History of barack obama president of america

First term, —13 [ change change source ]. See the main article: First inauguration of Barack Obama. Great Recession [ change change source ]. Obamacare [ change change source ]. Nobel Peace Prize [ change change source ]. Tea Party movement [ change change source ]. War in Iraq [ change change source ]. Economic policy [ change change source ].

LGBT rights [ change change source ]. Gun control [ change change source ]. Second term, —17 [ change change source ]. See the main article: Second inauguration of Barack Obama. Presidential Medals of Freedom [ change change source ]. Death of Nelson Mandela [ change change source ]. Minimum wage and college [ change change source ]. Legalization of same-sex marriage [ change change source ].

Climate change [ change change source ]. Nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court [ change change source ]. Post-presidency, —present [ change change source ]. References [ change change source ]. Department of Health, Hawaii. August 9, Archived from the original on October 14, Retrieved Pew Research Center - U. Washington, D.

Archived from the original on October 26, Retrieved December 31, The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 28, The Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on January 29, Talk of the Nation Political Junkie blog. Archived from the original on May 11, Barack Obama: Man of Destiny. Archived from the original on The New York Times.

August 8, ISSN April 4, Archived from the original on April 5, Retrieved April 5, United Press International. Archived from the original on May 10, November 7, Archived from the original on November 7, Retrieved November 7, Archived from the original on December 21, Retrieved February 3, ABC News. December 15, Archived from the original on February 23, Other websites [ change change source ].

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Barack Obama. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barack Obama. Cabinet of President Barack Obama — Hillary Clinton — John Kerry — Timothy Geithner — Jack Lew — Eric Holder — Loretta Lynch — Ken Salazar — Sally Jewell — Tom Vilsack — Hilda Solis — Tom Perez — Did you know? Not only was Obama the first African American president, he was also the first to be born outside the continental United States.

Obama was born in Hawaii in He would see his son only once more before dying in a car accident in Ann remarried in She and her new husband, an Indonesian man named Lolo Soetoro, moved with her young son to Jakarta in the late s, where Ann worked at the U. At age 10, Obama returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents. He attended the Punahou School, an elite private school where, as he wrote in his memoir, Dreams from My Fatherhe first began to understand the tensions inherent in his mixed racial background.

After two years at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, from which he graduated in with a degree in political science. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in Learn about the events surrounding the historical election of how Barack Obama became the Democratic presidential contender against Hillary Clinton and how he ultimately beat John McCain to become the first black president in U.

An excerpt from Barack H. Despite tight Republican control during his years in the state senate, Obama was able to build support among both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics and health care reform. He helped create a state earned-income tax credit that benefited the working poor, promoted subsidies for early childhood education programs and worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

Francis of Assisi Catholic School around the corner from their house for 1st, 2nd, and part of 3rd grade. Obama's mother met a transgender person named Evie who was known as Trudi at the timeat a cocktail party in Dunham was so impressed by Evie's beef steak and fried rice that she offered her a job in the family home. It did not take long before Evie was also caretaker for then eight-year-old "Barry", as Obama was often referred to as then, and his baby sister Maya.

As a caretaker, she also spent time playing with Obama and bringing him to and from school, which she continued to do for about two years. InSoetoro took a new job at higher pay in Union Oil Company 's government relations office. By this time, he had picked up on some Indonesian in addition to his native English. In the summer ofObama returned to Hawaii for an extended visit with his maternal grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham.

His mother had also arranged an interview for possible admission to the Punahou School in Honolulu, one of the top private schools in the city. In mid, Obama moved back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents and attend Punahou School starting in fifth grade. It was the last time Obama would see his father. This was followed by his mother visiting her son and parents in Honolulu from late to January InDunham returned to Hawaii, bringing along the young Maya, Obama's half-sister.

Dunham started graduate study in anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. From sixth grade through eighth grade at Punahou, Obama lived with his mother and Maya. Obama's mother completed her coursework at the University of Hawaii for an M. In his memoir Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's middle class family. His knowledge about his African father, who returned once for a brief visit incame mainly through family stories and photographs.

At the Saddleback Civil Presidential Forum, Barack Obama identified his high-school drug use as his greatest moral failure. Some of his fellow students attending Punahou School later told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that Obama was mature for his age as a high school student and that he sometimes attended parties and other events in order to associate with African American college students and military service people.

Reflecting later on his formative years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered—to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect—became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear. Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles inhistory of barack obama president of america he studied at Occidental College for two years.

