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 3rd 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.
The Twentieth Amendment laid out term session dates for the president and Congress, 
moving the inauguration date from March to January. It also establishes a yearly 
meeting time for Congress. This amendment also laid out a succession order to the 
president, which was later altered. However, the inauguration dates established remain 
the same.


This article explains how drastically the twentieth amendment changed the government and how it still is effective to American 
life today. This amendment is argued to improve the presidential term by eliminating an extremely long lame duck period and 
organizing a more effective succession order. It even cites modern day examples, such as the election of President Obama. 

This video explains the origin of the lame duck period and its accordance with the twentieth amendment. It also goes through the 
history and significance of the twentieth amendment to the modern day United States government.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ninth Amendment

Image
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to  deny or disparage others retained by the people. The Ninth Amendment basically guarantees rights already not mentioned specifically in the US Constitution or  Bill of Rights to Americans. This Amendment was included to make clear that other powers and rights were  specifically assigned to the federal government. This amendment is useful in providing additional rights to  Americans not already explicitly stated. This cartoon is humorous as it demonstrates the openness of the ninth amendment. As its purpose and rights are open ended,  it can be humorously applied to situations such as demonstrated in the cartoon, although they might not have necessarily been  the founding fathers intentions. https://pacificlegal.org/whats-the-deal-with-the-9th-amendment/ This article explains the history of the ninth amendment and why it was included into the Constitution. It a...
Read more

The Sixteenth Amendment

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from  whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States,  and without regard to any census or enumeration. The Sixteenth Amendment gave Congress the right to collect income tax. This amendment is still significant  today as a century later Congress still collects income tax from workers. This amendment also reversed the  decision of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Company (1895) which made it difficult to pass a national income  tax. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axKDFOVWb6c This video explains the impacts of the sixteenth amendment on the United States and citizen’s income. It also describes both  pro and anti sixteenth amendment viewpoints at the time of ratification. https://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-16/01-income-tax.html This article explains the purpose of the sixteenth and why it is necessary for Congress to collect ...
Read more

The Fifth Amendment

Image
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,  unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising  in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of  War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to  be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal  case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,  without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use,  without just compensation. The Fifth Amendment is one of the most important to those accused of a crime as it provides the accused with a  variety of rights. It provides the right to a grand jury indictment, the restriction on double jeopardy, the guarantee  of due process of law, protection against self-incrimination, and the prevention of the government taking priv...
Read more