the DECLARATION

of INDEPENDENCE

In declaring their independence, the American people established their political freedom on the self evident truth “that all men are created equal” in their rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

GETTYSBURG

ADDRESS

In the midst of a great constitutional crisis, Lincoln defined the meaning of the Civil War and the nation in one of the shortest political speeches ever delivered. The war was a test of the nation’s commitment to human equality and would determine if “government of the people, by the people, for the people” could endure.

"I HAVE A DREAM"

SPEECH

Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke eloquently of a dream deeply rooted “in the American dream” and reminded the nation of the gap that separated America’s promise from its fulfillment. He called for citizens to rise up and live out the true meaning of our “creed” found in the Declaration of Independence.