The peaceful transfer of power from one president to another is a hallmark of American democracy. After John Adams was inaugurated as the second President of the United States in 1797, he wrote to his wife, Abigail, describing the actions of George Washington: “At the end of the ceremony he came to visit me and cordially congratulated me and wished my administration could be happy Successful and honorable. ”
Washington’s example paved the way for future American presidents to follow this tradition. Still, that doesn’t mean the process has always gone smoothly. In fact, many presidential transitions have been very uncomfortable affairs, starting with the very first transfer of power between political opponents in 1801. But there have also been moments of grace.–including a letter of sincere support from George HW Bush to his successor, Bill Clinton, which started a new tradition followed by the nation’s most recent presidents.
John Adams – Thomas Jefferson
John Adams chose not to attend the inaugural ceremony for Thomas Jefferson, to whom he lost in the brutal election of 1800. Instead, Adams slipped out of Washington on the early morning train on the day of the inauguration of Jefferson. Jefferson’s victory marked a complete transfer of power in the young nation from the Federalists to the Democratic Republicans of Jefferson, in what Jefferson called “the revolution of 1800”.
READ MORE: How John Adams Established Peaceful Transfer of Power
John Quincy Adams – Andrew Jackson
Four years after winning the popular vote but losing the White House through the “corrupt market,” Andrew Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams in an 1828 campaign marred by smears on both sides; Jackson even blamed the Adams Camp attacks for contributing to the death of his wife, Rachel.
On the opening day, Adams followed his father’s lead, leaving town ahead of the ceremony. A crowd of around 20,000 people flocked to the White House to shake hands with the new “border president,” causing such chaos that Jackson himself was forced to flee through a side door.
Andrew Johnson – Ulysses S. Grant
Jackson and his successor, Martin Van Buren, traveled to the Capitol in the same horse-drawn carriage for the inauguration of Van Buren, setting yet another example of peaceful transitions. Most of the outgoing presidents after Jackson would follow the same custom, but there were exceptions. Andrew Johnson even refused to attend the inauguration of his successor, Ulysses S. Grant, instead deciding to stay in the White House and lead a final meeting of his cabinet.
Herbert Hoover – Franklin D. Roosevelt
The 1932 elections were held during the worst economic downturn in the country’s history. FDR beat Herbert Hoover in a landslide, promising “a new deal for the American people.” After the election, Hoover made several attempts to get Roosevelt to work together to deal with the economic crisis, but Roosevelt refused, as adhering to Hoover’s terms would have fatally weakened his New Deal project before he does not start. Roosevelt would be the last incoming president with a transition that lasted until March: The 20th Amendment, ratified soon after taking office, moved inauguration day to January.
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Harry Truman – Dwight Eisenhower
The two worked together in the final months of WWII, as well as during the creation of NATO, but their relationship deteriorated in the 1952 election, in which Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson. Truman was horrified by Eisenhower’s use of harsh anti-Communist rhetoric in his campaign, especially his refusal to denounce Joseph McCarthy. On the day of the inauguration, Eisenhower refused to enter the White House, waiting outside for Truman in the car before heading to the Capitol together. According to Presidential Adviser Clark Clifford, “the hatred between the two men that day was like a monsoon.”
Lyndon Johnson – Richard Nixon
In the tumultuous 1968 election, the country’s divisions–on civil rights and the ongoing Vietnam War, among many other issues–played in a striking relief. Shortly before the election, Johnson learned that the Nixon campaign had conducted secret negotiations, through intermediaries, to discourage the South Vietnamese government from participating in peace talks favored by the Johnson administration. Although Johnson viewed such actions as betrayal, he declined to expose Nixon’s involvement in the scandal. Not only did he lack definitive evidence of Nixon’s direct involvement (although such evidence eventually emerged), he believed the nation would suffer if an elected president was found to have taken such steps, and he viewed national security as paramount given the persistent tensions with the Soviet Union.
Jimmy Carter – Ronald Reagan
Economic woes and the hostage crisis in Iran doomed Jimmy Carter’s hopes for re-election in 1980. On January 20, 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, 52 US diplomats and citizens were released from the US Embassy in Tehran, where revolutionary Iranian students had held them hostage for 444 days. According to Reagan biographer Richard Reeves, by the time Carter and Reagan shared a limousine ride to the Capitol on opening day, Carter had not slept for 48 hours due to last-minute negotiations over their release. Later, allegations were made of a behind-the-scenes deal between the Reagan campaign and the Iranian government to delay the release of hostages until his election and inauguration, but these were unsubstantiated.
George HW Bush – Bill Clinton
Some former presidents had left letters for their successors, but the one left by George HW Bush for Bill Clinton has gone down in history as one of the most gracious and started a new tradition for outgoing US presidents. Although Clinton defeated his bid for re-election in 1992, in a race that also featured third-party candidate Ross Perot, Bush sought to break through partisan divisions and deliver a message of support to his successor.
“Your success now is the success of our country. I encourage hard for you, ”Bush wrote at the end of the letter, which went viral on social media at the time of Bush’s death in 2018. Clinton would continue the tradition, as would Bush’s eldest son George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
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