[15] After reading Obama's final draft, Axelrod sent him an email saying "This is why you should be president. Obama framed his response in terms of the broader issue of race in the United States. Similarly, Eric Plutzer of Penn State argued that Obama's speech "did not put the Rev. [6] Courts have developed several techniques for interpreting the meaning of statutes and these are also used to interpret the Constitution. ("The Congress shall have power . It was not proposed or discussed on the floor of the convention beforehand. . Free shipping . The 12th, 17th, and 20th Amendments made fine … Critical to these questions was the extent to which voters identified Obama with the views of Jeremiah Wright. He saw the speech as "an enormous missed opportunity to really assert as a very articulate and capable African-American leader how damaging Wright's expressions of hatred and animosity are to the African-American community itself. 85 percent said that they were disturbed "a great deal" or "somewhat" by Wright's comments. + 3 also donated . [43] As a result, although the federal government is (as discussed above) recognized as sovereign and has supreme power over those matters within its control, the American constitutional system also recognizes the concept of "State sovereignty," where certain matters are susceptible to government regulation, but only at the State and not the federal level. Forums Topics among the several states . Ch 12 The Jackson Era . Therefore, Obama stated: I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. Susan B. Hansen of the University of Pittsburgh noted that "the dilemma for Obama is that the more he talks about race being unimportant or transcended, the more important it will become to the media and voters' perceptions." The Preamble serves solely as an introduction, and does not assign powers to the federal government, nor does it provide specific limitations on government action. A More Perfect Union. [3], When asked a week later about the controversy about Obama's pastor that prompted, and was addressed by, Obama's speech, Clinton answered, "He would not have been my pastor. [36] The federal government exercises its supreme power not as a unitary entity, but instead via the three coordinate branches of the government (legislative, executive, and judicial),[37] each of which has its own prescribed powers and limitations under the Constitution. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table ... occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The adjectives "more" coupled with "perfect" lead me to conclude that my task as a Congressman is to seek to improve the state of our union while knowing that my efforts, indeed our collective efforts at any time, will still be imperfect. Obama described his own family history—stating that "in no other country on Earth is my story even possible"—and connected both his multicultural background and his campaign with the American motto, "out of many, we are one". But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races. [2] Speaking before an audience at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Obama was responding to a spike in the attention paid to controversial remarks made by Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor and, until shortly before the speech, a participant in his campaign. By: Leesa K. Donner December 13, 2020 Articles , Election 2020 , Politics , The Constitution You certainly have to do that, if not explicitly, then implicitly by getting up and moving. Of those who had seen or heard the speech, 55 percent were satisfied with Obama's explanation of his relationship with Wright, and 44 percent said they were reassured about Obama's thinking and beliefs on the issue of race. Between 1774 and 1789, 13 colonies became a nation - the United States of America. [74] The New York Times observed that the transcript of the speech was e-mailed more frequently than their news story on the speech, and suggested that this might be indicative of a new pattern in how young people receive news, avoiding conventional media filters. Later in the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama cited his crafting of this speech as an example of a "gut decision". "[66], Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, said that she hoped that Obama's speech would help people "talk more openly and honestly about the tensions, both overt and as an undercurrent, that exist around race and racial politics. [74] Maureen Dowd further referenced the phenomenon on March 30, writing in her column that Obama "can ensorcell when he has to, and he has viral appeal. ", "Hardball with Chris Matthews Transcript - March 19th 2008", "Independent Women's Forum - Michelle D. Bernard", "Obama's racial problems transcend Wright", "In a gamble, Obama takes aim at America's 'racial stalemate, "It will take more than one great speech for Obama to reassure some Democrats", "What should Obama do about Rev. [2] Noting his proximity to Independence Hall, Obama highlighted the tension between the ideals of equal citizenship and freedom expressed in the Constitution and America's history of slavery, and connected the American Civil War and civil rights movement with the goals of his own campaign, "to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America."[2]. [71][72], In the long run, the speech had a significant effect on some voters, Hendrik Hertzberg writing:[5], In his Philadelphia speech of March 18, 2008, prompted by the firestorm over his former pastor, he treated the American people as adults capable of complex thinking—as his equals, you might say. [2], Obama then shifted to an expression of what he called "a similar anger" in the white community based on resentments over busing, affirmative action, and the way in which fears about crime are often met with accusations of racism. His audience was at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [29] Although the Constitution expressly delegates to the federal government only some of the usual powers of sovereign governments (such as the powers to declare war and make treaties), all such powers inherently belong to the federal government as the country's representative in the international community. 