There have been 45 presidential administrations and 44 presidents in the United States. Of the 44 presidents, 13 served for two full terms while 12 served for one full term before leaving office. Seven served more than one term but did not complete their second terms after they died or resigned.
Consequently, while there have been 46 presidencies in the nation's history, only 45 people have been sworn into office as Cleveland is numbered as both the 22nd and 24th president. ^ a b c d Of years evenly divisible by 100, only those evenly divisible by 400 are leap years.
William Henry Harrison spent the shortest time in office, while Franklin D. Roosevelt spent the longest. Roosevelt is the only American president to have served more than two terms.
Roosevelt served from March 4, 1933, to April 12, 1945, which translates to three terms, two months, and twenty-three days or 4,422 days. Theodore Roosevelt took over the reign of William McKinley after he was assassinated six months into his second term, he won the subsequent election but lost when he tried running for the third term.
Consequently, while there have been 46 presidencies in the nation's history, only 45 people have been sworn into office (as Cleveland is numbered as both the 22nd and 24th president).
^ Each of Grover Cleveland's two non-consecutive terms in office was 1,461 days long.
The length of a full four-year presidential term of office usually amounts to 1,461 days (three common years of 365 days plus one leap year of 366 days). If the last day is included, all numbers would be one day more, except Grover Cleveland would have two more days, as he served two non-consecutive terms. Of the individuals elected President of ...
^ a b c d Of years evenly divisible by 100, only those evenly divisible by 400 are leap years. The years 1800 and 1900 are divisible by 100, but not by 400. John Adams 's term and William McKinley 's first term did not include a 366-day leap year, so those terms were one day shorter than a normal full term. 2000, being divisible by 400, had 366 days, thus Bill Clinton 's second term was not shorter than his first.
Under normal circumstances, a president can serve 8 years. The 8 years is split into two terms of 4 years each.
We are used to presidents serving for 4 years, seeking re-election, and then passing the baton on at the end of a second term. However, this hasn’t always been the case.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected into office four times, although he only served a fraction of the fourth before his death. His popularity and the success of his policies throughout his presidency meant that he could easily seek re-election with the support of the party and voters.
The rule about limiting the president to two terms came into the constitution so late, you would expect to see more three-term presidencies earlier on. But, this wasn’t the case and Roosevelt was the only one to do so. This is because of a combination of factors regarding the health and popularity of two-term presidents.
In order to stop this sort of extreme presidential run from happening again after Roosevelt, the country needed an amendment to the constitution. The 22nd Amendment states that
This is where things get a little more complicated. A presidential term is fixed to 4 years with the Inauguration taking place on the same date, January 20th. This means that two full presidential terms add up to 8 years and no more. It is also interesting to measure the length of a president’s time in office by day.
No rule states that a president must take on their second term in office directly after their first. However, it is rare to see non-consecutive terms in office. For a start, many of the presidents of the period of the late 20th and early 21st century were successful in their bid for direct re-election.