How a national tragedy led to the 25th amendment

It was on this day in 1967 that two states, Nevada and Minnesota, made the Constitution's 25th amendment a reality, clearing up questions about presidential succession that dated back to the Founders' time. President John F. Kennedy’s death on November 22, 1963 led a united Congress to push for the key constitutional change. Kennedy’s assassination created moments of chaos in the federal government that afternoon. Vice President Lyndon Johnson was in the same motorcade as Kennedy, and there were early, erroneous reports that Johnson was also wounded. As the country came to grips with the assassination, Johnson made sure the moment when he took the oath of office, about two hours after Kennedy’s death, was documented, so the nation knew a constitutional change of office had taken place. Kennedy’s sudden passing accelerated an argument about a constitutional change that had been in the works in Congress in 1963. Technically, the…

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