Word: term
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Dates: during 1890-1899
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...subject for the debate was chosen by Yale and was: "Resolved, That the President's term be increased to six years and he be ineligible for re-election. Harvard chose the affirmative of the question...
Grilk showed by the records of the Constitutional Convention that the framers originally favored a long term with ineligibility for re-election, and only adopted four years with re-eligibility as an incident of the Electoral College; today they would probably favor the affirmative. The evils of the present arrangement are: use of office-holders by the president for political purposes as Harrison used them at Minneapolis; failure to veto bad bills for fear of offending a section of the party, as shown by pension legislation; impossibility of dignified or effective foreign policy with such frequent changes of officers; damage...
...debate was opened for the negative by C. E. Julin. He said in part that the constitutional convention of 1787 and the subsequent state convention which ratified the constitution thoroughly discussed this question and therefore it was the best system theoretically that could have been adopted. The four years term is not a perfect system but it is better than any other scheme already proposed. He then dwelt on the educational advantages to the people of frequent campaigns and pointed out the opportunities for corruption which a long term of office would offer to incompetent or unprincipled occupants...
...evils already pointed out, emphasizing the fact that the thought given by the President to party politics is a distraction from public duties. Make him ineligible for reelection and you remove the temptation to cater to politicians for a renomination, while in the additional two years of his term he will give the government more experienced service. The change will increase the stability and efficiency of the government...
...second speaker for Yale was H. Bingham, Jr. He emphasized the advantages making the president eligable for a second term. With the prospect of re-election the President would be likely to perform his duties more conscientiously than if he was to serve but one term. In a time of peril it might be absolutely necessary for the safety of the country to re-elect a man who already understands the condition of the country and the duties of the President's office. He closed with a summary of the arguments against the proposed ineligibility amendment...