Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, while Kamala Harris will take oath as the first woman Vice President on January 20, 2021. Though the event will be much different from that of past years due to coronavirus pandemic, but one thing will be the same – the date. January 20 has been the date of the swearing-in since 1937, when Franklin D Roosevelt took oath of office for his second term.
Before that, he swearing-in used to take place on March 4.
The Constitution originally set a president’s term to start March 4 the year after the election was held. Back in the late 1700s when America gained its independence, the framers of the Constitution wanted to allow enough time after Election Day for officials to gather election returns and for newly-elected candidates to travel to the Capitol.
But then modern advances in communication and transportation happened. Lawmakers pushed for change and the 20th Amendment was ratified in 1933. Then on…