Time now for a look at what happened on this day in
On March 4-th, 17-89.
congress held its first session in New York City.
as the U-S Constitution took effect.
March 4, 1789
Constitution goes into effect
-First session of Congress held in New York City
-Created a strong federal government with an intricate
system of checks and balances
The group got together to negotiate amendments to
and after months of debate.
the first twelve amendments were adopted.
Those first amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.
The constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation.
giving more power to the federal government.
The beginning of the Presidential term used to fall
on March 4-th.
which made it the date of many presidential inaugurations.
You're seeing video of Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration.
where he outlined the New Deal.
That was his plan to pull the U-S out of the Great
Here are some highlights
from other March 4-th inaugurations.
-Shortest inauguration speech - 135 words by George
-Longest - 8,445 words by William H.
-Inauguration photographed for first time in 1857
-Nationally broadcast on radio in 1925
-20th Amendment changed beginning of presidential
term to January 20th
The first time it was held on that date was in 17-93.
when George Washington delivered the shortest inaugural
address at just 135 words.
The longest was in 18-41.
by William Henry Harrison.
who said nearly 85-hundred words.
18-21 saw the first inauguration that fell on a Sunday.
James Monroe decided to hold the ceremony the following
The inauguration was photographed for the first time
and covered by national radio broadcast in 19-25.
The final march 4-th Inauguration day was in 19-33.
because the 20-th amendment was later passed.
changing the start of the presidential term to January
Today is a milestone day for women in government.
On this day in 19-17.
a republican from Montana.
became the first female member of the U-S House of
And in 19-33.
Frances Perkins took over as the U-S Secretary of
Labor under F-D-R.
making her the first female member of the U-S Cabinet.
97 women serve in Congress.
that's 18-percent of the representation.