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Barack Obama - Second Inaugural Address
  • Second Inaugural Address

  • Barack Obama

    THE PRESIDENT:

    Profile Picture of Barack Obama in Barack Obama - Second Inaugural Address
  • Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice,

  • members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

  • Each time we gather to inaugurate a President we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.

  • We affirm the promise of our democracy.

  • We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names.

  • What makes us exceptional -- what makes us American -- is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

  • Profile Picture of Declaration in Barack Obama - Second Inaugural Address

    Declaration

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal;

  • that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights;

  • that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

  • Barack Obama

    Today we continue a never-ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.

    Profile Picture of Barack Obama in Barack Obama - Second Inaugural Address
  • For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they’ve never been self-executing;

  • that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth.

  • (Applause.)

  • Barack Obama

    The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob.

    Profile Picture of Barack Obama in Barack Obama - Second Inaugural Address
  • They gave to us a republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

  • Barack Obama

    And for more than two hundred years, we have.

    Profile Picture of Barack Obama in Barack Obama - Second Inaugural Address
  • Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.

  • We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Welcome to Literal!

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Reading

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Tap “Next” to learn more.

Auto Play

Auto Play is the default reading mode. With Auto Play, text message bubbles load automatically.

You can play, pause, or skip forward at any time.

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Audio Reader

Turning on Audio Reader adds unique audio voices for each character. Just like with Auto Play, each bubble loads automatically.

Tap the speaker icon in the control bar to turn enable Audio Support.

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Tap to Read

If you want to control when every bubble appears, simply tap the skip forward icon. Doing so will automatically pause Auto Play or Audio Reader.

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Free Scroll

At any time you can scroll/swipe. We’ll automatically pause Auto Play or Audio Reader if you scroll/swipe while either are playing.