The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1912-05-23
Limiting the President
OF the y. S. to One Term
Taft's Recent Proposal of In
eligibility Revived a Very
Old Problem.

President Taft suggested to his
IL audience that the constitution
should be amended so as to give
the president a single term of six or
eight years. An almost identical opin-
ION was expressed by President Jack
Son in his first message to congress,
In that paper, dated Dec. 8, 1929, "Old
Hickory" wrote, 1T would seem ad-
y1sable to limit the service of the chief
magistrate to a single term of either
four or six years." Not content with
this, he repeated the recommendation
In conjunction with one for an amend
ment providing for the election of the
president by popular vote, in his next
five annual messages.
Three months after his initial recon.
mendation he received a letter from
one of his Kitchen cabinet" begging
him to run for reelection and signed
by sixty eight members of the Penn.
sylvania legislature. To this demand
he gave his tacit consent, but that did
not Interfere with his series of mes
sages against the practice.
President Taft's pronouncement re-
suited in the introduction by Repre-
sentative Clayton of Alabama, chair
man of the Judiciary committee Of the
house, of joint resolution providing for
a constitutional amendment fixing the
length Of the presidential term at six
years and making the chief executive
ineligible for a second term, consecu
tive or not. Here again history is re-
peating itself. with, however, a differ
ence, for following the stormy Hayes
Tilden contest Representative Spring
er OF Illinois proposed a presidential
term of six years, the president not to
be Immediately re-eligible. AS in the
case of Jackson's reiterated recommen-
datlon. nothing came of this proposal.
Senate Drafts Amendment.
At the other end of the capitol a sub
committee of the senate judiciary CON-
mittee. headed by Senator Root, has
favorably reported the Works resolu-
ton, providing for the submission to
the states of a constitutional amend
ment upon the subject. The resolution
originally made the vice president also
ineligible for a second term, but the
subcommittee struck out this part of
it. Should it be adopted by congress
and ratified by the requisite number
or states paragraph IT, section 1, of ar
ticle p of the constitution would be al
tered to read in part as follows:
The executive power shall be vested in
a president of the United States of Amer
lea He shall hold his office during the
term of six years and be ineligible for re-
election thereto. ***
The question Of whether the presi
dent ought to be eligible for a second
term did not originate with Jackson.
1t has existed from the very beginning
of the government. At the meeting of
the constitutional convention of 1887
in Philadelphia Edmund Randolph of
Virginia proposed fifteen resolutions,
the seventh being in part as follows:
Resolved, That a national executive be
instituted. to be chosen by the national
legislature for the term Of -s 49, and
TO be Ineligible second time. 800
Randolph was almost Immediately
followed by Charles Pinckney of South
Carolina, who laid before the conven-
ton a draft Of federal constitution
which he had prepared. The first para
graph Of article Of this draft was
in these words:
The executive power of the United
States shall be vested in a president of
the United States Of America. which shall
be his style, and his title shall be his ex-
cellency. He shall be elected for -
years and shall be re-eligible.
Action by Later Conventions.
Thus early and pointedly were the
TWO ideas regarding eligibility for a
second term opposed to each other.
There seems to have been no further
agitation of the question of ineligibility
for second term until Jackson wrote
his messages. His example in not
only excepting reelection, but in nam
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