Resources

• Copies of Presidential notes
• BRI’s Principles and Virtues

Anticipate

Build students’ background knowledge of contested elections and the peaceful transition of power by assigning
“Nothing Less than a Miracle”: The Constitution and the Peaceful Transition of Power.

• What does it mean to have a peaceful transition of power?
• Why is this important?
• What would happen if this transfer of power was interrupted?
• What events must take place for a peaceful transfer of power to occur?
• What role do the American people play in legitimizing the transition of power?

Engage

• Students read Note 1, President George H. W. Bush’s note to President Clinton, and list the character traits they notice.
• Lead a discussion and record traits identified by students.
• Focus on virtues of humility and respect, referencing the note and “Nothing Less than a Miracle.”

Explore

• Have students read two more letters from previous presidents to their successors, notes 2 and 3, and list the qualities under a separate column for each. Ask students to reflect on and answer the questions below.
• Teacher note: It may be helpful to add some commentary around the context of each election—the Florida recount and the Supreme Court case of Bush v. Gore in 2000, for example, or that President Bush’s party lost the executive branch after eight years in 2008.
• Discussion Questions:
  • How are the letters similar to and different from one another?
  • What are the themes of republican/representative government, public service, and responsibility present in these letters?
  • How does respect for the office and a peaceful transition of power, reflected in these letters and this tradition, help to maintain the Constitution?

Assess and Reflect:

• When your students complete the exercise, hold a class discussion about their responses and consider the following additional questions, or allow students to choose one of the questions to reflect on in writing.
  • What is the importance of a peaceful transition of power?
  • How does respect for the office of the Presidency help maintain the office?
  • This is a relatively new tradition, but are there similar traditions that defined the norms of governance throughout our nation’s history?
  • What is the relationship between tradition and our system of government?

Extend

• Introduce the idea of contentious elections with these resources from BRI:
• Playlist: Peaceful Transitions
• E-lesson: Contentious Elections and the Peaceful Transition of Power