Reading to Identify the Purpose in Mandela’s Inaugural Address Open the Notebook tool () and answer these questions as you read:

What is Mandela trying to accomplish?
What does Mandela want his audience to understand or do?
Use the Highlighting tool () to mark details that help you to answer these questions in yellow.

Inaugural Address
by Nelson Mandela (excerpt)

We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. We succeeded to take our last steps to freedom in conditions of relative peace. We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just and lasting peace.

We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.