Thank you! Oh, thank you all! Thank you so very, very much.
It is wonderful to be here with all of you.
To be in New York with my family, with so many friends, including many New Yorkers who gaveme the honor of serving them in the Senate for eight years.
To be right across the water from the headquarters of the United Nations, where I representedour country many times.
To be here in this beautiful park dedicated to Franklin Roosevelt's enduring vision of America,the nation we want to be.
And in a place…with absolutely no ceilings.
You know, President Roosevelt's Four Freedoms are a testament to our nation's unmatchedaspirations and a reminder of our unfinished work at home and abroad. His legacy lifted up anation and inspired presidents who followed. One is the man I served as Secretary of State,Barack Obama, and another is my husband, Bill Clinton.
Two Democrats guided by – Oh, that will make him so happy. They were and are twoDemocrats guided by the fundamental American belief that real and lasting prosperity mustbe built by all and shared by all.
President Roosevelt called on every American to do his or her part, and every Americananswered. He said there's no mystery about what it takes to build a strong and prosperousAmerica: "Equality of opportunity…Jobs for those who can work…Security for those who needit…The ending of special privilege for the few…The preservation of civil liberties for all…awider and constantly rising standard of living."
That still sounds good to me.
It's America's basic bargain. If you do your part, you ought to be able to get ahead. And wheneverybody does their part, America gets ahead too.
That bargain inspired generations of families, including my own.
It's what kept my grandfather going to work in the same Scranton lace mill every day for 50years.
It's what led my father to believe that if he scrimped and saved, his small business – printingdrapery fabric in Chicago – could provide us with a middle-class life. And it did.
When President Clinton honored the bargain, we had the longest peacetime expansion inhistory, a balanced budget, and for the first time in decades we all grew together, with thebottom 20 percent of workers increasing their incomes by the same percentage as the top 5percent.
When President Obama honored the bargain, we pulled back from the brink of Depression,saved the auto industry, provided health care to 16 million working people, and replaced thejobs we lost faster than the historical average after a financial crash.
But, it's not 1941, or 1993, or even 2019. We face new challenges in our economy and ourdemocracy.
We're still working our way back from a crisis that happened because time-tested values werereplaced by false promises.
Instead of an economy built by every American, for every American, we were told that if we letthose at the top pay lower taxes and bend the rules, their success would trickle down toeveryone else.
What happened?
Well, instead of a balanced budget with surpluses that could have eventually paid off ournational debt, the Republicans twice cut taxes for the wealthiest, borrowed money from othercountries to pay for two wars, and family incomes dropped. You know where we ended up.
Except it wasn't the end.
As we have since our founding, Americans made a new beginning.
You worked extra shifts, took second jobs, postponed home repairs…you figured out how tomake it work. And now people are beginning to think about their future again – going tocollege, starting a business, buying a house, finally being able to put away something forretirement.
So we're standing again. But, we all know we're not yet running the way America should.
You see corporations making record profits, with CEOs making record pay, but your paycheckshave barely budged.
While many of you are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, you see the top 25 hedgefund managers making more than all of America's kindergarten teachers combined. And, oftenpaying a lower tax rate.
So, you have to wonder: "When does my hard work pay off? When does my family get ahead?"
"When?"
I say now.
Prosperity can't be just for CEOs and hedge fund managers.
Democracy can't be just for billionaires and corporations.
Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain too.
You brought our country back.
Now it's time – your time to secure the gains and move ahead.
And, you know what?
America can't succeed unless you succeed.
That is why I am running for President of the United States.
Here…here, on Roosevelt Island, I believe we have a continuing rendezvous with destiny. EachAmerican and the country we cherish.
I'm running to make our economy work for you and for every American.
For the successful and the struggling.
For the innovators and inventors.
For those breaking barriers in technology and discovering cures for diseases.
For the factory workers and food servers who stand on their feet all day.
For the nurses who work the night shift.
For the truckers who drive for hours and the farmers who feed us.
For the veterans who served our country.
For the small business owners who took a risk.
For everyone who's ever been knocked down, but refused to be knocked out.
I'm not running for some Americans, but for all Americans.
Our country's challenges didn't begin with the Great Recession and they won't end with therecovery.
For decades, Americans have been buffeted by powerful currents.
