Hillary Clinton calls for unity amid racial tensions and Donald Trump's 'ugly, dangerous' campaign

Speaking at the site of Abraham Lincoln's most celebrated anti-slavery speech, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee also quoted the Broadway musical Hamilton

Hillary Clinton speaks beneath a portrait of George Washington at the Illinois Old State House in Springfield (AP)

Hillary Clinton chose the site of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous anti-slavery speech to tackle US race relations and call for unity after the recent spate of high-profile, police-involved shootings.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Illinois Old State House in Springfield, where in 1858 Lincoln declared that “a house divided against itself cannot stand,” the presumptive Democratic nominee also delivered a fresh rebuke to Donald Trump, whom she accused of “stoking mistrust and pitting American against American.”

Warning that the “Party of Lincoln” was becoming a “Party of Trump”, Ms Clinton said: “That’s not just a huge loss for our democracy, it is a threat to it,” she said. “Because Donald Trump’s campaign adds up to an ugly, dangerous message to America.”

The presumptive Democratic nominee picked the Old State House, where Barack Obama also launched his campaign for the presidency in 2007, to present its history as a stark contrast to the conduct of the 2016 election. “In times like these, we need a president who can help pull us together, not split us apart,” she said.

Mr Trump “has shown contempt for and ignorance of our constitution,” Ms Clinton went on, referring to the Republican’s recent pledge to protect “Article 12” of the constitution, which does not exist. “The first oath any president takes is to protect and defend the constitution,” she said. “To do that with any meaning, you’ve got to know what’s in it.”

Urging a return to civility in politics, the former Secretary of State admitted that she too may have contributed to its disintegration. “In the middle of a hotly fought political campaign, I cannot claim that my words and actions haven't sometimes fuelled the partisanship that often stands in the way of our progress,” she said. “I recognise that I have to do better, too.”

Discussing last week’s police shootings of black men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, which were followed by the assassination of five black police officers in Dallas, Ms Clinton called for continued reforms to policing and the criminal justice system. “Despite our best efforts and highest hopes, America’s long struggle with race is far from finished,” she said.

In closing her remarks, she invoked Hamilton, the hit Broadway musical about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, which she is reported to have seen three times. Ms Clinton quoted the character of George Washington, saying “‘History’s eyes are on us,’” and adding: “That was true then, and that is true today."