Mock Paper 1 - Speech
Following his victory in the 2008 United States presidential election, then-President-elect
Barack Obama gave his victory speech at Grant Park in his home city of Chicago on
November 4, 2008, before an estimated crowd of 240,000. Viewed on television and the
Internet by millions of people around the globe, Obama's speech focused on the major
issues facing the United States and the world, all echoed through his campaign slogan of
change.
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If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are
possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still
questions the power of our democracy tonight is your answer.
It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this
nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first
time in their lives, 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, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black,
white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans
who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or
a collection of red states and blue states . We are, and always will be, the United States of
America.
It’s the answer that led those who’ve been told for so long by so many to be cynical and
fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and
bend it once more toward 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 defining moment, change has come to America.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many
endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the
backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of
Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they
had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause. It grew strength from the young people who
rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy who left their homes and their families for
jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.
It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching
heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who
volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of
the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth. This is your
victory. …
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or
even in one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than 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 every decision
or policy I make as president, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But
I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially
when we disagree.
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Guiding question: In what ways does Barack Obama use his acceptance speech to deliver
a powerful message?
