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2004
Speech
Modern Era
Democratic National Convention Keynote
Barack Obama
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
About this source
Obama's 2004 keynote address, which launched him to national prominence, deliberately echoed the Declaration's preamble to articulate a vision of American identity — demonstrating the document's continuing power as a touchstone of national self-definition.
Why it matters for the project
More than two centuries on, the Declaration's self-evident truths remain the language Americans reach for to define the nation.