The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1940-04-19

three articles Uhich give some OF the
historical background OF that issue. IL is
neither FOR nor AGAINST third tern,
IL simply scans the past and gives an i'm.
partial report of its findings.
I. THE FOUNDING FATHERS
AND CONGRESS
CHALL the President of these
~ United States be elected for
a certain term of years and
thereafter be ineligible?
What shall that term be? Six
years? Seven years? Twenty
years?
Or shall he be permitted to
serve during good behavior?
Those were some of the questions
which the Founding Fathers, meet
ing in Philadelphia 1853 years ago,
tried to answer as they struggled
with their gigantic task of devising
a frame of government for the new
republic.
Considered Seventeen Term.
On May 20 Gov. Edmund Ran
dolph of Virginia and Charles Pinck-
ney of South Carolina both present
ed resolutions providing for an exec
utive ''to be chosen by the, national
legislature for term of years
and to be ineligible second time. "
Three. days later a vote was taken
on a seven-year term for this exec
utive. Five states voted for it and
four against it.
The next day motion to make
the executive ineligible after seven
years also was carried, by vote of
to 2. Apparently that matter was
settled. But two weeks later it was
brought up again and Alexander
Hamilton proposed that the supreme
executive authority be vested in a
"Governour" to be elected to serve
during good behavior.
The delegates turned thumbs
down on this idea and on June 10
voted for seven-year term for the
President who should be ineligible
for reelection. A month later, how
ever, they changed their minds and
struck out the ineligibility clause.
Then followed long debate.
During Good Behavior
Once more the "during good be-
havior" clause bobbed up but again
it failed to pass. There was a sug-
gestion that the Chief Executive be
elected for 20 years and another that
he be chosen by the legislature with
the provision that no person be ell
igible for more than six years in
any IL years. Both of these plans
were rejected and eventually they
went back to the seven-year term
with it's NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
proviso.
This was in July and for the next
two months the presidential term
was repeatedly debated. On Sep
TENDER it was brought up again
with the suggestion that the Presi-
dents term be made four years.
A motion to change this back to sew
en- years and another to six years
were defeated and on September Is
it was finally agreed that the Presi-
dent should be chosen by an cleo
toral college for four years, no limit
to his re-eligibility being fixed.
Problem Bodied up Again.
Although the adoption of the Con-
stitution on September II, 1887, APP
parently settled this question Of
presidential tenure satisfactorily, it
was question that was destined to
come up again and again in future
years-especially in the legislative
branch of our government. After
the contested election Of 1900,
resolution was presented in the
senate shat no person who has
been twice successfully elected
President shall be eligible as Presi-
dent until four years elapse, when
he may be eligible to Office for four
years and no longer" But the senate
rejected this by vote of Is to 4.
Twenty years later, however, the
senate passed a joint resolution by
vote of SO to 8, providing that no
man should be chosen President for
more than two terms. But the house
failed to act on this resolution so
nothing more was done about presi-
Dental tenure until the contested
election of 1924 brought it up again.
Then no less than 10 amendments
to the. Constitution, intended to limit
the President to one term were de-
bated in congress.
Many Resolutions Offered.
During Jackson's administration
81 Joint resolutions, dealing with a
limitation of the presidential term,
were introduced in congress but
none was acted upon. Some of these
recommended single term of four
or six years, others prohibited a
third term and still others were
against more than two consecutive
terms. In Van Buren's administra-
ton 10 one-term joint resolutions