Congress for Kids

Tour of Federal Government

Independence

Democracy
Democracy vs. Autocracy
The Original Thirteen Colonies
Declaration of Independence, Part 1
Declaration of Independence, Part 2
Articles of Confederation

Constitution

Delegates to Constitutional Convention
The Work Begins
Writing the Constitution
The Great Compromise
Signing the Constitution
Ratifying the Constitution
Bill of Rights
Powers of Federal Government
Three Branches of Government
Checks and Balances
Amendments
Women-Right to Vote

The Legislative Branch

House of Representatives
The Senate
Making Laws
The Veto

The Executive Branch

The President
President's Job, Part 1
President's Job, Part 2
President's Cabinet
The President and Congress
Impeachment
The President has Fun

The Judicial Branch

The Supreme Court
The Justices
Dealing with Segregation

Elections

Election Day
Voting
Election of the President
Candidates
Political Parties
The Primary Election
National Conventions
National Conventions-Inside View
Candidates at the Convention
The Campaign
Polling Places
The Electoral College
The Electoral Map
The Inauguration

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Elections: The Inauguration

Solution

	Match the questions to the correct answers.
D	The Inaugural Address	On what day of the year is Inauguration Day?
C	20th	A president whose successor has been elected is a _____ president.
A	January 20	Which Amendment set Inauguration Day as January 20?
B	lame duck	Which event on Inauguration Day is not described in the Constitution?

	Match the president and the phrase from his inaugural address.
C	Thomas Jefferson	"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
D	Abraham Lincoln	"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
B	Franklin Roosevelt	"Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle."
A	John F. Kennedy	"With malice toward none, with charity for all..."

	Why did supporters of the 20th Amendment wish to shorten the "lame duck" period?
Supporters believed the new president and the new Congress should begin their terms of office earlier because "lame duck" politicians don't usually get much government work done and the newly elected leaders are eager to start governing. They also wanted to reduce the amount of time that a lame duck president could make appointments or sign laws that would go against the wishes of the new president.
RESOURCE: http://www.c-span.org/questions/week165.asp
	Find out why Inauguration Day was originally set for four months after Election Day. What changes in our society allowed it to be moved to an earlier date?
At the end of the eighteenth century, tabulating votes took much longer and transportation was still slow and unreliable -- especially in the winter months. Therefore, Inauguration Day was set for March to ensure enough time for the votes to be counted and for all members of the government to reach the Capitol from their home states. By the 1930s, the widespread use of trains and automobiles had greatly reduced the time it took to travel across the country.
RESOURCE: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/inauguration/history.html RESOURCE: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar04.html
	Presidents usually take the oath of office on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. There have been some exceptions, though. Where did Lyndon B. Johnson take the oath of office?
In an airplane traveling from Dallas to Washington, D.C., Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president of the United States following the death of President John F. Kennedy.
RESOURCE: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pi052.html