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Why
did supporters of the 20th Amendment wish to shorten the "lame
duck" period? |
| Supporters
believed the new president and the new Congress should begin
their terms of office earlier because "lame duck"
politicians don't usually get much government work done and
the newly elected leaders are eager to start governing. They
also wanted to reduce the amount of time that a lame duck president
could make appointments or sign laws that would go against the
wishes of the new president. |
RESOURCE: http://www.c-span.org/questions/week165.asp
|
 |
Find
out why Inauguration Day was originally set for four months
after Election Day. What changes in our society allowed it to
be moved to an earlier date? |
| At
the end of the eighteenth century, tabulating votes took much
longer and transportation was still slow and unreliable -- especially
in the winter months. Therefore, Inauguration Day was set for
March to ensure enough time for the votes to be counted and
for all members of the government to reach the Capitol from
their home states. By the 1930s, the widespread use of trains
and automobiles had greatly reduced the time it took to travel
across the country. |
RESOURCE: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/inauguration/history.html
RESOURCE: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar04.html |
 |
Presidents
usually take the oath of office on the steps of the Capitol
Building in Washington, D.C. There have been some exceptions,
though. Where did Lyndon B. Johnson take the oath of office? |
| In
an airplane traveling from Dallas to Washington, D.C., Lyndon
B. Johnson was sworn in as president of the United States following
the death of President John F. Kennedy. |
RESOURCE: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pi052.html |
Election Day 
