Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution

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The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the constitutional provision that limits individuals to being elected U.S. president no more than twice, thereby formalizing presidential term limits.

Aliases (3)
  • 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution ×2
  • 22nd Amendment ×1
  • Twenty-second Amendment ×1

Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf amendment to the United States Constitution
constitutional amendment
affectsOffice tenure of the President of the United States
alsoLimits service of a vice president who succeeds to the presidency
appliesToElections general elections for President of the United States
appliesToJurisdiction United States of America
appliesToOfficeHolders natural-born citizens who are eligible to be President of the United States
classification United States presidential succession and tenure law
codifiesPractice two-term tradition established by George Washington
constitutionalArticleAffected Article II of the United States Constitution
constitutionalDomain federal executive power
constitutionalNumber 22
containsExemption sitting president at time of proposal exempt from its limitations
country United States of America
doesNotApplyRetroactivelyTo president holding office when the amendment was proposed
doesNotLimit non-consecutive terms beyond the two-election maximum
service as vice president
enforcedBy United States federal government
state election officials
governs eligibility for election to the presidency
hasLegalEffectSince 1951
hasSectionCount 2
hasTopic checks and balances in the United States government
separation of powers
historicalContext adopted after Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president four times
inspiredByEvent four presidential election victories of Franklin D. Roosevelt
isWrittenIn United States constitutional law
languageType English
legalForm binding constitutional rule
legalStatus in force
legalSubject executive branch of the United States
limitsOffice President of the United States
locationInDocument following Article V and preceding subsequent amendments
partOf United States Constitution
primaryEffect limits individuals to being elected U.S. president no more than twice
proposedBy United States Congress
proposedByBody United States Congress
proposedDate 1947-03-21
ratifiedBy three-fourths of the state legislatures
ratifiedOn 1951-02-27
setsMaximumNumberOfElectionsToOffice 2
setsMaximumNumberOfTermsInOffice 2
shortName 22nd Amendment
Twenty-second Amendment
subject President of the United States
presidential term limits
successorServiceRule person who serves more than two years of a term to which someone else was elected may be elected president only once
typeOfLimitation term limit


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