President Obama's inauguration speech on Monday, Jan. 21, touched upon a number of heavy-hitting topics, including gender equality, gay marriage, guns, immigration, and the economy, but the underlying message was clear: We are all in this together.

The president, who looked solemn before an eager crowd of nearly 1 million gathered at the Capitol's west front, began his speech with a reference to the Constitution and a look back at the core values of its words and the spirit of its authors.

"Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution," he began. "We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names."

"What makes us exceptional, what makes us America is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."