How To Lose An Election: A Brief History Of The Presidential Concession Speech
There's no legal or constitutional requirement that the loser of a U.S. presidential election must concede. But the public concession speech is an important tradition, perhaps now more than ever.
Presidential campaigns are essentially dramas, and for the past century, the moment of closure has come in the form of one simple act: the public concession.
There is no legal or constitutional requirement that the loser of a U.S. presidential election must concede. It began as a simple courtesy, with a telegram that William Jennings Bryan sent to his opponent, William McKinley, two days after the election of 1896.
Lincoln, Neb., November 5.
Hon. Wm. McKinley, Canton, Ohio: Senator Jones has just informed me that the returns indicate
