Federalist 71 Paraphrased
Federalist No. 71 - The Length of the President's Term paraphrased into modern English by Alexander Hamilton, March 18, 1788 To: The people of New York: I mentioned before that having a long enough term in office was the second thing needed to protect the authority of the Executive office. There are two reasons for this: to reinforce the individual holding the office of President as he executes his constitutional powers, and to add stability to the administrative people he appoints. As far as the first [ reinforcing the President ], it should be obvious that the longer his term lasts, the more likely his authority will be respected. It's a general truth of human nature that the more secure a man feels in his position, the more interested he'll be in that position. The more temporary or unsettled his position, the less attached he'll be to it. He'll be willing to risk more for something that means more to him. This is as true for a political office as it is for