Advances in technology and the rise of global trade have created whole new areas of economicactivity and opened new markets for our exports, but they have also displaced jobs andundercut wages for millions of Americans.
The financial industry and many multi-national corporations have created huge wealth for a fewby focusing too much on short-term profit and too little on long-term value…too much oncomplex trading schemes and stock buybacks, too little on investments in new businesses,jobs, and fair compensation.
Our political system is so paralyzed by gridlock and dysfunction that most Americans have lostconfidence that anything can actually get done. And they've lost trust in the ability of bothgovernment and Big Business to change course.
Now, we can blame historic forces beyond our control for some of this, but the choices we'vemade as a nation, leaders and citizens alike, have also played a big role.
Our next President must work with Congress and every other willing partner across our entirecountry. And I will do just that – to turn the tide so these currents start working for us morethan against us.
At our best, that's what Americans do. We're problem solvers, not deniers. We don't hide fromchange, we harness it.
But we can't do that if we go back to the top-down economic policies that failed us before.
Americans have come too far to see our progress ripped away.
Now, there may be some new voices in the presidential Republican choir, but they're all singingthe same old song…
A song called "Yesterday."
You know the one – all our troubles look as though they're here to stay…and we need a place tohide away…They believe in yesterday.
And you're lucky I didn't try singing that, too, I'll tell you!
These Republicans trip over themselves promising lower taxes for the wealthy and fewer rulesfor the biggest corporations without regard for how that will make income inequality evenworse.
We've heard this tune before. And we know how it turns out.
Ask many of these candidates about climate change, one of the defining threats of our time,and they'll say: "I'm not a scientist." Well, then, why don't they start listening to those whoare?
They pledge to wipe out tough rules on Wall Street, rather than rein in the banks that are stilltoo risky, courting future failures. In a case that can only be considered mass amnesia.
They want to take away health insurance from more than 16 million Americans without anycredible alternative.
They shame and blame women, rather than respect our right to make our own reproductivehealth decisions.
They want to put immigrants, who work hard and pay taxes, at risk of deportation.
And they turn their backs on gay people who love each other.
Fundamentally, they reject what it takes to build an inclusive economy. It takes an inclusivesociety. What I once called "a village" that has a place for everyone.
Now, my values and a lifetime of experiences have given me a different vision for America.
I believe that success isn't measured by how much the wealthiest Americans have, but by howmany children climb out of poverty…
How many start-ups and small businesses open and thrive…
How many young people go to college without drowning in debt…
How many people find a good job…
How many families get ahead and stay ahead.
I didn't learn this from politics. I learned it from my own family.
My mother taught me that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it waslike not to have either one.
Her own parents abandoned her, and by 14 she was out on her own, working as a housemaid.Years later, when I was old enough to understand, I asked what kept her going.
You know what her answer was? Something very simple: kindness from someone who believedshe mattered.
The first grade teacher who saw she had nothing to eat at lunch and, without embarrassing her,brought extra food to share.
The woman whose house she cleaned letting her go to high school so long as her work got done.That was a bargain she leapt to accept.
And, because some people believed in her, she believed in me.
That's why I believe with all my heart in America and in the potential of every American.
To meet every challenge.
To be resilient…no matter what the world throws at you.
To solve the toughest problems.
I believe we can do all these things because I've seen it happen.
As a young girl, I signed up at my Methodist Church to babysit the children of Mexicanfarmworkers, while their parents worked in the fields on the weekends. And later, as a lawstudent, I advocated for Congress to require better working and living conditions for farmworkers whose children deserved better opportunities.
My first job out of law school was for the Children's Defense Fund. I walked door-to-door to findout how many children with disabilities couldn't go to school, and to help build the case for alaw guaranteeing them access to education.
As a leader of the Legal Services Corporation, I defended the right of poor people to have alawyer. And I saw lives changed because an abusive marriage ended or an illegal evictionstopped.
In Arkansas, I supervised law students who represented clients in courts and prisons,organized scholarships for single parents going to college, led efforts for better schools andhealth care, and personally knew the people whose lives were improved.
As Senator, I had the honor of representing brave firefighters, police officers, EMTs,construction workers, and volunteers who ran toward danger on 9/11 and stayed there,becoming sick themselves.
It took years of effort, but Congress finally approved the health care they needed.
There are so many faces and stories that I carry with me of people who gave their best and thenneeded help themselves.
Just weeks ago, I met another person like that, a single mom juggling a job and classes atcommunity college while raising three kids.
She doesn't expect anything to come easy. But she did ask me: What more can be done so itisn't quite so hard for families like hers?
I want to be her champion and your champion.
If you'll give me the chance, I'll wage and win Four Fights for you.
The first is to make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top.
To make the middle class mean something again, with rising incomes and broader horizons.And to give the poor a chance to work their way into it.
The middle class needs more growth and more fairness. Growth and fairness go together. Forlasting prosperity, you can't have one without the other.
Is this possible in today's world?
I believe it is or I wouldn't be standing here.
Do I think it will be easy? Of course not.
But, here's the good news: There are allies for change everywhere who know we can't stand bywhile inequality increases, wages stagnate, and the promise of America dims. We shouldwelcome the support of all Americans who want to go forward together with us.
There are public officials who know Americans need a better deal.
Business leaders who want higher pay for employees, equal pay for women and nodiscrimination against the LGBT community either.
There are leaders of finance who want less short-term trading and more long-term investing.
They want to put immigrants, who work hard and pay taxes, at risk of deportation.
And they turn their backs on gay people who love each other.
Fundamentally, they reject what it takes to build an inclusive economy. It takes an inclusivesociety. What I once called "a village" that has a place for everyone.
Now, my values and a lifetime of experiences have given me a different vision for America.
I believe that success isn't measured by how much the wealthiest Americans have, but by howmany children climb out of poverty…
How many start-ups and small businesses open and thrive…
How many young people go to college without drowning in debt…
How many people find a good job…
How many families get ahead and stay ahead.
I didn't learn this from politics. I learned it from my own family.
My mother taught me that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it waslike not to have either one.
Her own parents abandoned her, and by 14 she was out on her own, working as a housemaid.Years later, when I was old enough to understand, I asked what kept her going.
You know what her answer was? Something very simple: kindness from someone who believedshe mattered.
The first grade teacher who saw she had nothing to eat at lunch and, without embarrassing her,brought extra food to share.
The woman whose house she cleaned letting her go to high school so long as her work got done.That was a bargain she leapt to accept.
And, because some people believed in her, she believed in me.
That's why I believe with all my heart in America and in the potential of every American.
To meet every challenge.
To be resilient…no matter what the world throws at you.
To solve the toughest problems.
I believe we can do all these things because I've seen it happen.
As a young girl, I signed up at my Methodist Church to babysit the children of Mexicanfarmworkers, while their parents worked in the fields on the weekends. And later, as a lawstudent, I advocated for Congress to require better working and living conditions for farmworkers whose children deserved better opportunities.
My first job out of law school was for the Children's Defense Fund. I walked door-to-door to findout how many children with disabilities couldn't go to school, and to help build the case for alaw guaranteeing them access to education.
As a leader of the Legal Services Corporation, I defended the right of poor people to have alawyer. And I saw lives changed because an abusive marriage ended or an illegal evictionstopped.
In Arkansas, I supervised law students who represented clients in courts and prisons,organized scholarships for single parents going to college, led efforts for better schools andhealth care, and personally knew the people whose lives were improved.
As Senator, I had the honor of representing brave firefighters, police officers, EMTs,construction workers, and volunteers who ran toward danger on 9/11 and stayed there,becoming sick themselves.
It took years of effort, but Congress finally approved the health care they needed.
There are so many faces and stories that I carry with me of people who gave their best and thenneeded help themselves.
Just weeks ago, I met another person like that, a single mom juggling a job and classes atcommunity college while raising three kids.
She doesn't expect anything to come easy. But she did ask me: What more can be done so itisn't quite so hard for families like hers?
I want to be her champion and your champion.
If you'll give me the chance, I'll wage and win Four Fights for you.
The first is to make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top.
To make the middle class mean something again, with rising incomes and broader horizons.And to give the poor a chance to work their way into it.
The middle class needs more growth and more fairness. Growth and fairness go together. Forlasting prosperity, you can't have one without the other.
Is this possible in today's world?
I believe it is or I wouldn't be standing here.
Do I think it will be easy? Of course not.
But, here's the good news: There are allies for change everywhere who know we can't stand bywhile inequality increases, wages stagnate, and the promise of America dims. We shouldwelcome the support of all Americans who want to go forward together with us.
