Franklin Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth presidential term in 1944, dying in office in April 1945 after 13 years as president. The move alarmed both parties. Republicans swept Congress in 1946 and immediately passed what became the 22nd Amendment, ratified February 27, 1951, limiting presidents to two four-year terms. The Framers chose four years in 1787 as a balance between executive stability and democratic accountability, long enough for presidents to implement policies but short enough to remove ineffective leaders without waiting a decade. The amendment responded to fears that Roosevelt's wartime power grab set a dangerous precedent, though historians note he won each election legitimately through the Electoral College process established at the Constitutional Convention.