U.S. Sen. John Kerry said Tuesday night that Democrat Barack Obama's election to the presidency represents the next chapter in American history.

"Tonight we elected a President who has inspired a majority of Americans with his vision and policies, a man who is principally a leader for these times who happens to also be African American," the Boston Democrat said in a statement. "And because of America's stunning ability to move on and transform, to write a new chapter of our history, Barack Obama will be President during the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement and the 150th anniversary of the Civil War."

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee, said Obama, a Democratic Senator from Illinois, has changed the country.

"Tonight new dreams are born and old truths are affirmed," he said. "Tonight we enter a new America, the best America, the America of our highest hopes."