Economic Mobility — Freedom and Opportunity
We believe every person deserves a fair chance to succeed and build a better life through hard work and determination.
So we act by supporting job creation, small businesses, and economic policies that expand opportunity.
Immigration and Human Dignity — Justice and Equality
We believe our immigration system should reflect both the rule of law and respect for human dignity.
So we act by supporting secure borders, fair enforcement of the law, and policies that treat people with decency and respect.
Environmental Stewardship — Responsibility
So we act by protecting clean air and water, conserving natural spaces, and supporting responsible energy and environmental policies.
And people can see the result — healthier communities and a safer environment for the next generation.
Education — Opportunity
We believe every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed — no matter where they live or what their family earns.
So we act by supporting strong public schools, expanding access to job training and higher education, and investing in teachers and classrooms.
Infrastructure and Community Investment — Opportunity
We believe government has a responsibility to invest in the foundations that create opportunity — safe roads, reliable infrastructure, and access to modern technology.
So we act by repairing roads and bridges, expanding broadband access, and supporting local projects that help communities grow.
Equal Justice Under the Law — Justice and Equality
So we act by strengthening accountability in the justice system, supporting fair policing, and ensuring that rights are protected for every person.
And people can see the result — greater trust in our institutions and confidence that justice is truly equal.
Living Wages — Justice
We believe in a basic principle of justice: people who work hard should be able to support themselves and their families with dignity.
So we act by supporting fair wages, strengthening worker protections, and investing in jobs that reward effort and skill.
Healthcare Access — Freedom and Opportunity
We believe healthcare is part of the freedom and opportunity every person deserves. No one should have to choose between getting the care they need and protecting their family’s financial future.
So we act by working to expand access to affordable healthcare, reduce prescription drug costs, and protect coverage for families and seniors.
Housing Affordability — Opportunity
Opportunity should not slip out of reach for working families. So we act by expanding housing supply, supporting first-time homebuyers, and investing in communities where families can build stable lives
Voting Rights — Democracy
We believe democracy depends on the participation of the people, and every eligible citizen should be able to vote freely and have their vote counted.
OSSOFF: “FREEDOM IS RARE”
All people are created equal, with no natural right to rule over others. So, how is it that we have governments? Well, we freely consent to being governed, by asking others to govern us. But they do so under the law. It’s an employment contract, and just as we can choose who governs us, we can remove and replace them if they fail us.
Equality leads inexorably to freedom, to justice under the law, to the opportunity to thrive, to democracy through our consent to be governed.
This is the Democratic Creed - all of its principles tie together: Equality. Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity. Democracy. Not separate ideas, but ideas that depend on one another.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: ALL MEANS ALL
The Declaration of Independence did not proclaim that some people are created equal. King emphasized that the proposition was universal. Black and white. Jew and Gentile. Protestant and Catholic.
All means all.
The Democratic Creed begins with the same proposition:
“We believe all people are created equal, that this is America's fundamental ideal.”
THE CHALLENGE
All people are created equal
Throughout, the promise of the Declaration endured. And each generation carried it a little farther than the one before it, widening the circle of those who could truly claim the rights America had promised from the beginning.
LADY LIBERTY’S CHAINS - AMERICA’S HISTORIC PROMISE
The Statue of Liberty represents "the promise of pluralism in a more fair and just society." The struggle to achieve, despite our flaws, is our promise - like Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech.
Like the Democratic Creed itself.
OUR LIVES, OUR FORTUNES, AND OUR SCARED HONOR
The words of the Declaration of Independence move me still. Read them alone, in a group, in public. Hear the words - without commentary, without interpretation, without drama. Hear them as colonists heard them in 1776 - as British subjects casting off their monarchy and facing an unknown future - facing it with hope, with determination, with resolve. Without knowing what lay ahead for them or their families. But willing to try.
THE 4TH IS OUR SOUL
All people are created equal
The power of those words can be summed up in one simple phrase—Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity for all, the dream that has made America exceptional. We haven’t achieved it fully, and it’s under unrelenting attack by dark forces, but these words represent the underlying desire so many of us feel, this nation’s true North Star: a just society.
All people are created equal.
AMERICA’S PROMISE, OUR RESPONSIBILITY
This is a battle that every generation of Americans has contended with. Today’s generation is not exempt, nor is tomorrow’s generation exempt. We engage in this battle to defend the ideas that define America again and again. And if we must fight this battle, then let’s make sure that we are well prepared. Let’s sharpen our ideas, study past battles, and prepare to stand strong in defense of American ideas.
DECLARED, DEFENDED, AND LIVED
The Declaration of Independence declared America’s promise. Gerald Ford’s Bicentennial message and the Democratic Creed show how each generation must defend, renew, and live that promise.
VALUES AS THE FOUNDATION: GRASSROOTS DEMOCRATS BUILD A UNIFIED FRONT
Jamie Raskin: "Roosevelt didn't call our party the Democratic Party, he called us “The Democracy” with a capital D…. we need to build a huge movement across the country defending democracy and freedom and justice." We need a positive, unifying message.
BEING AMERICAN IS AN IDEA: The 14th AMENDMENT
What is the American idea? We’re tempted to run to the Declaration of Independence, but we can read the words here today in our 21st-century language. We can read the words in the Democratic Creed. It’s Equality, Democracy, Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity for every person, everywhere.