Term limits can be defined as "laws that restrict the number of years a public offcial can serve in an elected office" ( McGann) Where as members of Congress have no set term limit, and can get re elected continuously. The President of The United states is limited to two full terms. George Washington, the first president of the united states served two full terms, when asked to serve a third term he declined, claiming a president should not continue after two terms. "This created an unwritten tradition in American political culture." ( what is the 22nd amendment) That is until Franklin D Roosevelt, was president from 1933- 1945. The Country faced World War 11, and the Great Depression. Because of these devastating events, …show more content…
Roosevelt served four full terms, 12 years in total. Following his death in 1945 many Americans came to realize that "Having a president serve more than eight years was defective for the country" ( what is the 22nd amendment) This lead to the development of the 22nd amendment which allows a president to serve for two terms only. When the framers wrote the constitution, they purposely did not include term limits for congress.
They wanted the power to be in the hands of the people which is why, it was decided that "The House of Representatives, the body of congress that directly represents the people, would be sent back to the people every two years for re- election" (Beckett) The framers thought this would help to keep politicians liable to the people. The issue of whether or not term limits for congress should be implemented, is a huge concern among many Americans. Some claim that congress have become corrupt, power hungry politicians, more concerned with getting re elected then, the needs of the people. While others say that term limits takes away the power of the people, and are not needed because of the already existing re …show more content…
elections. An argument against term limits is "The founding fathers did not want an oligarchy or a monarchy, they wanted a government “By the People.” Without the necessary restrictions of term limits"(Gaul) Putting term limits on the amount of time a member of congress can serve, takes away the right of the people to vote on who they want representing them in congress. If a person voting is confident that the incumbent is best for the job, they should have the right to vote for them. If they are not satisfied with them, they should be able to vote for someone else. Implementing a term limit, could have the potential to eliminate a candidate a citizen wanted to vote for, thus taking the power away from the people. An argument for Term Limits is that “We the People” will only have a say in the governance of the country, if regular people are allowed the opportunity to run for office on a level playing field."( Gaul) If we the people aren’t allowed the opportunity to fun for congress, then it isn’t actually a government by the people at all.
Allowing congress to continuously get reelected, removes them from the real world. As many of them get elected when they are young, and remain in congress for a very long time. Enforcing term limits can help to keep politicians grounded. "With term limits in place, Congress will be more responsible toward their constituents because they will soon be constituents themselves."(Weeks) Having term limits in place influences congress to make good choices, as they will have to abide by the laws they created, once they are done in office. "Ensuring that Members eventually are exposed to life outside of Congress should inculcate a more sophisticated understanding of the logic and the limits of federal
regulation."(Greenberg) The debate against term limits may say that by placing an amount of time a member of congress can serve, eliminates experienced officials, and opens doors for younger less experienced people to come into office. This is harmful because, " If a government body consistently has to break in new members and teach them the ropes, this cuts down on the amount of time that can be spent on real work." ( Pros and cons of Term Limits) With term limits, politicians would be taking away a lot of experience and contacts, that are crucial for the job. The new members would have to build this foundation from ground zero. "Term limits for Congress limits the chances of someone growing into their position and becoming even better at it."(Pros and cons of Term Limits) Placing term limits does not allow enough time for a congressman to fully reach their potential at their job, thus term limits may cause the quality of congressman, and the work being done to deteriorate. The debate for term limits may say that a successful government body, constantly has new ideas flowing. Having the same members of congress year after leads to "stagnation and a lack of fresh decision making" (pros and Cons of Term Limits) Having younger minds can be beneficial because, they can bring in new, and relevant ideas. That older members may have never thought of. "Continual infusion of fresh blood into the federal legislature will be good for both the Congress and the country."(Greenberg) Term limits can bring about a new, refreshed perspective to congress that can help them to become a "citizen" congress. An argument against term limits would be that politicians are "More likely to ignore the will of the people since they don’t face the wrath of the electorate in the future." ( Messerli ) If politicians knew they only had a certain time in office, they might be more focused on getting their next job, rather then meeting the demands of the people. We the people respect that our legislators will be responsive to us. Making them less so, could prove to be detrimental for our Constitutional republic. Many believe that "Congressional term limits help to root out corruption" (Pros and Cons of Congressional Term Limits) Members of Congress are given a significant amount of power, the longer they are exposed to this power, "The more likely congress is to start making decisions based on their own self interest" (Pros and cons of congressional term limits) Today congress does not always do what's right for the people, they tend to side with whatever group will give them money for their campaign. If term limits are in place, politicians will know beforehand that they will serve their time and be done. Instead of focusing on gaining more money, more fame, and getting re elected politicians will likely be motivated to work hard, and make decisions that the will help to benefit the people, rather than themselves. "By shortening congressional terms, proponents hope to make sure that nobody sees becoming a congressional representative as a viable lifetime career choice, leading to more people who get into politics for noble reasons."