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John Adams and Thomas Jefferson -

Founding Father John Adams was the prime example of a president who did not believe he should cease exercising presidential powers simply because he no longer held office.

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John Adams and Thomas Jefferson -

When Supreme Court Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth resigned his post shortly before Adams was due to leave office, the president took his chance. 

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John Adams and Thomas Jefferson -

Adams moved quickly to replace the chief justice and then set about reshaping the judiciary by passing the Judiciary Act of 1801. Among other things, this piece of legislation created 16 new federal judgeships, which he quickly filled with his own nominations.

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John Adams and Thomas Jefferson -

President-elect Thomas Jefferson and his party were outraged; they viewed Adams's actions as an attempt to subvert their agenda. They successfully repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 before it came into effect.

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James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln -

The 15th president of the United States, James Buchanan did not have the luxury of a quiet few weeks in office at the end of his presidency.

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James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln -

Indeed, it was during his final months in office that certain southern states began to debate leaving the Union. This came in response to the election of Abraham Lincoln, who stood against slavery.

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James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln -

Buchanan spoke out against the secession of the southern states, but ultimately he maintained that it was beyond the power of any president to do anything about it.

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James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln -

The first state to secede was South Carolina, and by the time Abraham Lincoln took office another seven states had followed suit. Soon, a total of 11 breakaway states had formed the Confederate States of America, signaling the start of the Civil War.

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Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland -

In the late 19th century, Republican Benjamin Harrison lost re-election to Democrat Grover Cleveland. There was so much tension between the two that the former deliberately ran the economy into the ground before the latter was due to take office.

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Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland -

The economy had already begun to suffer during the Harrison administration due to protectionist measures, such as the Silver Sherman Purchase Act of 1890, which had led to the decline of the treasury's gold reserves.

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Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland -

Rather than accepting responsibility, however, Harrison spent his last months in office warning Americans that the incoming president was going to bankrupt the country.

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Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland -

He even urged them to take their money out of the stock market, which consequently began to plummet just 10 days before the president-elect's inauguration.

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Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt -

The election of Franklin D. Roosevelt took place against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the effects of which had rippled across the country for years and caused widespread suffering.

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Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt -

The president-elect won largely thanks to his New Deal policies which promised, among other things, to "distribute wealth and products more equitably."

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Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt -

The incumbent Herbert Hoover was not a fan of these policies, and he worked hard to undermine them during his final few months in office.

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Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt -

The two politicians did not get on personally, either, and they had several very tense meetings in the run-up to Roosevelt's inauguration in March 1933.

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Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower -

Dwight D. Eisenhower took over from Harry S. Truman as President of the United States in 1953. Despite having previously worked together in harmony, by that point there was bad blood.

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Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower -

Things had started to turn sour when the incumbent President Truman entertained the idea of nominating Eisenhower as a Democratic candidate for president, but ultimately decided against it and went with the Republican Party.

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Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower -

Eisenhower apparently described those actions as a "mark of terrible leadership," and he proceeded to undermine President Truman's military policy throughout his own presidential campaign.

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Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower -

Truman in turn fueled the fire by relentlessly attacking Eisenhower during his campaign, and suggesting that he was unfit both professionally and personally to be president.

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Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan -

In November 1980, the incumbent Jimmy Carter lost re-election to Ronald Reagan. This was largely attributed to his failure to end the Iran hostage crisis.

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Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan -

Earlier in the year, a group of Iranian militants had invaded the US embassy in Tehran and taken 66 Americans hostage. Carter failed to negotiate their release. 

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Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan -

Despite his loss in the re-election, Carter continued with his negotiations to end the hostage crisis. Eventually, just two days before the end of Carter's term, the Iranian government accepted his proposal and agreed to release the hostages. 

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Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan -

The actual hostage release was held up, however, due to financial complications. It didn't take place until half an hour after Reagan had taken office on January 20.

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Bill Clinton and George W Bush -

When the 43rd president, George W Bush, took over from Bill Clinton in 2001, the incumbent president invited his successor to have coffee on the day of the inauguration ceremony.

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Bill Clinton and George W Bush -

The president-elect was known for being obsessively punctual, so when his predecessor kept him waiting, he was understandably not happy.

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Bill Clinton and George W Bush -

To add fuel to the fire, Mr. Clinton also invited Vice President Al Gore, who had just lost the election to Mr. Bush in a fraught battle that ultimately came down to a question of 537 votes.

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Bill Clinton and George W Bush -

All this was set against the backdrop of existing tensions between the families. Bill Clinton beat out George W Bush's father, George HW Bush, for the presidency in 1992.

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Final thoughts -

It seems, then, that while outgoing presidents are expected to go about their business in a quiet manner and organize an orderly transition, they have a tendency to do just the opposite.

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Final thoughts -

Of course, history has also seen some very smooth presidential transitions. Much of the time, however, they are fraught with final attempts to push agendas and have one last say.

Sources: (National Geographic) (BBC) (Reuters)

See also: The art of advertising a US presidential campaign

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