Challenge: US Adopts 6 Year Presidential Term Limit By 1900

The idea had come up within the United States during the 19th century that, to curtail presidential powers, the 4 year term -then without limit of reelection- should be replaced with a single 6 year term limit and I believe there was a movement for it. The concept was eventually adopted by the Southern Confederacy itself when it seceded and formed it's own government. Of course, nothing came of it and the United States would simply limit reelection following two terms while maintaining 4 year terms in the mid 20th century.

My challenge, therefore, is to have the United States adopt the 6 year, single term limit by the turn of the century.
 
Here's a quick cliche possibility: Andrew Jackson runs for and wins a 3rd Term as President in 1836. He receives all the blame for the Panic of 1837, with the Whigs saying that if this uncouth commoner had not been President for so long as to Kill the Bank and mess with the hard specie down south, etc, the depression wouldn't have happened...

So, the Whigs win a solid majority in Congress and get the Presidency in 1840 on a platform that includes an Amendment to limit the Presidency to a single 6-year term. There is no Tyler "accidental presidency" for whatever butterflied reason, and the Amendment passes in, say, 1842. The Whigs likely win the Election of 1844 as a squeaker, which probably delays the Mexican War until after 1850, if it ever happens.
 
I could see the single six year presidential term being part of the Populist/Progressive movement. The same movement that saw the amendment changing the selection of US Senators to being elected, but that may push it back into the early 20th century.
 
Top