There are public officials who know Americans need a better deal.
Business leaders who want higher pay for employees, equal pay for women and nodiscrimination against the LGBT community either.
There are leaders of finance who want less short-term trading and more long-term investing.
They want to put immigrants, who work hard and pay taxes, at risk of deportation.
And they turn their backs on gay people who love each other.
Fundamentally, they reject what it takes to build an inclusive economy. It takes an inclusivesociety. What I once called "a village" that has a place for everyone.
Now, my values and a lifetime of experiences have given me a different vision for America.
I believe that success isn't measured by how much the wealthiest Americans have, but by howmany children climb out of poverty…
How many start-ups and small businesses open and thrive…
How many young people go to college without drowning in debt…
How many people find a good job…
How many families get ahead and stay ahead.
I didn't learn this from politics. I learned it from my own family.
My mother taught me that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it waslike not to have either one.
Her own parents abandoned her, and by 14 she was out on her own, working as a housemaid.Years later, when I was old enough to understand, I asked what kept her going.
You know what her answer was? Something very simple: kindness from someone who believedshe mattered.
The first grade teacher who saw she had nothing to eat at lunch and, without embarrassing her,brought extra food to share.
The woman whose house she cleaned letting her go to high school so long as her work got done.That was a bargain she leapt to accept.
And, because some people believed in her, she believed in me.
That's why I believe with all my heart in America and in the potential of every American.
To meet every challenge.
To be resilient…no matter what the world throws at you.
To solve the toughest problems.
I believe we can do all these things because I've seen it happen.
As a young girl, I signed up at my Methodist Church to babysit the children of Mexicanfarmworkers, while their parents worked in the fields on the weekends. And later, as a lawstudent, I advocated for Congress to require better working and living conditions for farmworkers whose children deserved better opportunities.
My first job out of law school was for the Children's Defense Fund. I walked door-to-door to findout how many children with disabilities couldn't go to school, and to help build the case for alaw guaranteeing them access to education.
As a leader of the Legal Services Corporation, I defended the right of poor people to have alawyer. And I saw lives changed because an abusive marriage ended or an illegal evictionstopped.
In Arkansas, I supervised law students who represented clients in courts and prisons,organized scholarships for single parents going to college, led efforts for better schools andhealth care, and personally knew the people whose lives were improved.
As Senator, I had the honor of representing brave firefighters, police officers, EMTs,construction workers, and volunteers who ran toward danger on 9/11 and stayed there,becoming sick themselves.
It took years of effort, but Congress finally approved the health care they needed.
There are so many faces and stories that I carry with me of people who gave their best and thenneeded help themselves.
Just weeks ago, I met another person like that, a single mom juggling a job and classes atcommunity college while raising three kids.
She doesn't expect anything to come easy. But she did ask me: What more can be done so itisn't quite so hard for families like hers?
I want to be her champion and your champion.
If you'll give me the chance, I'll wage and win Four Fights for you.
The first is to make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top.
To make the middle class mean something again, with rising incomes and broader horizons.And to give the poor a chance to work their way into it.
The middle class needs more growth and more fairness. Growth and fairness go together. Forlasting prosperity, you can't have one without the other.
Is this possible in today's world?
I believe it is or I wouldn't be standing here.
Do I think it will be easy? Of course not.
But, here's the good news: There are allies for change everywhere who know we can't stand bywhile inequality increases, wages stagnate, and the promise of America dims. We shouldwelcome the support of all Americans who want to go forward together with us.
There are public officials who know Americans need a better deal.
Business leaders who want higher pay for employees, equal pay for women and nodiscrimination against the LGBT community either.
There are leaders of finance who want less short-term trading and more long-term investing.
I want to make it easier for every citizen to vote. That's why I've proposed universal,automatic registration and expanded early voting.
I'll fight back against Republican efforts to disempower and disenfranchise young people, poorpeople, people with disabilities, and people of color.
What part of democracy are they afraid of?
No matter how easy we make it to vote, we still have to give Americans something worthvoting for.
Government is never going to have all the answers – but it has to be smarter, simpler, moreefficient, and a better partner.
That means access to advanced technology so government agencies can more effectivelyserve their customers, the American people.
We need expertise and innovation from the private sector to help cut waste and streamlineservices.
