Background, Election, and Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjF51ALu0sc)


"This is a student project created for a United States History class. The posts in this blog are of historical nature about a specific event in U.S. History. This blog deals with the election of Barack H. Obama. This is not meant to be expert scholarship and there may be errors. This is a first attempt at learning something in more depth. There has been a genuine effort to properly cite all pictures, quotes, and information gathered in this research project. For a list of sources see the final blog." (Published:May 22, 2011)


Overview of a few of Obama's Achievements:


In 1983, Obama graduated from Columbia University. In 1991, he gained a law degree from Harvard. He later worked at a Chicago firm and was mentored by his future wife Michelle Robinson. They married in 1992. From 2005-2008, Obama served as Senator of Illinois. November 4th, 2008 is a day that is now a part of America's great history. On this day, Obama was elected 44th President of the United States of America. On January 20th, 2009 Obama took the oath of office. Don't forget that he is also our first president of African American descent. This goes to show just how much the race barrier has been deteriorating in America throughout the years... slowly but surely. (Published:May 9, 2011) (http://www.biography.com/) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&biw=1024&bih=653&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=barack+obama&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=)

Early Life:


Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4,1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was born of mixed ethnicity. His father,Barack Sr., was from Kenya and his mother, Ann Durham, was from Kansas.They divorced when Barack Jr. was two years old.As a teen, Barack struggled to accept his mixed ethnicity. (Published:May 9, 2011) (http://www.encyclopedia.com/) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&biw=1024&bih=653&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=young+barack+obama&aq=f&aqi=g4g-m1&aql=&oq=)

Going to Law School:


After college, a young Barack Obama went on to attend law school. This is where he became president of the Harvard Law Review. After many more accomplishments achieved in law school, Obama returned to his home in Chicago, where he made a point in remaining active in his community. (Published:May 23, 2011) (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&biw=1024&bih=653&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=harvard+law+school&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=)

After Law School:


After returning home from law school, Obama made sure that he would put what he learned to good use. He started with teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and also benefited the people who he shared a community with. He helped cut taxes for working families, helped get more health care aid for children, and also assisted in getting dangerous weapons off of the streets. (Published:May 23, 2011)
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama)

Early Politics:


In 2000, Obama made his first bid for U.S. Congress. He challenged a well-known black politician named Bobby Rush for his seat in the House of Representatives. Rush was an African American radical who founded a chapter of the Black Panther Party. Obama wasn't as experienced and he didn't have a strong voter support base. Obama ended up losing horribly, winning only 30% of the vote. (Published:May 23, 2011) (http://www.encyclopedia.com/)  



Senator of Illinois:

Obama, a Democrat, was voted to one of Illinois' two seats in the U.S. Senate in 2004. Obama gained a landslide victory in Illinois. He became the Senate's only African American lawmaker when sworn into office in January 2005. He was the third African American U.S. senator to serve in Illinois since the 1880s. His supporters came from a wide range of ethnic and economic backgrounds. Before his victory, Obama delivered a riveting keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. This senate election would foreshadow Obama's election to the Presidency of the United States of America. (Published:May 22, 2011) (http://www.encyclopedia.com/) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&tbm=isch&q=illinois+state+flag&revid=1105540767&sa=X&ei=OwXbTfzqCoTMgQeEoIkF&ved=0CDkQ1QIoAQ&biw=1024&bih=653) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&biw=1024&bih=653&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=senate+seal&aq=f&aqi=g1g-m9&aql=&oq=)

President of the United States of America:


Obama prevailed over Arizona Senator John McCain to become the first black president of the U.S. Obama previously prevailed over Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic race. The primary season was bitter. Obama saw himself as the candidate of change. After the election, Obama made Hillary his Secretary of State. (Published May 23, 2011) (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0930136.html)

(http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=653&q=barack+obama&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1024&bih=653&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=John+McCain&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1024&bih=653&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=Hillary+Clinton&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=)

                              


















In Office:


Obama took office while a recession loomed which would threaten the U.S. economy. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was Obama's first major piece of legislative. It was a $787 billion "stimulus package" which would help create jobs and uplift the economy. (Published May 23, 2011) (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0930136.html)




Obama sought to bring about change from the policies of the Bush Administration to the policies of the Obama Administration. Two days after his inauguration, Obama signed an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention center within the year. This center detained suspected terrorists who posed as threats to America. Afterwards, executive orders reversed Bush's stem cell research policies and interrogation techniques for detained enemies. (Published May 23, 2011) (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0930136.html) (http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=653&q=Guantanamo+Bay&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=)

Nobel Peace Prize:


After nine months into his presidency, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The award committee said that Obama worked to strengthen international diplomacy and live in a world without nuclear weapons of mass destruction. This was shocking, because most of Obama's international policies weren't yet recognized. (Published:May 23, 2011) (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0930136.html) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&biw=1024&bih=653&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=barack+obama+nobel+peace+prize&aq=0&aqi=g2&aql=&oq=barack+obama+nobel+pea)

Foreign Affairs:


In his presidency, Obama escalated the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. He picked up where the Bush Administration left off in fighting the "war on terrorism". Violence rose overtime. Obama pledged to begin bringing home U.S. troops in July 2011. (Published:May 23, 2011) (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13434315) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&biw=1024&bih=653&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=afghanistan+war&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=)

Barack Obama Today:


Obama's approval ratings were boosted when Osama Bin Laden was killed in May 2011. However, discontent over jobs and petrol prices may hold a lot of weight at the polls in 2012. (Published:May 23, 2011) (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13434315) (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&biw=1024&bih=653&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=osama+bin+laden&aq=1&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=osama)

Works Cited:


"Profile: Barack Obama." www.bbc.co.uk. N.p., 17 May 2011. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13434315>


"Barack Obama." Infoplease.
© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.
23 May. 2011 <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0930136.html>.


"Barack Obama Biography." biography.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://www.biography.com/articles/Barack-Obama-12782369?part=4>


"Obama, Barack." UXL Newsmakers. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 23 May. 2011 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>


"President Barack Obama." www.whitehouse.gov. N.p., Web. 23 May 2011. 
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama>