The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-04-06
(6I !1l II 3
Our Founding Fathers Found
The Eaby on Their Doorsteps
Kept Uncle Samuel in Stew l53 Years-Hamilton
Wanted Presidents During Good Behavior
One-Term Bills Pop Up Frequently.

President, The third term issue tCiLI be
one 81 the most discussed questions
OF the 1870 caRlpaign. That discussion
may continue until November 4, in
cTeGSing in intensity as election day
drGiCS near. To help our readers judge
for themselves the merits OF the Grgu
menfs for or against Presidential
third term, this newspaper presents
herewith the first in series of three
articles Which give some Of the his
foricGL background Of that issue. 1t is
neither FOR nor AGAINST a third
term: il simply scans the past and gives
an impartial 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 in
eligible?
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 153 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 % Gov. Edmund Ran
dolph of Virginia and Charles Pinck-
ney of South Carolina both present
ed resolutions providing for an exec
utive ito be chosen by the national
legislature for term of >. years
and to be ineligible a second time. !"
Three days later vote was taken
on a seven-year term for this exec
utive. Five states voted for it and
four against it.
The next day a motion to make
the executive ineligible after seven
years also was carried, by a 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 19
voted for a 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 a long debate.
During Good Behavior
Once more the during good be-
havior" clause bobbed up but again
1t 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 its 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.
Amotion 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
20 his re-eligibility being fixed.
= Problem R0bbed ND Again.
Although the adoption of the Con.
stitution on September IL, 1887, ap.
parently settled this question OF
presidential tenure satisfactorily, il
was a 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,
q resolution was presented IN the
senate that no persoa who has
been twice successfully elected
President shall be eligible as Presi-
dent until four years elapse, when
ne 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 joint resolution by
a vote Of SO to s. providing that nc
man should be chosen President for
more than two terms. But the house
failed 20 act on this resolution sc
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 Jaekson'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 a 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-
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