There's so much that works in America. For every problem we face, someone somewhere inAmerica is solving it. Silicon Valley cracked the code on sharing and scaling a while ago. Manystates are pioneering new ways to deliver services. I want to help Washington catch up.
To do that, we need a political system that produces results by solving problems that hold usback, not one overwhelmed by extreme partisanship and inflexibility.
Now, I'll always seek common ground with friend and opponent alike. But I'll also stand myground when I must.
That's something I did as Senator and Secretary of State – whether it was working withRepublicans to expand health care for children and for our National Guard, or improve ourfoster care and adoption system, or pass a treaty to reduce the number of Russian nuclearwarheads that could threaten our cities – and it's something I will always do as your President.
We Americans may differ, bicker, stumble, and fall; but we are at our best when we pick eachother up, when we have each other's back.
Like any family, our American family is strongest when we cherish what we have in common,and fight back against those who would drive us apart.
People all over the world have asked me: "How could you and President Obama work togetherafter you fought so hard against each other in that long campaign?"
Now, that is an understandable question considering that in many places, if you lose anelection you could get imprisoned or exiled – even killed – not hired as Secretary of State.
But President Obama asked me to serve, and I accepted because we both love our country.That's how we do it in America.
With that same spirit, together, we can win these four fights.
We can build an economy where hard work is rewarded.
We can strengthen our families.
We can defend our country and increase our opportunities all over the world.
And we can renew the promise of our democracy.
If we all do our part. In our families, in our businesses, unions, houses of worship, schools,and, yes, in the voting booth.
I want you to join me in this effort. Help me build this campaign and make it your own.
Talk to your friends, your family, your neighbors.
Text "JOIN" J-O-I-N to 4-7-2-4-6.
Go to hillaryclinton.com and sign up to make calls and knock on doors.
It's no secret that we're going up against some pretty powerful forces that will do and spendwhatever it takes to advance a very different vision for America. But I've spent my life fightingfor children, families, and our country. And I'm not stopping now.
You know, I know how hard this job is. I've seen it up close and personal.
All our Presidents come into office looking so vigorous. And then we watch their hair growgrayer and grayer.
Well, I may not be the youngest candidate in this race. But I will be the youngest womanPresident in the history of the United States!
And the first grandmother as well.
And one additional advantage: You're won't see my hair turn white in the White House. I'vebeen coloring it for years!
So, I'm looking forward to a great debate among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.I'm not running to be a President only for those Americans who already agree with me. I wantto be a President for all Americans.
And along the way, I'll just let you in on this little secret. I won't get everything right. Lordknows I've made my share of mistakes. Well, there's no shortage of people pointing them out!
And I certainly haven't won every battle I've fought. But leadership means perseverance andhard choices. You have to push through the setbacks and disappointments and keep at it.
I think you know by now that I've been called many things by many people – "quitter" is notone of them.
Like so much else in my life, I got this from my mother.
When I was a girl, she never let me back down from any bully or barrier. In her later years,Mom lived with us, and she was still teaching me the same lessons. I'd come home from a hardday at the Senate or the State Department, sit down with her at the small table in ourbreakfast nook, and just let everything pour out. And she would remind me why we keepfighting, even when the odds are long and the opposition is fierce.
I can still hear her saying: "Life's not about what happens to you, it's about what you do withwhat happens to you – so get back out there."
She lived to be 92 years old, and I often think about all the battles she witnessed over thecourse of the last century – all the progress that was won because Americans refused to give upor back down.
She was born on June 4, 1919 – before women in America had the right to vote. But on thatvery day, after years of struggle, Congress passed the Constitutional Amendment that wouldchange that forever.
The story of America is a story of hard-fought, hard-won progress. And it continues today. Newchapters are being written by men and women who believe that all of us – not just some, butall – should have the chance to live up to our God-given potential.
Not only because we're a tolerant country, or a generous country, or a compassionatecountry, but because we're a better, stronger, more prosperous country when we harness thetalent, hard work, and ingenuity of every single American.
I wish my mother could have been with us longer. I wish she could have seen Chelsea become amother herself. I wish she could have met Charlotte.
I wish she could have seen the America we're going to build together.
An America, where if you do your part, you reap the rewards.
Where we don't leave anyone out, or anyone behind.
An America where a father can tell his daughter: yes, you can be anything you want to be. EvenPresident of the United States.
Thank you all. God bless you. And may God bless America.
