ntinuous session, and civil war threatened. On the
thirty-sixth ballot, however, Jefferson received the votes of ten
States out of sixteen, and was elected.

In order to prevent a recurrence of the conditions which obtained
in 1796, or of the dangers incident to a contest like that of 1800,
the Twelfth Amendment was proposed by Congress, and, after
ratification, was declared in force September 25, 1804. This
provides, as we have seen, that the electoral votes must be cast
separately for President and Vice-President.

The Presidential Term.--Shall the President hold office for a
term of three years, of seven years, or during good behavior? These
were questions of great interest in the Constitutional Convention.
A term of seven years with no re-election was agreed upon, but
toward the end of the convention the clause as given was adopted.

Re-election of a President.--The Constitution does not limit
the number of terms for which a President may be chosen, but the
"third-term tradition" has now made it practically impossible for
the same man to be elected for more than two terms. This custom was
inaugurated by the refusal of President Washington to accept a
third term. President Jefferson was also urged to stand for a third
term, but he, too, preferred to retire to private life as
Washington had done. The adherents of General Grant strove to break
down this precedent in 1880 but were defeated. Although President
Roosevelt had served a part of a term and one full term the
argument of a third term was brought against him.

A Longer Term.--It is frequently urged that the Constitution
should be amended in such a manner as to provide for a term of six
or seven years for the President, with no re-election. Among the
reasons for this change are the following: (1) a new President has
most of his time, for months, at the beginning of his term,
consumed in hearing the claims of applicants for office, and in
making appointments; (2) there is danger that he may be influenced
in his official actions through desire to secure a second term; (3)
the commercial depression that usually exists during a campaign
would thus come less frequently. These arguments may be used in
opposition to such a change: (1) in the case of an inefficient
President, the short term