Barack Obama: “At that point cooler heads on all sides should have prevailed.”

In forming our union, the founders fell terribly short of the Declaration's promise, leaving slavery intact, allowing states to restrict the franchise to white men who owned property.

the American people want to find a way to turn towards each other again, not further away

The success of this experiment was never a given.

Of course, we did not accomplish everything we set out to do. No administration does. Some of the exhibits reflect unfinished business, in some cases, my own shortcomings and mistakes, in some cases because - as a sign I kept on the…