Trump supporters fume that Hillary Clinton and many leading Democrats called Trump an illegitimate president and spent years accusing him of colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election. Unlike Trump - who insists the election was rigged through massive fraud and keeps telling his followers “ WE WILL WIN!” - Stevenson urged his voters “to give to General Eisenhower the support he will need to carry out the great tasks that lie before him. It is equally traditional to close ranks as soon as the people have spoken,” said Adlai Stevenson after losing to Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. “It is traditionally American to fight hard before an election. With the rise of television came the concession speech, and some of the most affecting moments in US presidential history. Jackson came back four years later to defeat Adams in a rematch. “You have, by your dignity and forbearance under all these outrages, won the people to your love,” one admirer wrote. “I hope you are very well, sir.” His courteous demeanor was widely noted. Yet the day after the decision was reached, Jackson approached Adams at a social event and greeted him with no hint of acrimony: “How do you do, Mr.

But even in those cases, the losing candidate made clear that he acquiesced in the outcome.Īndrew Jackson won the most votes in 1824, and his supporters raged when an alleged “corrupt bargain” led to John Quincy Adams becoming president instead. In two elections (18), the Electoral College results were inconclusive and the contest was decided by the House of Representatives the disputed 1876 election was eventually settled through a bipartisan compromise. Every incumbent defeated for reelection cooperated with the peaceful transfer of power to the victor. Vanquished presidential contenders from John Adams to Hillary Clinton accepted the loss and ended the fight. Related : Jeff Jacoby | Job 1 for the next president: Bind up the wounds of a polarized nation

Almost President by Scott Farris