Which first U.S. president established a two-term precedent by declining to seek a third term?

George Washington established a two-term presidential precedent by declining to seek a third term.

Washington announced his decision to retire in his Farewell Address, published in 1796. He had served two four-year terms, first from 1789 to 1797, and believed that leaving office would reinforce republican government rather than create a presidency centered on one person.

The Constitution did not originally impose a two-term limit. Washington’s choice became a powerful political tradition followed by later presidents, although Ulysses S. Grant sought a third nonconsecutive term and Theodore Roosevelt sought another term after serving part of William McKinley’s term.

The precedent continued until Franklin D. Roosevelt won four elections. The Twenty-Second Amendment, ratified in 1951, later limited presidents to two elected terms, with rules for presidents who succeed to office.