Skip to content
CivicsWise
Menu

Question 37 of 128 · American Government · System of Government

The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?

Accepted answers

  • (Because of) the 22nd Amendment
  • To keep the president from becoming too powerful

Any one of these is accepted, unless the question asks for more than one.

Why this is the answer

George Washington set the custom by stepping down after two terms, and every president kept it until Franklin Roosevelt, who was elected four times and served from 1933 to 1945. After that, the 22nd Amendment, added in 1951, turned the custom into law: a person can be elected President only twice. The reason is the same fear that runs through the whole Constitution, that no one person should hold too much power for too long. Both official answers are accepted, the amendment or the reason behind it. Memory hook: the 22nd Amendment means 2 terms.