Standing in front of the building where the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, the nation’s first black president urged American citizens to send the first woman to the White House in their 240-year history.

US election 2016: voters head to polls as Trump and Clinton aim to make history – live Read more

“I’m asking you to vote for this woman, this mother, this grandmother, to be the next president of the United States,” Barack Obama said, introducing Hillary Clinton to tens of thousands of people who braved a chilly Monday night in Philadelphia.

Joining him were the first lady, Michelle Obama, former president Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, a formidable show of force for one of Clinton’s final acts as Democratic candidate. Music legends Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi served as warmup acts.

It was the largest event of Clinton’s 18-month campaign, drawing 33,000 people to the square. The city’s legacy, and the hope of creating history once more, dominated the evening’s remarks.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hillary Clinton And President Obama embrace during the rally in Philadelphia. Photograph: UPI / Barcroft Images

“Philadelphia, in this place where our founders forged the documents of freedom, in this place where they gave us the tools to perfect our union, if you share my faith then I ask you to vote,” Obama said.

His voice reverberated to the surrounding streets from speakers positioned for the thousands who could not gain entry but looked on from outside. All told, an estimated 40,000 had descended upon the area hoping to bear witness to the climax of a gruelling election cycle.

The mood fluctuated from euphoric to meditative, at times urgent and emotional at the next turn.

Springsteen, whose music has long been inspired by the working class, soothed the crowd with performances of Thunder Road and Dancing in the Dark. Between songs, the singer declared that the choice before them “couldn’t be more clear”.



“Let’s all do our part so we can look back on 2016 and say we stood with Hillary Clinton on the right side of history,” Springsteen said.

Characterising Trump as “a man whose vision is limited to little beyond himself”, Springsteen said the Republican nominee held a “profound lack of decency that would allow him to prioritise his own interests and ego before American democracy itself”.

“Tomorrow those ideas and that campaign are going down.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bruce Springsteen: the choice before voters ‘couldn’t be more clear’. Photograph: Zuma Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

But it was the Obamas who captivated the audience with a pair of soaring speeches, delivered before the American electorate on what was likely their final national stage. Michelle Obama, who emerged unexpectedly as Clinton’s most powerful surrogate, implored voters to grasp that presidential elections were “breathtakingly close”.



“Tomorrow, with your vote, you can stand up to those who seek to divide us, make us afraid,” the first lady said. “Tomorrow, with your vote, you can say that this country has always been great, that it is the greatest nation on Earth.”



Mounting the podium after his wife, Barack Obama echoed the unwavering optimism that twice propelled him to the highest office in the land. “In 2008, you gave me a chance – a skinny guy with a funny name,” the president said. “You bet on me all those years ago, and I will always be grateful for the privilege you gave me to serve.”

“But I’ll be honest with you,” he added. “I’ve always had the better odds because I’ve always bet on you. And America, I’m betting on you one more time.”



It was a tough act for Clinton to follow, but such has often been the case for a candidate held to standards that were never imposed upon her male predecessors. For much of her public life, Clinton has faced criticisms ranging from her smile to the cadence in her voice.



But it was unmistakably Clinton’s night. Mounting the podium, she threw up her arms and looked to the skies.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Former US president Bill Clinton addresses the Philadelphia rally. Photograph: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images

She had one final rally to attend, 400 miles away in the battleground of North Carolina. Clinton would be joined there by Lady Gaga, and Jon Bon Jovi once more, capping off the campaign that launched in April of 2015 with one last salvo.

But as Clinton stepped on stage in Philadelphia, she had inched one step closer to cementing her place in history. To the jubilant supporters savouring the moment, she cautioned them that her fate remained in their hands.

“None of us, none of us,” Clinton said, “want to wake up on Wednesday morning and wish we had done more.”