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 3d 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.

And here we see that the government itself is become more efficient in the way that it works.  With the advent of various forms of mass and powered transit and the expansion of the United States from coast to coast we see the need for Congressional sessions and the term of the President to start at a much earlier time.  Aside from setting the time that the government actually starts to operate we see for the first time an actual spelling out of the succession to office of the President with the Vice-President following into the vacant office until Congress can choose a president.

Poltical Cartoon of previous Congressional Sessions

 This political cartoon depicts the fact that the congress would be in session until the arrival of the new legislature.  During this period the members of congress waiting to leave lent themselves to basically inaction and bickering so as there was a time in which the government wasnt working while waiting for the government to show up to work.  Good thing we passed this amendment holding people accountable to the jobs for which they were elected.

Another Poli Sci Student?? - Disregard the Succession Act

 

Although the Presidential Succession act was much later, the White Board that this guy is holding is part of the Succession Act of 1947.   The main body of the amendment is the fact that Congress and the President have a particular day in which they have to show up which shortens the time between election and the actual start of their term.  The board which he is holding has been modified with the addition of the Department of Homeland Security but otherwise is accurate.  Looks like this video was done in a similar fashion to these blogs.