Why is the Presidential inaugation held on January 20?

Answer 1

The President now takes oath of office on January 20th because of President Franklin D. Roosevelt who ratified the 20th Amendment (the "lame duck") it was to accomplish more while waiting in the wings during the intervening months of the peoples choice.
January 20th.

Answer 2

Before 1937, Inauguration Day was on March 4, which meant there was a four-month transition period before a new president could take office. To speed up things, the XXth Amendment was ratified on January 23, 1933, changing the inauguration date to January 20.

Answer 3

Until 1937, presidential inaugurations were held on March 4th, the same date that new members of Congress took office. When our country was founded, this sizeable gap between the election and the transfer of power offered a necessary transition period for the new leader. Without speedy transportation and efficient means of communication, assembling a government and moving to Washington could easily take months.

Yet a series of events demonstrated the problems with this lengthy lame-duck period. In 1803, President John Adams made a series of late-night appointments in the dwindling hours of his presidency, leading to the landmark Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison. Shortening the lame-duck period reduced the time during which similar controversial appointments could be made.

Jumping ahead to 1861, the country weathered a long lame duck period as Abraham Lincoln waited to take office while the nation was splintering, on the verge of the Civil War.

Similarly, in 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt stood on the sidelines for four months, as the United States sunk into the Great Depression. Indeed, it was during that period, the lame duck months of Herbert Hoover's term, that the 20th Amendment was ratified.

The Amendment officially moved the date of the Presidential Inauguration to January 20th, and switched the beginning of senators' and representatives' terms to January 3rd. In addition, the 20th Amendment outlined the line of succession in the event that President-elect were unable to serve come the beginning of his or her term.

Courtesty of: http://www.pic2009.org/blog/entry/looking_back_why_january_20th/

Answer 4

The Constitution of the United States had established March 4 as Inauguration Day in order to allow enough time after Election Day for officials to gather election returns and for newly-elected candidates to travel to the capital. With modern advances in communication and transportation, the lengthy transition period proved unnecessary and legislators pressed for change. The date was moved to January 20 with the passage of the Twentieth Amendment in 1933.

Answer 5

It because the 2oth Amendment states: "The terms of the President and Vice-President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January." The new President and VP take office immediately upon conclusion of the preceding terms. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_in_January_does_the_president_take_office

Answer 6

Because that is what the constitution says. The 20th amendment specified this date. Prior to the ratification of that amendment in 1933, inaugurations took place in March; to shorten the time between when the president was elected and when he took office, the 20th amendment was passed.

Answer 7

Amendment XX of the US Constitution made the 20th of January Inauguration Day.

Answer 8

This date is specified in the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.

Answer 9

This is because the guy who was meant to swear him in said too many words for Barrack to remember so the 'Swear In' was not officaial OR legal. :] (SmartGuy)