Term Limits In U.S. Government

Term Limits in U.S. Government

Mark P. Petracca's idea that "government should be kept as

near to the people as possible chiefly through frequent elections and

rotation-in-office" is quite common in early republican thought and

generally agreed upon by the America's revolutionary thinkers.

Although the debate over limiting legislative terms dates back to the

beginnings of political science, it was not until the 1990's that the

doctrine began to be taken seriously when voters started to approve

term limit initiatives (Sinclair 203). Petracca's statement captures

a significant aspect of the democratic process- that every citizen

retains the privilege to participate in the political system, yet his

inclusion of "rotation-in-office" can both support and hinder such a

privilege. This will be shown by discussing the views of America's

founders, term limits legislation in Washington State, California, and

Oklahoma, political mobilization of national groups, and the opinions

of congressmen concerning the matter.

Term limitation is not a strictly modern topic. Its roots

date back to the creation of Republican thought and democratic theory

of ancient Greece and Rome, and also aroused debates amongst the

founding fathers of the United States (Sinclair 14). For the most

part, the Antifederalists supported rotation-in-office because they

feared its elimination, paired with the extensive powers given to

Congress by the Constitu...

Term Limits In U.S. Government

Login

Join