When is president inaugurated

For the old president, this time in office is referred to as "the lame duck" period, a term taken from Wall Street that used to refer to people who could not pay off their loans--persons, like the lame duck president, without much capital. Before the enactement of the 20th Amendment in , the new president was not sworn until the March following the election.

This long delay caused problems. In the "secession winter" after the election of Abraham Lincoln, President James Buchanan watched as secessionists seized federal forts and arsenals. By March , when Lincoln finally took office, the Civil War was nearly lost before it even began.

Seven decades later, in the middle of the Great Depression, the lame duck period of president Herbert Hoover seemed far too long. Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt barely communicated and the country waited for decisive action from its newly chosen leader. In response, the 20th Amendment was proposed and adopted. The 20th Amendment moves the date of inauguration from March to "noon on the 20th day of January.

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 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.

The Constitution stipulates the oath of office for the President of the United States to be sworn during the inauguration. Kennedy vols. Currently on sabbatical. Follow at Medium. Read More ». Constitution :.

Inaugural events include the swearing-in ceremony, the inaugural address, and the pass in review. For more information on the history of presidential inaugurations, explore the inaugural materials from the collections of the Library of Congress. Ask a real person any government-related question for free.