refusal of Congress to vote the necessary appropriations, his
tenacity of purpose was such that it could scarcely be doubted
that with renewed opportunity he would resume his efforts. The
scandals which blemished the conduct of public affairs during his
administration could not be attributed to any lack of personal
honesty on his part. Grant went out of the presidential office
poorer than when he entered it. Since then, his views had been
broadened by travel and by observation, and it was a reasonable
supposition that he was now better qualified than ever before for
the duties of the presidential office. He was only fifty-eight,
an age much below that at which an active career should be
expected to close, and certainly an age at which European
statesmen are commonly thought to possess unabated powers. In
opposition to him was a tradition peculiar to American politics,
though unsupported by any provision of the Constitution
according to which no one should be elected President for more
than two terms. It may be questioned whether this tradition does
not owe its strength more to the ambition of politicians than to
sincere conviction on the part of the people.*

* The reasoning of "The Federalist," in favor of continued
reeligibility, is cogent in itself and is supported by the
experience of other countries, for it shows that custody of power
may remain in the same hands for long periods without detriment
and without occasioning any difficulty in terminating that
custody when public confidence is withdrawn. American
sensitiveness on this point would seem to impute to the
Constitution a frailty that gives it a low rating among forms of
government. As better means are provided for enforcing
administrative responsibility, the popular dislike of third terms