Read the excerpt from the Barack Obama speech “Remarks by the President at the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March
es.” That’s why Selma is not some outlier in the American experience. That’s why it’s not a museum or a static monument to behold from a distance. It is instead the manifestation of a creed written into our founding documents: “We the People…in order to form a more perfect union.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
These are not just words. They’re a living thing, a call to action, a roadmap for citizenship and an insistence in the capacity of free men and women to shape our own destiny. For founders like Franklin and Jefferson, for leaders like Lincoln and FDR, the success of our experiment in self-government rested on engaging all of our citizens in this work. And that’s what we celebrate here in Selma. That’s what this movement was all about, one leg in our long journey toward freedom.
How does Obama use a constitutional principle in the excerpt to strengthen his argument that the Selma march was an important part of the civil rights movement?
Remarks by the President at Selma
Obama focuses on republicanism to highlight the fact that our founding fathers also fought for the same equality that was fought for in Alabama.
Obama focuses on the consent of the governed to emphasize that all actions should be based on what is stated in historical documents.
Obama focuses on the consent of the governed to stress that our country was founded on the idea that people have the ability to control their own rights.
Obama focuses on republicanism to draw the audience’s attention to the fact that they are the only ones who can change the government and the outlook of the nation.
