheme," as The Wall Street Journal called it, which may have cheated unsuspecting investors out of tens of billions of dollars.

Read more...


Second lecture series begins Jan. 7 (The Post and Courier)

The Great War for Empire had, for South Carolinians, reached an increasingly unhappy conclusion regarding the subsequent actions of the British government toward the Colonies. Revolution had ushered into history a new nation with boundless potential, but the independent bent Carolinians had demonstrated since the 17th century did not vanish. As their fathers and grandfathers had done in 1719 and ...

Read more...