20th Amendment

Start of new government

Mar 4, 1788

This date would mark the day they decided they would have the start of a new government.

Congress Sessions

1790

The constitution decides that congress sessions will begin the first Monday in December. This would allow the first session of each 2-year congress to be 13 months after the election and then the second section occurs 1 month after the elections are held.

Early Set Date

1792

Congress set the date for federal elections to be from November to early December.

Abraham Lincoln's Election

1860

The issue with a long grace period between the dates is that when Abe Lincoln was elected as president he had to face the American Civil War as soon as he was sworn into office. Without the 20th amendment, there was a long while where nobody would have been in office which is really dangerous for a country at war.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Election

1932

While Roosevelt was being elected there was the Great Depression with nobody running the country to make it better. This is another reason the 4-month grace period is terrible the country has faced major consequences within that time and there needs to be a president to run things.

20th Amendment proposed

Mar 2, 1932

Congress proposed this amendment to look at timing for political inaugurations. George W. Norris proposed the amendment.

Ratification

Jan 23, 1933

January 23, 1922, the 20th Amendment was ratified stating that the time between a presidential election and inauguration day would be shortened. Inauguration day would be set for January 20th while the date for opening a new congress would be January 3rd.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Feb 15, 1933

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was targeted for assassination but the date for the presidential inauguration wouldn't take place until October 15th. The 20th Amendment would have had his vice president become president if Roosevelt had been injured or killed.

Inauguration day 9 months late...

Oct 15, 1933

This is the date that the country would have their president's inauguration day so they would go about 9 months without a president because the vice president was not just brought up to be the full-time president.

New dates (used)

Jan 3, 1935

This was the first time the new set dates were used for the inauguration.

Lame Duck Sessions

1940

During the war, there were sessions going on throughout the war as the war started in 1939. There would be a few more through World War II as well.

Joe Mcarthy

1954

There was a lame duck session in December of 1954 to decide if McCarthy should be kept in conduct after his controversial speech about communist subversion of the government. The vote would be 67 to 22 condemning him in conduct.