3. Ch 13 Manifest Destiny. [41] However, each state's sovereignty is limited by the U.S. Constitution, which is the supreme law of both the United States as a nation and each state;[42] in the event of a conflict, a valid federal law controls. [60], David Eisenhower at the University of Pennsylvania compared the speech with Robert Kennedy's 1968 speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, saying: "Like Robert Kennedy, Obama used this as a teaching moment. United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. "U.S. nationals born in American Samoa sue for citizenship", "How a weird law gives one group American nationality but not citizenship", Chi., Burlington & Quincy R.R. To that end, he called for the African-American community to "[bind] our particular grievances—for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs—to the larger aspirations of all Americans" and for the white community to acknowledge the "legacy of discrimination ... and current incidents of discrimination." How do we even begin to create communion in the face of a divisive climate in a polarized society? Obama insisted that progress on matters of race was both possible and actual: The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. [62] Similarly, while a person may not generally challenge as unconstitutional a law that they are not accused of violating,[63] once charged, a person may challenge the law's validity, even if the challenge is unrelated to the circumstances of the crime. "[3], The speech played at least a partial role in the decision of New Mexico governor Bill Richardson (who was, like Biden, a former 2008 candidate, and one whose support was heavily courted by both Clinton and Obama given that he was the country's only Latino governor) to endorse Obama for president, on March 21 in Portland, Oregon. [4] Eventually, The New Yorker opined that the speech helped elect Obama as the President of the United States. A state is said to be "sovereign," if any of its ruling inhabitants are the supreme authority over it; the concept is distinct from mere land-title or "ownership. Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve, wrote at National Review Online (NRO) that "As far as I'm concerned, it is just plain flat out brilliant—rhetorically, but also in capturing a lot of nuance about race in America. [64], The New York Times reported that, within days of the speech, some religious groups and institutions of higher learning were "especially enthusiastic" about Obama's call for a racial dialogue. Yes. A More Perfect Union: Rhetorical Analysis There are some moments in history that act as turning points in the future direction a country or a people will take. "[75] By May 30, the speech had been viewed on YouTube over 4.5 million times. [17], Obama's speech began by quoting the preamble to the United States Constitution: "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union ...". [2], The 37-minute[6] speech as actually delivered[20] was essentially the same as the prepared text of the speech that had been distributed to the media,[2] except for some minor differences.[21]. United States v. Kinnebrew Motor Co.[23] is an example of this. Obama's usual speechwriting practice during the 2008 campaign was to discuss major themes with speechwriter Jon Favreau, let Favreau write a draft, and then edit the result. One of the more active members of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, an evicted sharecropper now building his new home at Hill House, Mississippi, 1936. Additionally, when interpreting a legal document, courts are usually interested in understanding the document as its authors did and their motivations for creating it;[10] as a result, the courts have cited the Preamble for evidence of the history, intent and meaning of the Constitution as it was understood by the Founders. While he decried the remarks made by Wright, Huckabee, a former pastor himself, also noted that "sermons ... are rarely written word-for-word" and that pastors often get "caught up in the emotion of the moment." Stephanie Cutter, John Kerry's spokesperson in the 2004 presidential campaign, suggested that "no other person in this country, black or white, could have given a speech like that. This week, More Perfect takes a look at three amendments on the more obscure end of the spectrum. Obama stated that, like other black churches, Trinity contained the full spectrum of the black community: "the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America. However, Kettl questioned "whether the message will resonate with white working class Pennsylvanians" (Pennsylvania being the next state to vote in the Democratic primaries) and argued that Obama needed to "couple his portrait of race to the broader challenge of economic opportunity" in order to connect with white voters. $19.49. $29.99. ... the reaction on the left and right sometimes made me wonder whether these pundits were watching the same speech. It is hard to imagine how he could have handled it better. And they are a part of America, this country that I love. He sent his final draft of the speech to Favreau and campaign strategist David Axelrod. In earlier documents, including the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France, the Articles of Confederation, and the 1783 Treaty of Paris recognizing American independence, the word "people" was not used, and the phrase the United States was followed immediately by a listing of the states, from north to south. Obama went on to say that Wright's views were "not only wrong but divisive ... at a time when we need unity. Welcome to More Perfect Union. [20] Substantively, the case was about eminent domain. "[53] After Wright made a series of appearances in March 2008 and Obama changed his initial decision to not renounce Wright, Krauthammer derided "the speech [that] was not just believed [but] was hailed, celebrated, canonized as the greatest pronouncement on race in America since Lincoln at Cooper Union" as a "shameful, brilliantly executed, 5,000-word intellectual fraud." [74] The phrase has been interpreted in various ways throughout history based on the context of the times. For other uses, see, 2008 Democratic Party presidential nomination, Preamble to the United States Constitution, preamble to the United States Constitution, Barack Obama gives speech on racial division, speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, The Speech: Race and Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union", "Text of Obama's speech: A More Perfect Union", "Obama Speech on Race Arguably Biggest Event of Campaign", "Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11", "Renowned Faith Leaders Come Together to Support Obama (press release)", "Jeremiah Wright, Obama's Pastor, Leaves Obama Campaign", "From Greek mythology, Obama learned a lesson", "Sen. Barack Obama Addresses Race at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia", "Barack Obama's race speech an online video hit", "Clinton: Wright 'would not have been my pastor, "Richardson: Obama speech 'clinched' endorsement", "Paterson and Bloomberg on Obama's Speech About Race", "Huckabee Defends Obama ... and the Rev. 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