Twentieth Amendment

• Author: Dennis J. Mahoney
• Pages: 2740-2741

Page 2740

Congress proposed the Twentieth Amendment, sponsored by Senator GEORGE W. NORRIS of Nebraska, on March 2,

Page 2741

1932; ratification was completed on January 23, 1933. The amendment provided that the President, Vice-President, and Congress begin their terms in the January following their election. Under the old scheme of Article I, section 4, congressmen had not taken their seats until thirteen months after their election, and a short "lame duck" session in election years included members who had already been defeated. The amendment also made provisions for PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION and authorized Congress to provide for a situation in which a President-elect or Vice-President-elect does not...