It has long been a proud claim of American democracy that we are committed to a peaceful transition of power from one president to the next. That, after all is said and done, the results tallied, the legal challenges resolved, a winner is declared and certified. And that the loser will concede and we will move on to the next chapter in our government’s executive branch. Why is this process important? What is at risk when it doesn’t happen? Constitutional scholar Linda Monk once again lends a hand.
This transcript may contain errors. Our automated transcription algorithms works with many of the popular audio file formats.
Adia Samba-Quee:
Civics 101 is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Hannah McCarthy:
President Barack Obama gave a speech to his supporters as he neared the end of his presidency.
President Barack Obama:
In 10 days
The world will witness a hallmark of our democracy. [boos] No, no, no, no, no.
Hannah McCarthy:
And to me, the best part about it is that he kind of scolds them, right?
He says, no, no, no, no, no. We don't boo an essential tenet of democracy, the peaceful transfer of power.
Thank your lucky stars that we have it. Protect it.
President Barack Obama:
The idea that for all our outward differences, we're all in this together, that we rise or fall as one.
Hannah McCarthy:
I'm Hannah McCarthy.
Nick Capodice:
I'm Nick Capodice.
Hannah McCarthy:
This is Civics 101. Today we are talking about one of the many principles that keeps our democratic heads above the authoritarian water, the peaceful transition of power.
Linda Monk:
Well, the procedures are set out in the Constitution. I mean, that's the whole reason you have a constitution, right?
Hannah McCarthy:
This is the inimitable Linda Monk, a.k.a. the Constitution Lady, a.k.a. author of The Bill of Rights, A User's Guide.
Nick Capodice:
When Linda says that the procedure is set out in the Constitution, does it literally say there will be a peaceful transition of presidential power?
Hannah McCarthy:
It does not. But Linda's point is that the Constitution does tell us that we are to hold a free and fair election and the winner of that election will become the president. And the framers put this in writing because they knew and this was before we had political parties, they knew that people would squabble and disagree, and they even feared that foreign nations might get involved trying to influence presidential elections.
Linda Monk:
Gee, what a novel idea. So the Constitution itself sets it up. That's the norm. The norm is that we've got some disagreements. We're going to have elections.
And here's how we keep the government in power.
Nick Capodice:
So this peaceful transition of power is like an unwritten rule. Here's how power will change hands. And as long as you uphold the Constitution, that power shift will be peaceful. But has it truly been peaceful throughout U.S. history?
Linda Monk:
It had been untested, really, until the defeat of John Adams.
Hannah McCarthy:
Incumbent Federalist President John Adams against his Democratic Republican vice president Thomas Jefferson. This is the election of 1800 and Jefferson wins. It was the first time a sitting president lost reelection.
Nick Capodice:
We should note, Adams was only our second president.
Linda Monk:
That was when people look to say, are we going to be able to survive a transfer of power with such diametrically opposed candidates? And then Jefferson in his inaugural speech says, we are all Federalists, we are all Republicans. It was clear what the divisions are there breaking into political parties. And Jefferson tries to bring the nation together, saying essentially, we're all Americans.
Nick Capodice:
Which is what Barack Obama was getting at in that speech.
Isn't it that accepting election results and letting someone else take up the mantle is what helps us to keep a functioning democracy.
Hannah McCarthy:
Even when people are very, very sore losers.
Like when Abraham Lincoln won the presidency in 1860 and seven states seceded.\
Linda Monk:
There was a peaceful transfer of power.
But then the unsuccessful states decided to declare their own nation.
Nick Capodice:
So even on the verge of a civil war and I know there was even a failed assassination plot against Lincoln, but it was accepted that one person lost the other one and the winner would be president.
Hannah McCarthy:
And his opponents did not refuse to acknowledge that he had won. They just made for the hills after he did. No presidential candidate in American history has ever refused to concede to the victor. Until 2020.
Linda Monk:
It's a time of grieving right now. Grieving is necessary because we have forever lost our calling to a peaceful transfer of power through an election. That's forever. Now, maybe that'll make us more humble about what's required to do that and more protective of our electoral process, because all we have to do is look around the world and see where those kind of challenges happen and what the consequences are. May maybe now we've been given a taste of that medicine and instead of bragging about it, will be servants to it.
Hannah McCarthy:
That about does it for the peaceful transition of power. For this episode.
Nick Capodice:
I mean, if any of you have questions about how things are going around here, just ask us drop us a line at Civics101@nhpr.org. We're in this with you.
Automatically convert your audio files to text with Sonix. Sonix is the best online, automated transcription service.
Sonix uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence to convert your mp3 files to text.
Save time and money with automated transcription. Learn how Sonix can help you quickly and accurately transcribe your audio files. Use Sonix to simplify your audio workflow. Colleges and universities use Sonix to convert their lectures, classroom sessions, and research recordings to text. Sonix can make your life a whole lot easier. Automated transcription with the best customer support team to help you at every step of the way.
Transcribing by hand is no longer necessary; put away those headphones. Transcription agencies are able to better serve their customers by using Sonix's automated transcription in the back office. Audio to text transcription just got more accurate. Enterprise-grade security for all of your automated transcription and translation needs.
Sonix uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence to convert your mp3 files to text.
Sonix is the best online audio transcription software in 2021—it's fast, easy, and affordable.
If you are looking for a great way to convert your audio to text, try Sonix today.