( the Pros and Cons of Term Limits in Congress) Another concern is that "term limits would shorten the careers of some of the best congressional legislators."(The Pros and Cons of Term Limits in Congress) Setting term limits could potentially get rid of politicians that actually are doing a good job, without any history of corruption. Morally right politicians would be "forced to leave along with the bad apples, regardless of their performance or merit."The Pros and Cons of Term Limits in Congress) Even if a politician was doing their best work, they could be ushered out office because of term limits. I am a 19 year old Caucasian female, who lives with both my parents. My parents are both teachers , and raised me as a Christian. In my opinion congress needs term limits. Our founding fathers did not intend for members of congress to serve for a long period of time. They wanted a government for the people, by the people. The idea was to have Americans serve in congress for a short period of time, and make decisions that would benefit society, then return back to their community and follow those laws they made while in office. The Framers did not include term limits in the constitution, because they thought that by holding regular elections in which the people could vote on politicians, would help to keep members of congress focused on the common good of the people. I do not think our founding fathers thought that politicians would just be in it to continuously get reelected, to gain more money, and to gain more power. Unfortunately that is what is happening in our society today. Congress is corrupt, and needs to be given a reality check. With term limits in place, I believe we would see a positive change in congress. I think term limits would eliminate power hungry people from running, and allow for normal citizens to come into office. Politicians would not have to worry about getting re elected, thus they could actually do their job and meet the needs of the people. Today in congress, we have the same people getting re elected year after year. Term Limits would allow for young, fresh minds to bring about new ideas, new perspectives, and the change that congress desperately needs. I think that giving Congress term limits is essential for giving the power back to the people like our founding fathers first set out to do. It would create a more efficient, balanced, and honest system.
The president stays in power for two terms or four years. The only reason its two terms is again, so he doesn't get too much power. The sae things go to the three branches of government they don't have too much power because of checks and balances. So each branch as its own powers split evenly. This is another reason why separation of powers protect America from tyranny .Checks and balances help protect America from tyranny. Checks and balances protect America because each branch can cancel out one another. (doc C). So they made three branches to balance the power out. One branch does not have all the power. Legislative branch can approve things from the other two branches. That rule goes with the other two branches. The branches can approve or disapprove each other. In the constitution It says that depending on your population you can get so many representatives(Doc D). The bigger states got more so the smaller states thought that was unfair. So in the Senate each state gets two, no matter the population. This is the last reason why. we found out about how Federalism,separation of powers and Checks and balances protects America from tyranny.We can say splitting the powers evenly within the state
It is not uncommon to find members of Congress who have genuine goals of spearheading, designing or even just supporting good public policy. It would be harsh to say that every member of Congress is against good policy. However what is difficult for members of Congress is deciding what is more important, the wishes of their constituents or national policy. Although it is rare, members of Congress vote against the popular opinion of his or her district in order to make what would be considered good policy in the national interest. This hinders their chance of re-election but is necessary for America. In very rare cases members of Congress have gone against the wishes of their constituents for moral reasons like in the aftermath of 9/11. When voting on the 2002 Iraq War Resolution, I am certain that the last thing of the minds of members of Congress was re-election. A very conservative House of Representatives member Jimmy Duncan said ‘‘when I pushed that button to vote against the war back in 2002, I thought I might be ending my political career.” In times of crisis members of Congress have decide between what is right, not what their constituents believe is right. Another goal other than re-election that members of Congress have is their own future. For many, being a members of The House of Representatives is a mere stepping stone in their career on the way to better things. Therefore for some members of Congress, re-election does not worry them and gives them the freedom to act in an environment striped of the constant pressure of re-election. However, considering that most of the members of The House Of Representatives goals lie within the Senate or high executive positions, re-election is still on their mind, all be it in the form of a different
Preventing federal judges to serve for life is a good concept, except when the judges become too old to continue presiding. Setting term limits for judges would be a great idea, because it would add diversity to the court systems every time a new judge arrives. Some judges are just too old, and senile, to still rule on cases and do their job effectively; therefore, setting term limits would ultimately benefit the courts because it would allow for diversity, and a new judge who may have different standards.
