Question

Interpreting Significance What was the significance of Washington declining to serve a third term?

Answer 1

It set the precedent that a president was not a dictator and holds power for only a short amount of time. Even though it was not a law until 1951 that a president could only serve two terms, Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president to ever serve more then 2 terms (he was elected to 4 but died shortly into his fourth)

Answer 2

Washington was leery of consolidating too much power in the U.S. Presidency. He eschewed the title “His Highness”. Washington, not wanting to be a dictator for life (and not wanting to set the precedent that the American President should be one), stepped down after two terms in office. This precedent was maintained by every subsequent president until Franklin Roosevelt was elected for a third term in 1940. FDR would go on to be elected for a fourth time in 1944, but did not complete this term, dying in April, 1945. In 1947, Congress passed the 22nd Amendment, which set in stone the precedent that Washington had set, limiting presidents to two terms in office.

Explanation: ^^^