<P> Franklin D. Roosevelt spent the months leading up to the 1940 Democratic National Convention refusing to state whether he would seek a third term . His Vice President , John Nance Garner , along with Postmaster General James Farley , announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination . When the convention came , Roosevelt sent a message to the convention , saying he would run only if drafted , saying delegates were free to vote for whomever they pleased . The delegates issued 946 votes for Roosevelt , 72 for Farley , and 61 for Garner ; they replaced Garner with Henry A. Wallace as the vice presidential nominee , and Farley resigned as postmaster general . In the 1940 general election , while Republican Wendell Willkie received six million more votes than the previous Republican candidate ( Alfred Landon ) had in 1936 , Roosevelt still won decisively , taking 38 of 48 states . His supporters cited impending war as a reason for breaking with precedent , while Willkie had run against the principle of a third term . Roosevelt was the first president elected to a third term , and remains the only one to exceed eight years in office . </P>
<P> Franklin D. Roosevelt spent the months leading up to the 1940 Democratic National Convention refusing to state whether he would seek a third term . His Vice President , John Nance Garner , along with Postmaster General James Farley , announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination . When the convention came , Roosevelt sent a message to the convention , saying he would run only if drafted , saying delegates were free to vote for whomever they pleased . The delegates issued 946 votes for Roosevelt , 72 for Farley , and 61 for Garner ; they replaced Garner with Henry A. Wallace as the vice presidential nominee , and Farley resigned as postmaster general . In the 1940 general election , while Republican Wendell Willkie received six million more votes than the previous Republican candidate ( Alfred Landon ) had in 1936 , Roosevelt still won decisively , taking 38 of 48 states . His supporters cited impending war as a reason for breaking with precedent , while Willkie had run against the principle of a third term . Roosevelt was the first president elected to a third term , and remains the only one to exceed eight years in office . </P>
last us president to serve more than two terms
last us president to serve more than two terms
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt