In Reply to: I thought it was US History 101 posted by DSCBruin on October 21, 2025 at 12:42:06
There was no Constitutional bar to a third term. Washington pointedly stepped down and declined to run for a third term.
In the early 19th Century, Jefferson, Monroe and Jackson all left after 2 terms, based on Washington's example, even without a proscription. So did Grant. His second term was pretty shaky and scandal ridden, so query whether he would have eked out the narrow (and controversial) election Hayes won.
Not any instances where a third elected term was feasible after Grant. Until FDR.
Teddy Roosevelt voluntarily stepped down after finishing 3+ years of McKinley's term and his own after winning the election. But he had vowed in 1904 not to run again, so he sat out the 1908 election.
But then he ran again for a "3rd term" in 1912
Wilson was incapacitated halfway through his second term, so could not have run for a third.
When FDR ran for his third, he got @! 55% of the vote and 449 electoral votes.
It's a good thing FDR kept going for a number of reasons.
Not the least of which it led to the 22nd Amendment which poses an obstacle to Trump seeking another term if there is anything left of America to loot after he finishes this term.