Being president was a lot less fun in past centuries than it is today. Elected presidents had to put their affairs in order and begin the journey from whatever state they were in to Washington, D.C. — which took longer by horse back than, than it does today by plane. That is why the constitution provided a full six months between election and official beginning of duties for the president. The disadvantage was that six months in a crisis was just too long. The election-to-office “lame duck” period needed to decrease.

On this day, January 23, in 1933, Congress ratified the 20th Amendment to the constitution, establishing the 20th of January as the new date the president will take over. The previous date was all the way in March.

As is usually the case, Congress was not acting on a hypothetical, but to prevent a crisis. The United States was in the middle of a terrible winter made worse by the Great Depression. A new president, Franklin Roosevelt, was just, but had no authority to act until his term began; and the outgoing Congress likewise felt their power was curbed until the newly elected Representatives and Senators would take over. The amendment allowed the Roosevelt administration and Congress to begin tackling the Depression right away.