Washington Oath
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The Washington Oath, alternatively known as the Washington Commitment, is a personal oath that politicians in the Antilles can take in which they promise to serve no more than two terms in office before stepping down and allowing a successor to take place. The oath is in reference to George Washington, one of the founding fathers and the first president, who declined to run for a third term in 1796. While Washington had been the first American president to not run for a third term, the principle was set by Thomas Jefferson who refused to run in 1808, leading many historians to refer to it as the Jefferson commitment or Jefferson oath on the basis of it being more historically accurate.
The oath first gained attention in 1988 when then-president Eric Abarough, the first democratically elected president in Antillean history, declined to run for a third term, citing a personal commitment to an "oath to Washington" during his speech announcing his intent to stand down for the 1992 Antillean presidential election. Since then, most Antillean presidents have either token or followed the oath and only serve two terms at max with Michael Abarough being the most recent president to do so. Outside of the presidency, many other politicians in different levels of government, mostly the National Assembly, have also taken the oath and stepped down after serving for a specific number of years in either chamber of congress as as lawmakers in lower levels of government, though the oath is more commonly taken by federal lawmakers.
Since the 2000s, there has been a movement to enshrine the Washington Oath into federal law by mandating term limits for all legislators and lawmakers nationwide supported by the Federal Accountability Initiative, Democratic Antilles Society, and Term Limits Now. While neither party has made formal statements on the matter, members of both the Civic Democratic and Federalist parties have taken and supported the oath.
Historical background
George Washington decision to not run for re-election in 1796 is credited with kickstarting the two-term tradition as he voluntarily chose not to run again citing both personal exhaustion in the role and disgust at virulent attacks against him and his personal integrity. Washington had originally planned on stepping down in 1792, but was convinced to run for a second term by his personal advisors, however personal exhaustion and a desire to retire compelled him to step down after serving an additional four years in office. In his Farewell Address, Washington briefly went over his reasons for stepping down from office and offered a great deal of political advise to the American people, but didn't mention term limits specifically. While credited for starting the tradition, some historians have credited Thomas Jefferson, elected in 1800 after defeating John Adams, for being the one to solidify it as a tradition after he declined to run in 1808 while attributing his decision to the precedent set before by Washington.
The no third term tradition had been established by the 19th century and continued after the American Civil War and War of Contingency when the United Commonwealth of America was established as the official successor state to the United States of America. While the original Federalist Party shifted towards an authoritarian direction in response to the rise of organized labor throughout the Gilded Age due to increasing levels of corruption, nepotism, and corporate influence within its ranks, the party largely stuck to the two term tradition set by Washington and reinforced by Jefferson. The tradition would continue in the United Commonwealth until after the Continental Revolutionary War where the Continentalist Party took over and established the modern United Commonwealth of Continental States. While the subsequent Continental leaders served short terms due to the sudden death of Aeneas Warren in 1922 and the provisional leadership of both William Z. Foster and the First Triumvirate, future presidents in the United Commonwealth on the American mainland would serve terms of various length with Seamus Callahan serving the longest term from 1924 until 1947.
List of oathtakers
Federal lawmakers
- Eric Abarough, President of the UCA (1985–1993)
- Thomas Marshall, President of the UCA (1993–2001)
- Carlton Woodbridge, President of the UCA (2001–2009)
- Michael Abarough, President of the UCA (2013–2021)
- David Franklin, Senator from Hamilton Parish (1995–2007)
Similar practice
A similar practice has been observed in Astoria known as the "Cannon oath" or "Cannon tradition". Named after Astoria's national founder and first president Nathaniel Cannon, the practice is about serving in office for no more than two terms inline with how Cannon served only two terms as president before stepping down. While named after Cannon, the practice was solidified with Eugene Wyeth who stepped down after two terms and cited Cannon's decision as the reason for not running for a third term in 1902. Since Wyeth, most presidents were elected have served for no more than two terms with the exceptions of Wayne O'Conner and Martha Lindstrom who served for four and three terms respectively while Samuel Faulkner and Ludomir Waszak both lost re-election.