As you know, America’s 46th President was recently sworn into office on January 20. However, in my research for Dolley Madison & the War of 1812: America’s First Lady, I was surprised to discover that President James Madison’s two inaugurations actually took place TODAY, March 4. Of course, that was over two hundred years ago, back in 1809 and 1813. Nowadays, we are well accustomed to the traditional date of January 20. However, this was not the case when our republic began.
In conjunction with our new Constitution, the Continental Congress set Inauguration Day in 1789 as the first Wednesday in March. Back then, it fell on the 4th. As a result, March 4 became the official day to swear in both the President and Congress.
However, there were significant delays that first year in counting the Presidential ballots. In addition, our President-Elect needed time to make the lengthy journey from Mount Vernon to New York City, our first capital. As a result, George Washington was not sworn into office until April 30. However, March 4 continued to serve as the official Inauguration Day for many years to come.
Over time, our methods of communication and transportation improved dramatically. Eventually election results were ready within a matter of hours. As a result, this lengthy transition period became unnecessary. Furthermore, the concept of a defeated “lame duck” Congress serving another five months in office posed a potential problem.
In 1932, Congress introduced and later ratified the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution. Franklin D. Roosevelt became our first President sworn into office on January 20, for his second term in 1937. At that time, the date for Congressional swearings-in also moved to January 3. And so, a new tradition was established.
The Twentieth Amendment reads (in part):
“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 3d day of January, and the terms of their successors shall then begin.”