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Wait, Wait, Don't Inaugurate: Why The U.S. Takes So Long To Change Presidents

Wait, Wait, Don't Inaugurate: Why The U.S. Takes So Long To Change Presidents

Wait, Wait, Don't Inaugurate: Why The U.S. Takes So Long To Change Presidents
Nov 27, 2020 1 min, 12 secs

Capitol ahead of President Barack Obama's second inauguration in 2013.

Capitol ahead of President Barack Obama's second inauguration in 2013.

One in particular has long been asked: Why do we wait until the latter part of January to swear in a president we elect in November.

Put another way: How is it that the Brits can have a newly elected prime minister meeting with the queen to form a new government within a day or two, but we need 10 or 11 weeks to install a new crew.

Still more would need to saddle up so that the results could cross state lines and make multiday trips, often in inclement weather.

The second thing to remember is that the president is not actually legally elected in November.

These men would gather in their state capitols on the designated day and elect the president.

Given the relatively glacial rates of transportation and information sharing two centuries ago, it does not seem unreasonable that a newly elected president might then need weeks to formalize a team.

Thus the original March 4 date seemed to make sense, especially if one was planning an inauguration ceremony to be held outdoors (as all have been, with the lone exception of President Ronald Reagan's second in 1985).

Congress approved, and the states quickly ratified, an amendment to the Constitution moving the date of Inauguration Day to Jan.

It was 1933, and the new date took effect with the 1937 inauguration of a reelected President Franklin D.

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