Sunday, December 4, 2011

The Twentieth Amendment

"Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission."


President Barack Obama was sworn in on January 20th, 2008 because that date was established in the Twentieth Amendment almost 80 years before.  Section 1 of the Twentieth Amendment reads, " The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin."  This Amendment establishes the days of the year in which the President, Vice President, Senators, and Representatives would be sworn into office.  This Amendment is also important because it establishes what would happen if the President elect were to have died before being sworn into the office as presidency according to Section 3 of the Amendment. 


The Twentieth Amendment is often called the "Lame Duck" Amendment.  The amendment is referred to this because it also established the dates of which Congress should assemble.  "the Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day"-Section 2 of the Twentieth Amendment.  The lame duck strategy happened when the opposing party was in power and wanted to speed up their session in congress to before the date of the new President being sworn in; thus having to wait to up to a full year before coming back to Washington D.C.. 

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