No "tradition" of 2 term limit

WI George Washington had died before he announced that he would not seek a third term or was persuaded that the he should seek a third term to avoid the growing partisanship.

Just how different might things have been?

Could there even have developed a tradition whereby a President keeps running till he dies or loses an election?
 
Well, most Presidents do run until they lose elections or popularity or electability. Undoubtedly the best example is U.S. Grant who had wondered about a third term but was refused by the Republican Party. FDR is a rarity and does raise the question about 'changing horses midstream'.
 

Glen

Moderator
WI George Washington had died before he announced that he would not seek a third term or was persuaded that the he should seek a third term to avoid the growing partisanship.

Just how different might things have been?

Could there even have developed a tradition whereby a President keeps running till he dies or loses an election?

Still might see a two term tradition with the idea that no one should serve longer than the Father of the Nation did. He had quite a cult following at his death, you know.
 
Still might see a two term tradition with the idea that no one should serve longer than the Father of the Nation did. He had quite a cult following at his death, you know.

I'm inclined to agree, I think to get a different traditional amount of terms, you would have to have Washington serve a third term (or conversely, only one. That would have interesting effects later on...) so the precedent would be set.
 

Glen

Moderator
I'm inclined to agree, I think to get a different traditional amount of terms, you would have to have Washington serve a third term (or conversely, only one. That would have interesting effects later on...) so the precedent would be set.

Hmmm....having him go for a third and then die in office shortly thereafter sure would put the spike in any tradition of limitations, since his intent was clearly to keep going....

Of course, hard to get GW to do so.

I think you could just say that if he died shortly before making his intentions known, there might not be a tradition of term limitations. Given that, I suspect we'd see younger men go for as many as they can, whereas older men (GWish) may just stop at two saying it was good enough for GW.
 
I don't know when Washington made his intentions not to seek a third term clear, but if it was in the middle of his term, imagine if he died shortly after that statement. You get Adams finishing that term, winning his own and...here's the hard part...beating Jefferson in 1800, claiming that this third term doesn't count, since it was a bit of Washington's?
 
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