AP Photo
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Purpose: What you will learn:
This Net Investigation will
demonstrate both sides of the debate over term
limits. You will read what the proponents and the
opponents to term limits think, and you will form
your own opinion.
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Introduction | Steps
| Concluding Activities |
Begin the Investigation
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Introduction
to the topic:
In 1994, Rep. Newt
Gingrich and the new Republican majority in the
U.S. House of Representatives signed a "Contract
With America" in which they promised to make
Congressional term limits a priority. (That is what
Rep. Gingrich is holding in the photo
above.)
There is already a
term limit on the presidency. The Twenty-Second
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits anyone
from being elected to the presidency more than
twice. Many states have similarly limited the terms
of their governors.
Members of the U.S.
House of Representatives currently serve two-year
terms; members of the U.S. Senate serve six-year
terms. There is no limit on the number of terms
they may serve. Proposed term limits would prohibit
a member of the House from running for election
more than six times, and would prohibit a member of
the Senate from running more than twice.
(Do
the math: how many years would members of each
House be allowed to serve? How does this compare
with the presidential term limit?)
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These
are the steps you will follow in this Net Investigation.
These steps will help you understand the pros and cons for
this issue:
Step 1: Read
the Washington Post article "Term Limits Take Effect"
to get some background on the issue.
Step 2: Read
some quotes arguing for and against term limits.
Step 3: Read
the Twenty-Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which
limits the term of the President of the United States. Think
about why this amendment was passed.
Step 4: Read
the proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which, if
ratified, would limit the terms of Representatives and
Senators.
Step 5:
Analyze the chart of states which limit the terms of their
governors.
Concluding
Activities: Think and write about what conclusions you have
drawn from the information in the previous steps.
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Click
here 
to begin this Net Investigation
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Introduction | Steps
| Concluding Activities |
Begin the Investigation
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