Jefferson's First Inaugural Address

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Jefferson's First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1801) followed the bitter election of 1800 — the first peaceful transfer of power between American political parties. His conciliatory line 'We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists' set the tone for a new era and is among the most generous speeches ever given by a victorious politician.

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. 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.