BRET BAIER: Unity Is In Our Name: What Americans want to hear from the 2024 presidential election winner

What do the American people want to hear-no matter who is standing there? As a passionate student of our great nation's remarkable history, I can say they want to hear a message of unity, not division. 

It struck me that the ability to distinguish between the divisive nature of a campaign and the pragmatic unification demanded by governance was a perfect description of the democratic process first executed by the Founders. Bush was saying that he knew people were feeling bruised from the fight, but he hoped they could move on to work together for the good of the nation.

Calls for unity have been a common thread for election night speeches, no matter how divisive our campaigns.

Speaking to a crowd, Lincoln noted that it had long been a question, now more urgent, whether the nation could be strong enough to maintain its existence in the worst emergency. He noted that the election "has demonstrated that a people's government can sustain a national election in the midst of a great civil war. Until now, it has not been known to the world that this was a possibility. It shows also how sound, and how strong we still are." Lincoln asked his supporters to extend goodwill to their opponents and spoke of his hope that a unified nation could endure. The war ended the following year.

Unity did not come easily after the war, and the years after the assassination of Lincoln were tumultuous. In 1868, the Republicans turned to General Ulysses S. Grant, the hero of the war, believing he was the one who could bring the nation together. Grant was a reluctant candidate, but he was clear about his mission. His written acceptance of his nomination contained the line that would become his rallying cry as president: "Let us have peace."

Once again, there was doubt that unity was possible. But that night, Nixon told a story about unity. On the trail, he said, he'd seen many campaign signs. "Some of them were not friendly, and some were very friendly. But the one that touched me the most was one that I saw in Deshler, Ohio, at the end of a long day of whistle-stopping, a little town. I suppose five times the population was there in the dusk, almost impossible to see-but a teenager held up a sign, 'Bring Us Together.' And that will be the great objective of this Administration at the outset, to bring the American people together. This will be an open Administration, open to new ideas, open to men and women of both parties, open to the critics as well as those who support us." 

Conciliatory gestures by the victors are important, but so are offers of support by those who lost. In defeat, many presidential hopefuls stand at the podium, crushed by the loss but holding up their heads along with the principles of democracy. Some can still inspire us.

"The Nation has spoken," Alf Landon wrote to Franklin Roosevelt on November 4, 1936. "Every American will accept the verdict and work for the common cause of the good of our country. That is the spirit of democracy."

In 1948, Thomas Dewey, who might have been shocked to lose since the media had declared him the winner at one point during the vote count, conceded to Harry Truman with these generous words: "My heartiest congratulations on your election and every good wish for a successful administration. I urge all Americans to unite behind you in support of every effort to keep our nation strong and free and to establish peace in the world."

Reagan, in his 1984 election night remarks, spoke about the higher calling, shared by citizens and candidates alike. "Here in America, the people are in charge," he said. "And that's really why we're here tonight. This electoral victory belongs to you and the principles that you cling to-principles struck by the brilliance and bravery of patriots more than 200 years ago. They set forth the course of liberty and hope that makes our country special in the world." 

It was the beginning of the United States of America. Unity is in our name.