Unlimited Terms

The topic for this Constitution Monday is a subject that was not in the Constitution. The Founders did not designate the number of terms of office that either Senators or Representatives could serve. This gives the individual Senators and Congressmen the Right to decide for themselves how many terms they will serve as long as they are re-elected. The Founders discussed the idea of limiting the terms and expressed the fear that power blocks would develop between elected officials over time. They eventually decided against limits. One of the reasons against setting limits was the idea that the nation may lose some of its best leaders when they were needed the most.