Saying that he will "never back down in defense of the conservative values that make America exceptional," Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina on Wednesday took a major step towards running for the White House as he launched a presidential exploratory committee. 

Showcasing his message of faith, hope, and unity, Scott emphasized in a video that was shared first with Fox News that "this is the fight we must win. And that will take faith. Faith in God, faith in each other, and faith in America."

The senator recorded his video by Fort Sumter National Monument, the island fort that long protected Charleston, South Carolina, where the first battle in the Civil War was fought. Scott, who grew up in the Charleston area, is launching his presidential exploratory committee on the 162nd anniversary of Civil War’s start.

"On this day, April 12, 1861, in this harbor, the first shots of the Civil War were fired and our country faced the defining moment: Would we truly be one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.