Below is the text of Barack Obama's acceptance speech Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery. After the speech, Slate writers marked it up with their own notes, providing commentary on both the substance and rhetoric. Mouse over the highlighted passages to see an explanation of a phrase's significance.

With contributions by June Thomas, Anne Applebaum, Christopher Flavelle, David Greenberg, Daniel Gross, Nathan Heller, Juliet Lapidos, Dahlia Lithwick, Timothy Noah, and Chris Wilson