Hello, Chicago. If there is anyone out there who still doubtsthat America is a place where all things are possible, who stillwonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the powerof our democracy, tonight is your answer. It's the answer told by lines that stretchedaround schools and churches in numbers this nation has neverseen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in theirlives, because they believed that this time must be different,that their voices could be that difference. It's the answer spoken by young and old, richand poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic,Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled.
Americans who sent a message to theworld that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red statesand blue states. We are, and always will be, the United Statesof America. It's the answer that led those who've beentold for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtfulabout what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once moretoward the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but tonight,because of what we did on this date in this election at this definingmoment change has come to America. --We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the hallsof Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines andthe living rooms of Concord and the front porchesof Charleston. It was built by working men and women whodug into what little savings they had to give $5and $10 and $20 to the cause. © 2018, ENGLISH SPEECHES, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. It grew strength from the young people whorejected the myth of their generation's apathy who left theirhomes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep. It drew strength from the not-so-young peoplewho braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock ondoors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organizedand proved that more than two centuries later a governmentof the people, by the people, and for the people has notperished from the Earth. This is your victory. And I know you didn't do this just to winan election. And I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormityof the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebratetonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime-- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisisin a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know thereare brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and themountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lieawake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll makethe mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education. There's new energy to harness, new jobs tobe created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliancesto repair. The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even inone term. But, America, I have never been more hopefulthan I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there. There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with everydecision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve everyproblem. But I will always be honest with you aboutthe challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when wedisagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join inthe work of remaking this nation, the only way it's beendone in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by callousedhand. What began 21 months ago in the depths ofwinter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make thatchange. And thatcannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a newspirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism,of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and workharder and look after not only ourselves but each other. Let us remember that, if this financial crisistaught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving WallStreet while Main Street suffers. In this country, we rise or fall as one nation,as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back onthe same partisanship and pettiness and immaturitythat has poisoned our politics for so long. Let's remember that it was a man from thisstate who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to theWhite House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty andnational unity. Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a greatvictory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determinationto heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more dividedthan ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion mayhave strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I haveyet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hearyour voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too. And to all those watching tonight from beyondour shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who arehuddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, butour destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadershipis at hand. To those -- to those who would tear the worlddown: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace andsecurity: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America'sbeacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the truestrength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms orthe scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity,and unyielding hope. That's the true genius of America: that Americacan change. Our union can be perfected. What we'vealready achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. This election had many firsts and many storiesthat will be told for generations. But one that's on my mindtonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others whostood in line to make their voice heard in this electionexcept for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She was born just a generation past slavery;a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in thesky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman andbecause of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she'sseen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and thehope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the peoplewho pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women's voices were silencedand their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand upand speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can. When there was despair in the dust bowl anddepression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fearitself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can. When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyrannythreatened the world, she was there to witness ageneration rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can. She was there for the buses in Montgomery,the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacherfrom Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes, we can. A man touched down on the moon, a wall camedown in Berlin, a world was connected by our own scienceand imagination. And this year, in this election, she touchedher finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 yearsin America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how Americacan change. Yes, we can. America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let usask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters shouldbe so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change willthey see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time, to put our people back towork and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restoreprosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirmthat fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; thatwhile we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicismand doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed thatsums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
Americans who sent a message to theworld that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red statesand blue states. We are, and always will be, the United Statesof America. It's the answer that led those who've beentold for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtfulabout what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once moretoward the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but tonight,because of what we did on this date in this election at this definingmoment change has come to America. --We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the hallsof Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines andthe living rooms of Concord and the front porchesof Charleston. It was built by working men and women whodug into what little savings they had to give $5and $10 and $20 to the cause. © 2018, ENGLISH SPEECHES, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. It grew strength from the young people whorejected the myth of their generation's apathy who left theirhomes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep. It drew strength from the not-so-young peoplewho braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock ondoors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organizedand proved that more than two centuries later a governmentof the people, by the people, and for the people has notperished from the Earth. This is your victory. And I know you didn't do this just to winan election. And I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormityof the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebratetonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime-- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisisin a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know thereare brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and themountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lieawake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll makethe mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education. There's new energy to harness, new jobs tobe created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliancesto repair. The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even inone term. But, America, I have never been more hopefulthan I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there. There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with everydecision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve everyproblem. But I will always be honest with you aboutthe challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when wedisagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join inthe work of remaking this nation, the only way it's beendone in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by callousedhand. What began 21 months ago in the depths ofwinter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make thatchange. And thatcannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a newspirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism,of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and workharder and look after not only ourselves but each other. Let us remember that, if this financial crisistaught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving WallStreet while Main Street suffers. In this country, we rise or fall as one nation,as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back onthe same partisanship and pettiness and immaturitythat has poisoned our politics for so long. Let's remember that it was a man from thisstate who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to theWhite House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty andnational unity. Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a greatvictory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determinationto heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more dividedthan ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion mayhave strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I haveyet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hearyour voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too. And to all those watching tonight from beyondour shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who arehuddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, butour destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadershipis at hand. To those -- to those who would tear the worlddown: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace andsecurity: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America'sbeacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the truestrength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms orthe scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity,and unyielding hope. That's the true genius of America: that Americacan change. Our union can be perfected. What we'vealready achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. This election had many firsts and many storiesthat will be told for generations. But one that's on my mindtonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others whostood in line to make their voice heard in this electionexcept for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She was born just a generation past slavery;a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in thesky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman andbecause of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she'sseen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and thehope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the peoplewho pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women's voices were silencedand their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand upand speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can. When there was despair in the dust bowl anddepression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fearitself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can. When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyrannythreatened the world, she was there to witness ageneration rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can. She was there for the buses in Montgomery,the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacherfrom Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes, we can. A man touched down on the moon, a wall camedown in Berlin, a world was connected by our own scienceand imagination. And this year, in this election, she touchedher finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 yearsin America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how Americacan change. Yes, we can. America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let usask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters shouldbe so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change willthey see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time, to put our people back towork and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restoreprosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirmthat fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; thatwhile we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicismand doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed thatsums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
