Embracing the exchange of power - the strength of the republic; rejecting elections, the pathway to tyranny

"the essential principles of government [include] . . . a jealous care of the right of election by the people - a mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of revolution where peaceable remedies are unprovided; absolute acquiescence in the decisions of majority - the vital principle of republics, from which there is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism . . . " Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801.

Jefferson's comments were made following the Revolution of 1800 - when he beat Vice President John Adams for the Presidency, leading to a change of parties and administrations in a peaceful transfer of power. The election was vigorous and often chock full of lies and misguided rhetoric.

This heated exchange of power, however, revealed the strength of the republic. That the people would accept the electoral results - the opposite was a pathway to tyranny. The rancor today shows just how current the Founders continue to be. The genius of the system they created, and the wisdom they have bestowed us. If we listen. The alternative pathway, as Jefferson espied, is despotism.

For more, visit America's Survival Guide and Patriot Week.