Why a presidential term limit got written into the Constitution – the story of the 22nd Amendment

By: Mark Satta, Wayne State University

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 26, 2025

Words: 1,149

Last Updated: 4 weeks, 2 days ago

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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 …

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