George Washington and the two-term precedent -- Sacrifice (1787-1792): the quest for a limited executive -- Decision (1793-1797): the second term and the decision to leave office -- Aftermath (1797-1951): the presidents who followed Washington and the precedent they followed -- Looking back and looking ahead.
Summary
"While George Washington's decision not to seek a third term is often portrayed as a noble decision to restrain the power of the executive office, Yalof argues that Washington was motivated in large part by self-interest. The example he intended to set (and the circumstances he faced at the time) tell a more complicated story of the true motives behind his decision to retire and the impact his decision had on his successors and the nation.This book focuses on the two-term precedent and how it came into being not by legal prescription but by the tacit influence of Washington's refusal to run for a third term and what it suggests about American conceptions of executive power"-- Provided by the publisher.