All of the framer of the U.S. Constitution had one thing in common, they all felt that the government didn't have enough power. At the same time they didn't want to give the government to much power. They all knew if there was power to be held someone was going to hold it and over use it The framers didn't want to create a system like Britain or England.
Government exists to serve the people, and not the politicians, American citizens know this. Polls show that Americans want term limitation by margins as high as three-to-one, even four-to-one. Congressional term limitation is the most important issue of our time because the future direction of our country depends upon it. There is no other way to restore government to, us, the people. There is no substitute for term limits. There are many second steps, depending upon where you sit, but there is only one first step toward turning the country around. It is con...
The 22nd Amendment creates a lame duck and which stops abuse of power3. Presidents in their second term have been seen to usually suffer diminished power, particularly after the second midterm elections. This diminish of power creates a lame duck. The president becoming a lame duck, stops him from being able abuse of power. The 22nd Amendment also stops the country from being a monarchy. US. Senators and Congressmen don’t have term limits because their voices are balanced by opposing parties in their chambers, the presidency is different. The president has no similar
...o keep their jobs, Congress members must please the majority of a state and in the nation. Citizens are the people who help campaign and vote to re-elect you or have someone take your job. Members when voting must remember that and consider voting in favor of what the majority in their state wants even if he or she disagrees. If they do not listen to state residents who are the voters, this can lead to someone sitting down in their former seat.
Term limits could increase the quality of the Supreme Court nominees. One of the driving factors behind a Supreme Court nominee is their age (Ringhand np). Individuals over 60 years of age are less likely to be appointed. This means presidents intentionally exclude a large number of highly qualified individuals from serving on our nation’s highest court (Ringhand np). Term limits resolve this problem. Furthermore, the threat of a justice’s cognitive decline may be reduced, since there would no longer be a temptation to hold out for a strategically timed retirement.
The 22nd amendment was passed by Congress in 1947 and ratified by the states by 1951. In which this document or amendment limited the terms of the president to two four year terms. It helps limit the power the president can receive and prevent them from getting “king like powers” it from turning into a monarchy.
The president is a very significant role in not only the U.S., but all around the world. As a matter of fact, the president has a great impact on our country in many ways as well, including relationships and trade. In order for us to have good relationships and trades with the country below us, we would need a strong president. If the presidential term limit was extended, there would be more strong presidents, less weak presidents, the ability to follow through with plans/changes, and less adjusting. This would impact the U.S. and Canada, and other countries all around the world in a positive way. Our society is falling to hatred, bad decisions, and a lack of unity and strength, which could all be reduced or prevented by a strong, beneficial
When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty years, it is evident that tyranny has not necessarily been eradicated from the United States (Vance, 1994, p. 429). Term limits are a necessity to uphold the Founders’ intentions, to prevent unfair advantages given to incumbents, and to allow a multitude of additional benefits.
Congressional terms have no limits. Controversy exists between those who think the terms should be limited and those who believe that terms should remain unlimited. The group that wants to limit the terms argues that the change will promote fresh ideas and reduce the possibility of decisions being made for self-interest. Those who oppose term limits believe that we would sacrifice both the stability and experience held by veteran politicians. They also point out that our election process allows the voter to limit terms, at their discretion. While experience and stability are important considerations, congressional terms should be limited to a maximum of two.
According to Linz, term limits in presidentialism force a president to serve a country for a fixed period of time
...deralists voiced was their dislike of the “four year term with indefinite re-eligibility.” The Constitution called for the President to be elected by the “electoral college” which removed the concern of Congress “controlling” the Executive and the Concern the Executive would appease Congress to be reappointed. The election process would ensure the President was on his best behavior if he desired to be re-elected. By establishing the four year term the Constitution protected the office from becoming a monarchy due to the fact that if a President migrated too much toward monarchical rule they would simply not be re-elected. Another advantage of the four year term with the eligibility of being re-elected was stability, it allowed for the continuation of good Executive policy and the ability to change if the policy was in line with what the electors desired.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt choose to run for a fourth term for President of the United States since the country was in the middle of a world war. Rumors surrounded the nation that the President would suspend the election due to the war; however, Roosevelt did not have that happen since elections are constitutional law (Boller). Nobody protested a fourth term because of the war. Rosevelt felt he could not leave the country while the world was in turmoil. He did not run for office because of the great power of the presidency; he ran since he felt he had an obligation to the American people and the world. Roosevelt stated, "I would, quite honestly, have retired to Hyde Park with infinite pleasure in 1941” if it was not for the crisis abroad (Dallek).