Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution established a two-term limit for presidents, but its immediate political significance lay in the exception it made for the incumbent. Passed by the 80th U.S. Congress in 1947 and ratified by the states in 1951, it did not legally prevent Harry S. Truman from seeking another term in 1952.

Passage and Purpose

The amendment was passed by Republicans in the 80th U.S. Congress as a rebuke to the precedent set by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had won four presidential terms. Truman opposed the measure. Its adoption placed a two-term limit on presidents, turning a customary restraint into a constitutional rule.

Ratification and Scope

The states ratified the amendment, making it law in 1951. Its wording, however, did not include Truman. The distinction mattered in the approaching 1952 election: despite the new limit, he remained legally free to run again, as many people assumed he would.

Truman and the Two-Term Question

Truman’s eventual decision not to seek another term was therefore not compelled by the amendment. He had privately settled on retiring and planned to announce that decision in 1952; he invoked the two-term precedent as a standard of public service, even though the constitutional restriction did not apply to him. The amendment’s history thus joined a broader effort to limit presidential tenure with a separate choice by Truman to leave office.