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The President Of The United States

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The morning of March 4, 1801, the outgoing President of the United States John Adams left Washington D.C. before sunrise, the morning his successor was to be sworn into office. Criticized for being a poor loser for not staying to welcoming the incoming President of the United States, this quiet event in the stillness of the morning was one of the most profound events in political history and an example of the uniqueness of the American system of government. The peaceful transfer of power. Jaffa (CP 72) explains that the decision to rule based on a free election by a whole people was a foreign idea before the American Revolution. He knows of no example before the election in 1800 where the party in charge passed authority over to their fierce rivals because of a free vote. Adam’s Federalists vacated the White House without incident, Jefferson’s Republicans took power. Former government employees were not harassed or persecuted by their successors. Historically one party or ruling group was forced out of office by another through force, then once defeated they were typically executed, imprisoned or forced into exile. Many elections observers today wait to see if the outgoing powers will voluntarily leave, or if the incoming powers will allow their predecessors to return to a normal life. The election of 1800 between President Adams’ Federalists and Vice President Jefferson’s Republicans was called the “Revolution of 1800,” by Madison (Milkis 21). The Americans were

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