Barack Obama delivers farewell speech, says `we rise or fall as one`

President Barack Obama warned on Tuesday that the United States faces a stern test of its democracy, in a speech to the nation that was both a fond goodbye and a call to arms.

Chicago: Addressing the nation for the last time as the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama on Tuesday advocated for religious freedom and called on supporters to pick up the torch and forge a new "social compact".

Saying goodbye to the US citizens in a dramatic reinterpretation of a presidential farewell address, Obama asserted, "Democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity, for all our outward differences, we are all in this together," adding, "we rise or fall as one."

Capping his eight years in office, Obama returned to his adoptive hometown of Chicago to recast his "yes we can" campaign credo as "yes we did."

He said that he recieved a lot of messages and it was his turn to say thanks. While noting that he America was a better place now, Obama told his supporters that they made him a better President.

"After eight years as your President, I still believe that, and it's not just my belief. It's the beating heart of our American idea -- our bold experiment in self-government," he said.

In an emotional address enriched with wisdom and optimism, the outgoing President said he would never give up on his vision for change and reminding Americans that they made him a better leader.

"This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it, he said.

In comments that resonate as Americans ponder whether Russia helped to put Trump in the White House, Obama said "that order is now being challenged."

"First by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam; more recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets, open democracies, and civil society itself as a threat to their power."

"The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile."

Instead of the Oval Office or East Room for his last formal set of remarks, Obama chose Chicago -- the city where he declared victory in 2008 and 2012 -- to address a sold-out crowd of supporters.

Earlier, he wrote on Facebook that he was returning to the city "where it all started."

Obama also raised the issue of global warming saying, "We can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem."

"But to simply deny the problem, not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country, the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our founders."