By David Adler in the Seattle Times
Special to The Idaho Statesman
When Donald Trump assumes office Monday, as the 47th president of the United States, he will mark the solemn occasion with an inaugural address. While not required by the Constitution, the address represents a rich tradition initiated by George Washington, one that affords the president a platform to chart a new direction for the nation and announce his plans, policies and programs.
Trump will stand at the podium in a time of deep division and great challenge, somewhat akin to the circumstances that confronted Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln when they assumed the reins of the executive branch.
Jefferson, in his first inaugural address in 1801, and Lincoln, in each of his messages — 1861 and 1865 — delivered masterful speeches, likely the greatest in our nation’s history, in which they urged their countrymen to embrace civility, magnanimity, reconciliation and, above all, national unity. On the eve of Trump’s second inaugural address, Americans wonder whether he will follow the path of Jefferson and Lincoln, or whether he will dwell on differences, rehash grievances and embark on a campaign of retribution.
Jefferson, the leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, survived a heated election, the “Revolution of 1800,” and was keenly aware of the sharp divisions in America, as demonstrated by the fact that his victory over the incumbent John Adams, the last of the Federalists to hold office, required the House of Representatives to toll through 36 ballots after neither candidate succeeded in winning a majority of the Electoral College vote. Jefferson sought to unite the country and famously declared: “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.” (continued on page 2)