Vice-President Al Gore has conceded victory to Governor George W. Bush in an address to the nation which marked the end of one of the most extraordinary presidential elections in American history.
Mr Gore, in the presence of his wife Tipper and four children and his running mate, Senator Joseph Lieberman, and his wife, spoke for about 10 minutes. He offered to be at the service of the President-elect, Mr Bush, if necessary.
He said he had spoken on the telephone with Mr Bush and joked that he promised that he would not phone back this time, a reference to election night when he first conceded and then withdrew it.
Mr Bush closed the conversation saying: "I look forward to working with you to heal the nation."
Several times, Mr Gore said "this is America" and that it was necessary to close ranks behind the new President.
There is a higher duty than politics, he said, and that is to put country before party.
Cheering crowds of supporters greeted Mr Gore and his wife as they left the Eisenhower Building after his speech. They chanted "Gore in four" encouraging him to run again in 2004.
In his speech Mr Gore said he did not know what he would do next but would go to Tennessee "to mend a few fences", making a joking reference to his loss of his home state in the election.
Mr Bush was due to make his own address to the nation an hour later from the Texas legislature building. He was to be introduced by the House Speaker, Mr Pete Laney, the highest-ranking Democrat in the state. This would illustrate Mr Bush's desire to reach out to political opponents after one of the bitterest elections and aftermath in US history.
Republicans will now control the White House and Congress for the first time since the Eisenhower presidency in the 1950s.
Mr Bush will be the first candidate since 1888 to be elected president without winning a majority of the popular vote. He will also be the first son to follow a father into the White House since John Quincy Adams in 1824.
But there was anger among Democrats at the action of a deeply split Supreme Court where the nine judges divided along ideological lines with a minority stating that "we may never know with complete certainty the winner of this year's presidential election".
Rev Jesse Jackson, a Democrat who has been Mr Gore's spiritual adviser, called the Supreme Court "the willing tool of the Bush campaign".
A more moderate Democratic voice, that of Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, said he accepted the court ruling but the conservative majority judges had "dealt the court a serious blow by taking actions many Americans will consider to be political rather than judicial".
Mr Gore in his speech said that he accepted the decision of the Supreme Court while "I strongly disagree with it".
The Republican Speaker, Mr Dennis Hastert, appealed for an end to bitter partisan feelings over the controversial election when he met with Mr Bush's running mate, Mr Dick Cheney, yesterday on Capitol Hill to discuss transition arrangements. "The wounds that have come from the passions of partisanship must begin to heal for the good of the country," Mr Hastert said.
Mr Gore spoke briefly yesterday with President Clinton who was in Belfast.
Later, surrounded by his family and a few advisers, Mr Gore worked at his Washington residence on his address. His speech from the White House complex came one hour after he said good night to guests at one of the five Christmas parties which had previously been arranged for this week and are going ahead.