6/30/2023 0 Comments Lame duck crash![]() ![]() However, it also created problems, most notably in 18 following the elections of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Historians note the long delay often was necessary in the early days of the country to give newly elected officials time to move from their home states to Washington. ![]() Since presidential elections were held in early November, this created a long, four month “lame duck” period during which the departing president remained in office. In September 1788, Congress set March 4, 1789, as the date for “commencing proceedings” of the newly organized government. However, “lame duck” officials, including presidents, have used the period from the election to the inauguration to exercise some of their vast powers, including the ability to issue pardons, with little concern about public opinion.īefore then, the text of the Constitution set a duration for the terms of elected federal officials, but not the specific dates on which those terms would begin or end. Typically, the power of the “lame duck” official decreases as attention is focused on the incoming replacement. Over time, the term became more commonly used to describe a politician who remains in power but is about to be replaced by a newly elected successor. The earliest reported reference of the term was in a December 1761 letter written by British historian and politician Horace Walpole to Sir Horace Mann when he wrote, “Do you know what a Bear, and a Bull, and a Lame Duck are?” Have you ever wondered why the term “lame duck” is used to describe an office holder in the last days of his or her term? Though it has nothing to do with waterfowl, why say “lame duck” instead of other colorful descriptions such as a “crippled swan” or a “hobbled goose?”Īccording to Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the term “lame duck” originated in the world of British finance in the 1700’s, where it was used to describe a broker who could not pay his debts and therefore had to “waddle out of Exchange Alley (the financial hub at the time) like a lame duck.” As Biden begins his term, President Donald Trump will end his four years of service. ![]() 20, Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |