In the face of Depression, we put people back to work and lifted millions out of poverty. In the face of secession, we unified a nation and set the captives free. In the face of tyranny, a band of patriots brought an Empire to its knees. And we should take heart, because we've changed this country before. The genius of our founders is that they designed a system of government that can be changed. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change. I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington.
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I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness - a certain audacity - to this announcement. It was here, in Springfield, where North, South, East and West come together that I was reminded of the essential decency of the American people - where I came to believe that through this decency, we can build a more hopeful America.Īnd that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States. That's why we made the tax system more fair and just for working families, and that's why we passed ethics reforms that the cynics said could never, ever be passed. That's why we were able to give health insurance to children in need. That's why we were able to reform a death penalty system that was broken. It was here we learned to disagree without being disagreeable - that it's possible to compromise so long as you know those principles that can never be compromised and that so long as we're willing to listen to each other, we can assume the best in people instead of the worst. I made lasting friendships here - friends that I see in the audience today. It was here, in Springfield, where I saw all that is America converge - farmers and teachers, businessmen and laborers, all of them with a story to tell, all of them seeking a seat at the table, all of them clamoring to be heard. It was with these ideas in mind that I arrived in this capital city as a state Senator. I became a civil rights lawyer, and taught constitutional law, and after a time, I came to understand that our cherished rights of liberty and equality depend on the active participation of an awakened electorate. After three years of this work, I went to law school, because I wanted to understand how the law should work for those in need. It was in these neighborhoods that I received the best education I ever had, and where I learned the true meaning of my Christian faith.
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I saw that the problems people faced weren't simply local in nature - that the decision to close a steel mill was made by distant executives that the lack of textbooks and computers in schools could be traced to the skewed priorities of politicians a thousand miles away and that when a child turns to violence, there's a hole in his heart no government could ever fill.
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I joined with pastors and lay-people to deal with communities that had been ravaged by plant closings. My work took me to some of Chicago's poorest neighborhoods. I accepted the job, sight unseen, motivated then by a single, simple, powerful idea - that I might play a small part in building a better America. But a group of churches had offered me a job as a community organizer for $13,000 a year. I was a young man then, just a year out of college I knew no one in Chicago, was without money or family connections. I moved to Illinois over two decades ago. As most of you know, I am not a native of this great state. But let me tell you how I came to be here.