1/19/2021 0 Comments PEACEFUL TRANSITIONS OF POWERPhoto credit: National Archives
Presidents Bush, Obama, Bush, Clinton and Carter gather together in the Oval Office to celebrate the inauguration. RED BANK, New Jersey (Achieve3000, January 19, 2021). With his second term in office coming to a close, President George Washington had a choice to make, and it was a big one—a decision no other American had ever faced. Would he try to keep his presidential power or peacefully pass it on? Some in Washington's position as the first president of the United States may have held onto the nation's reins as long as possible. Until the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951, nothing in the Constitution prevented the president from running for election again and again. There is also nothing in the founding document that dictates how a president should go about transferring power to a new president. Washington, who ran unopposed both terms, is the only president in U.S. history to win an election unanimously, earning every Electoral College vote. He was beloved by many who wanted him to continue beyond his second term. But Washington had a vision for the fledgling nation, and he viewed extended periods of power as a danger to the nation. He believed that the longer one person led, the less democratic the country would become. So Washington stepped aside in 1796, and early the next year, he attended the inauguration of John Adams, warmly offering the country's second commander-in-chief his congratulations and best wishes for success. By exiting the presidency graciously after his second term ended, Washington established a precedent and a tradition that's been a foundational tenet of American democracy ever since: the peaceful transition from one president to the next. Testing Tradition The first test of the tradition Washington established came just four years after the end of his presidency. In 1800, Adams became the first U.S. president to lose an election to a political rival. It was a pivotal moment for the nation: Would Adams yield, or might he try to use the authority of the presidency to thwart the will of the voters and cling to power? For Adams, losing to Thomas Jefferson after serving only one term was a humiliating defeat. Still, though it stung, Adams accepted his loss and left the White House, marking the first of many calm handovers between political parties in U.S. history. Though subsequent presidential elections have sometimes been contentious, the transfers of power that followed over the centuries have not. Outgoing presidents, respecting precedent and election outcomes, traditionally exit the Oval Office and assist incoming administrations regardless of any personal or political differences they may have had with their successors. Supporting Each Other Another presidential transition tradition began in 1992 after Republican President George H.W. Bush lost his race for a second term to his Democratic challenger, President Bill Clinton. Though other presidents have penned letters to their replacements, Bush's message of support to his opponent warmed hearts and etched a place in history because of its simple graciousness. In 2018, the letter garnered new attention after it went viral on social media. "You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well," Bush wrote to Clinton. "Your success now is our country's success. I am rooting hard for you." Clinton's successor, Republican President George W. Bush, carried that gesture of welcome a step further in January 2009 when he invited then-president-elect Barack Obama, a Democrat, to the White House for a historic meeting with all living former presidents—his father, Bush senior, a fellow Republican, along with Democratic Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. What's at Stake Peaceful transitions between administrations aren't just niceties or demonstrations of a president's character. They're also vital to maintaining national security. In 1963, Congress passed the Presidential Transition Act, which mandated the creation of coordinating agencies to oversee the process, because, lawmakers said, "any disruption occasioned by the transfer of the executive power could produce results detrimental to the safety and well-being of the United States and its people." The outgoing administration is expected to cooperate with the incoming, sharing resources and information about economic, national security, and other important issues so that the new president, cabinet members, and staff are prepared for their first day on the job serving the American public—and safeguarding democracy
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