She promises to tackle income inequality, tighten gun control and rein in Wall Street

Hillary Clinton secured the Democratic Party's White House nomination, coming back from a stinging defeat in her first presidential run in 2008 and surviving a bitter primary fight to become the first woman to head the ticket of a major party in US history.

In a symbolic show of party unity, Clinton's former rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, told the chairwoman from the convention floor that Clinton, 68, should be selected as the party's nominee at the dramatic climax of a state-by-state roll call at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia.