It’s like the elephant in the room. To say anything substantial or meaningful about last month’s presidential election in the U.S. risks being divisive; to say nothing is like not acknowledging that the Earth is round and orbits the sun. After all, our nation just went through one of the more divisive campaigns in American history.

 

My intent is not to further the divide, but rather to offer some thoughts in our shared interest of serving students and furthering our mission. I approach this writing in the same non-partisan and non-ideological manner that I approach teaching my students history.

 

Over the past few weeks, our focus has been to help students who are grappling with what they see and hear, and to create a space for them to process and talk about it. The day after the election, I posted the following column on my blog, which I think is worth sharing again:

 

Everyday, I am grateful to serve the Colorado Academy community. I do not think of my role as one of a “job,” but as a calling to help young people grow and develop into independent thinkers and leaders in our national and global communities. I feel fortunate to have my children learn and interact with so many amazing educational professionals, as well as a remarkably talented student body. Today is no exception.

 

In fact, despite getting little sleep last night, I wanted to get to school to talk to students and colleagues about the results of this unprecedented presidential campaign. No matter what our personal political perspective might be, this has been a divisive election, and, this morning, I find myself thinking about what role our school plays in being a positive force in our society.

 

I am passionate about American history, and what I know from my studies as a historian is that our system of government operates best when “the people” — and I mean ALL people — are engaged and all voices are heard. As a school, we work very hard to teach this. Unlike other institutions, schools are really designed to be sacred places — where we can uphold the sacred space of openness and learning.

 

CA is a place where we protect the right of students to experience life’s meaningful journey in the pursuit of growth and knowledge in the midst of a community. This is a community defined by support, compassion, empathy, courage, and kindness.

 

If your faith in the democratic system has been tested, as it has been for people on both sides of the aisle, retreating from engagement in that system is not what we do. What has been laid bare by the last 18 months is the depth of our disagreement in this country, and with that now so clearly exposed, our only way forward is tolerance, forbearance, and hard — very hard — work. Life and living are the most meaningful when we show up, and as we do so, when we treat one another with kindness and respect.

 

No matter your views, you are going to see many different ways and reasons to “show up” here on campus, at your next school on a college campus, in your church, synagogue, or mosque, even within your own family. We show up when we listen to one another, embrace and value what we learn from others, and work together to move forward. As members of the CA community, I hope that is where you will put your energy. I can promise that is where I will put mine.

 

The same day that this was posted, we held an inclusive and voluntary gathering for Upper School students to talk about the election. Many other discussions were taking place classroom by classroom, school-wide. Nearly 100 Upper School students attended that afternoon, and they represented a range of political perspectives.

 

Students began the session by setting some ground rules, and they shared their thoughts and feelings with the utmost respect for one another. Some students talked about the election’s messages related to sexism, racism, and xenophobia. Others reacted to their own struggles of supporting candidates they did not believe in. In still other conversations, students described their difficulty reconciling their own beliefs with statements made during the campaign. Rhetoric and results aside, this was a coming-of-age of sorts for students either old enough to vote in this, their first presidential election, or for those who are old enough to understand, but not yet of voting age.

 

There were no answers—only expressions and questions. It was, as we describe in our Mission Statement, designed to challenge students, but did so in a way that fostered respectful relationships. Still more meetings are planned, knowing that our students are managing this conversation on their own (with mixed results and without a complete understanding of the historical issues).

 

As I sat through these sessions and subsequent classes, my “inner” history teacher has had to resist not diving into an overview of the history of elections and political change in America.

 

There is no doubt that this has been a challenging election season, (and one often described as an election like no other), but there have been more than a few really rough political elections in American history, and ones from which we can still learn.

 

We could consider the “corrupt bargain” of 1824 that bitterly divided Americans or the election of 1860 that led to Civil War and the deaths of more than 600,000 Americans. We could look at 1960 when JFK beat Richard Nixon in an election that some historians believe involved voter fraud in the Democratic stronghold of Richard Daley’s Chicago (“vote early and vote often”).

 

Eight years later, Richard Nixon, in one of his many political resurrections came back to power, but soon succumbed to his own paranoia and was brought down by the “dirty tricks” perpetrated by his own supporters in the 1972 campaign.

 

Perhaps one of the most interesting is the election of 1800. It followed just a few years after George Washington’s “Farewell Address” in which he warned his fellow Americans of the dangers of entangling alliances and political parties.

 

Washington saw political leaders becoming divided over US foreign policy and domestic policy. Under his successor, John Adams, two parties formed: the Federalist and the Jeffersonian Republicans or Democratic-Republicans. Thomas Jefferson actively stoked partisan fervor during Adams’ presidency, undermining him at every turn. Division emerged over foreign policy and the role of government. Americans of that era were divided over the French Revolution. Adams fought a “quasi war” against the French, the first conflict, other than warfare against Native American nations, which was waged without congressional consent. Federalist supporters passed legislation such as the Alien and Sedition Acts that attempted to silence criticism towards the government by newspapers and individuals.

 

There was also debate about the size of the government with the issue of a national bank being a focal point. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson fought a bitter election against incumbent president John Adams.

 

The men, who had been friends and colleagues during the American Revolution, had turned into bitter adversaries. It was, by all measures, a dirty campaign. Jefferson attacked Adams’ masculinity. Federalist supporters of Adams brought forth rumors about Jefferson fathering children with one of his slaves in racist attacks that one might expect during that time in history. Adams fended off attacks by members of his own party, including Alexander Hamilton, who was frustrated by his limited role in Adams’ first term.

 

The election was a close one burdened by controversy. Because of the way the votes for President and Vice President were tallied prior to the adoption of the 12th Amendment, Republican Vice Presidential candidate Aaron Burr tied the Electoral College vote with his own party running mate, Jefferson. Burr, no stranger to controversy or scheming, mounted his own campaign against Jefferson with the Federalists eagerly joining in to prevent a Jefferson victory.

 

They viewed him as someone who would bring the violent French Revolution to America. Hamilton was killed after the election in a duel with Burr. The House of Representatives eventually elected Jefferson President on the 36th ballot.

 

Many have complained about the length of the 2016 campaign, but the election of 1800 was just as protracted. Newspapers of that day were sponsored by political parties and made no effort or even claim to be “objective.” Reports were loaded with misinformation and biased reporting.

 

There was no election day; states voted at different times from April to October. The Electoral College did not count ballots until February of 1801. The House did not settle the election until February 17 of that year. (Can you imagine if Americans of that day had Facebook?)

 

On the day of his inauguration, a 57-year-old Jefferson came to Capitol Hill without a ceremonial sword and dressed “as a plain citizen.” His speech called for unity after such a difficult election as he drew upon themes and values that united Americans of that time. Of course, he was speaking to a white, male electorate. He did not, as Abigail Adams reminded her husband, “remember the ladies,” nor did Jefferson ever resolve his intense personal struggles over the sin of slavery. Yet, I think his words still resonate today: “During the contest of opinion through which we have past [sic], the animation of discussions and of exertions has sometimes worn an aspect which might impose on strangers unused to think freely, and to speak and to write what they think; but this being now decided by the voice of the nation, announced according to the rules of the constitution all will of course arrange themselves under the will of the law, and unite in common efforts for the common good. All too will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate would be oppression. Let us then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind, let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty, and even life itself, are but dreary things. And let us reflect that having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance, as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions.

 

During the throes and convulsions of the ancient world, during the agonizing spasms of infuriated man, seeking through blood and slaughter his long lost liberty, it was not wonderful that the agitation of the billows should reach even this distant and peaceful shore; that this should be more felt and feared by some and less by others; and should divide opinions as to measures of safety; but every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all republicans: we are all federalists. If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union, or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated, where reason is left free to combat it.

 

I know indeed that some honest men fear that a republican government cannot be strong; that this government is not strong enough. But would the honest patriot, in the full tide of successful experiment, abandon a government which has so far kept us free and firm, on the theoretic and visionary fear, that this government, the world’s best hope, may, by possibility, want energy to preserve itself? I trust not. I believe this, on the contrary, the strongest government on earth. I believe it the only one, where every man, at the call of the law, would fly to the standard of the law, and would meet invasions of the public order as his own personal concern. Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he then be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels, in the form of kings, to govern him? Let history answer this question. Let us then, with courage and confidence, pursue our own federal and republican principles; our attachment to union and representative government.”

 

Jefferson was a complicated person. More than any other of the founding fathers, he used politics and partisanship to gain and hold power. He ushered in the first of many political “realignments” as old parties fell apart and new parties formed. His party was, in some ways, the ideological root of both parties: modern Democrats might point to his commitment to individual liberty and modern Republicans might point to his belief in limited government and states’ rights. (Note: his views would make him unlikely to be supportive of either modern party.)

 

Reconciliation did not come easy. Burr killed Hamilton and the Federalist Party, with their goal of a strong relationship with Great Britain, eventually fell apart in the War of 1812. But, Jefferson recognized the deep divisions and attempted, like Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address, to bring the nation together.

 

As the leader of this school community, I know our core values and dedication to the education of children bind us together. We are an intellectual community, and this compels us to do more to understand the America that exists in 2016. Being open to new ideas and perspectives is something that all Americans should do. We also need to engage with one another and to continue to provide that space to students to grow, understand, and become experienced and prepared leaders for the world they will inherit.

 

Eventually, Adams and Jefferson reconciled. In 1811, Adams told a friend of Jefferson. “I always loved Jefferson and still love him.” Jefferson told his friend Benjamin Rush, “This is enough for me. I only needed this knowledge to revive towards him all of the affections of the most cordial moments of our lives.” For the next fifteen years, they kept up strong friendship through letters and correspondence. On July 4, 1826, they died within hours of each other. Adams passed first with the legendary last words, “Thomas Jefferson lives.”

 

Although they competed till the end, they died as fellow Americans.