1 gen 1940 anni - 1940 - Franklin Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented third term in office on the eve of US involvement in WWII, breaking the precedent set by Washington with his abdication after two terms. The Republican party saw this as a step toward dictatorship, while the Democrats saw it as continuing the plans for a New Deal that had already been put into place. In any case, Roosevelt would be elected to a fourth term as well before his death.