The Truth about the Two-Term Limit
American History Hit
History Hit
4.3 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 15 January 2026
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The two-term limit, the idea that the President of the United States may not seek a third term, has a long history. Originating from a decision made by George Washington, it quickly became an established political norm in America. Since then however it has transformed from a political expectation to a constitutionally mandated practice... but why?
Our guest today is historian and Professor Jeremi Suri of the University of Texas at Austin, author works including ‘Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy.’
Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It's the sweltering summer, July 1940, here at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. |
| 0:09.3 | The noise is deafening, with bands blaring, delegates shouting, banners aloft. |
| 0:16.1 | But beneath the celebration is a deep current of anxiety. |
| 0:20.3 | Once again, the world is at war. France has fallen, |
| 0:24.1 | London is burning, and today, in this overheated hall, an American tradition is about to fall. |
| 0:31.8 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR, who has already served two full terms in office, is not present today. |
| 0:39.2 | For months, he has said almost nothing about running again. |
| 0:42.9 | No declaration, no denial. |
| 0:45.4 | But everyone here understands the reality. |
| 0:48.5 | The Democratic Party has no alternative. |
| 0:51.5 | No other nominee is equal to this moment. |
| 0:58.0 | But when the count is in and the nomination decided, it feels hardly like victory and more like a summons. |
| 1:02.0 | Roosevelt makes his sober acceptance not from the convention floor, |
| 1:06.0 | but over the radio. His voice, now so familiar to Americans, is steady, restrained. He speaks of duty, |
| 1:14.1 | of crisis, of a world that cannot abide hesitation. His nomination, he insists, is no rejection |
| 1:21.0 | of tradition. It is a response to catastrophe. For 150 years, no president has crossed this line. A two-term rule was never |
| 1:30.8 | written into the Constitution, but it was none other than George Washington who set the |
| 1:34.7 | limit. This is unwritten law, now being weighed against the fear and faith of a single man. |
| 1:52.9 | Thank you. and faith of a single man. Hey, everybody, I'm Don Wilden, your host of American history hit, stepping into what is now |
| 1:58.2 | our fourth year of this podcast series. |
| 2:00.7 | And for this, we credit you, |
| 2:02.1 | our listeners. We're here because of you. So happy new year and thank you very much. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.