The First Lady spoke of her support for Hillary Clinton and creating an environment in which “my daughters take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States”.
“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters - two beautiful intelligent black young women - play on the White House lawn,” she said.
Among those quick to praise the speech was her husband, Barack Obama, who is due to address the convention on Wednesday. His tweet was apparently the most retweeted post of the night.
“Incredible speech by an incredible woman,” he said.
Michelle Obama mentions iconic White House moment in convention speech
“Couldn't be more proud & our country has been blessed to have her as FLOTUS. I love you, Michelle.”
By lunchtime on Wednesday, the tweet had been shared more than 140,00 times and 380,000 people had liked it.
Democratic National Convention 2016 in pictures
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Ms Obama drew a clear distinction between Ms Clinton and Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate.
“I want someone with the proven strength to persevere, someone who knows this job and takes it seriously, someone who understands the issues a president faces are not black and white,” she said.
She ended her speech: “Don’t let anyone tell you this country isn’t great, that somehow we need to make it great again. Because this right now is the greatest country on earth.”
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