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Yea For Peaceful Transitions Of Power

The lead-up to Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday has been tumultuous, but what the ceremony itself represents is something fundamental to any healthy democracy: a peaceful transition of power — in this case, from one party to another. In this episode of “Harry’s History,” posted above, we look back at the first time an American president handed the keys of the kingdom to a president-elect from a different party: the drama-filled inauguration of our third president, Thomas Jefferson, in 1801.

Check out all episodes of “Harry’s History.”

Christine Laskowski was a video producer for FiveThirtyEight.

Harry Enten was a senior political writer and analyst for FiveThirtyEight.

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