He then transferred to Columbia University in New York Citywhere he majored in political science with a speciality in international relations [ 51 ] [ 52 ] and in English literature. After four years living in New York, Obama moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer. Obama entered Harvard Law School in late In an interview with Ebony inhe stated that he saw a degree in law as a vehicle to facilitate better community organization and activism: "The idea was not only to get people to learn how to hope and dream about different possibilities, but to know how the tax structure affects what kind of housing gets built where.

Building up that trust was done with the same kind of long listening sessions he had used in the poor neighborhoods of South Side, Chicago. Richard Epsteinwho later taught at the University of Chicago Law School when Obama later taught there, said Obama was elected editor "because people on the other side believed he would give them a fair shake.

Minow was a managing partner. Minow later would introduce Obama to some of Chicago's top business leaders. The publicity from his election as the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review led to a contract and advance to write a book about race relations. In order to work without interruptions, Obama and his wife, Michelle, traveled to Bali where he wrote for several months.

The manuscript was finally published as Dreams from My Father in mid He married Michelle in [ 69 ] and settled down with her in Hyde Parka liberal, integrated, middle-class Chicago neighborhood with a history of electing reform-minded politicians independent of the Daley political machine. One effect of the marriage was to bring Obama history of barack obama president of america to other politically influential Chicagoans.

One of Michelle's best friends was Jesse Jackson 's daughter, Santita Jacksonlater the godmother of the Obamas' first child. Michelle herself had worked as an aide to Mayor Richard M. Marty Nesbitt, a young, successful black businessman who played basketball with Michelle's brother, Craig Robinsonbecame Obama's best friend and introduced him to other African-American business people.

Before the marriage, according to Craig, Obama talked about his political ambitions, even saying that he might run for president someday. Obama directed Illinois Project Vote from April to Octobera voter registration drive, officially nonpartisan, that helped Carol Moseley Braun become the first black woman ever elected to the Senate. According to Sandy Newman, who founded Project Vote, Obama "raised more money than any of our state directors had ever done.

He did a great job of enlisting a broad spectrum of organizations and people, including many who did not get along well with one another. The fundraising brought Obama into contact with the wealthy, liberal elite of Chicago, some of whom became supporters in his future political career. Through one of them he met David Axelrodwho later headed Obama's campaign for president.

Daleyand John W. Rogers Jr. Barack was off to the side and only the people who were close to it knew he had done all the work. Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, as a Lecturer for four years —and as a Senior Lecturer for eight years — He published no legal scholarship, and turned down tenured positions, but served eight years in the Illinois Senate during his twelve years at the university.

Miner, who met with Obama to recruit him before Obama's graduation from law school, had been counsel to former Chicago Mayor Harold Washingtonalthough the law firm often clashed with the administration of Mayor Richard M. The year-old law student made it clear in his initial interview with Miner that he was more interested in joining the firm to learn about Chicago politics than to practice law.

During the four years Obama worked as a full-time lawyer at the firm, he was involved in 30 cases and accrued 3, billable hours. Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of Public Allies inresigning before his wife, Michelle, became the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago in early Contents move to sidebar hide.

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Barack Obama. HonoluluHawaii, U. Childhood years [ edit ]. This article is part of a series about. Illinois State Senator and U. Senator from Illinois. Senate tenure election sponsored bills. Presidency timeline Transition Inaugurations first second Trips international Efforts to impeach Presidential library.

Presidential campaigns. Parents' background and meeting [ edit ]. Main article: Family of Barack Obama. Indonesia [ edit ]. Return to Hawaii [ edit ]. Education summary [ edit ]. Adult life [ edit ]. College years [ edit ]. Early career in Chicago [ edit ]. Law School [ edit ]. Settling down in Chicago [ edit ]. Project Vote [ edit ].

Notes [ edit ]. Chiyome Fukino" PDF. Archived PDF from the original on March 6, Retrieved December 5, New England Historic Genealogical Society. Archived from the original PDF on February 22, Retrieved July 21, Archived from the original on July 1, The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 1, Retrieved January 1, Archived from the original on April 12, Retrieved January 15, August 1, ISSN Obama was succeeded by Republican Donald Trumpwho won the presidential election.

Historians and political scientists rank him among the upper tier in historical rankings of American presidents. He lifted some travel and money restrictions to the island. Obama signed many landmark bills into law during his first two years in office. After a lengthy debate over the national debt limithe signed the Budget Control Act of and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of He gained widespread praise for ordering Operation Neptune Spearthe raid that killed Osama bin Ladenwho was responsible for the September 11 attacks.

InObama ordered the drone-strike killing in Yemen of al-Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlakiwho was an American citizen. After winning re-election by defeating Republican opponent Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term on January 20, During this term, he condemned the Snowden leaks as unpatriotic, but called for more restrictions on the National Security Agency NSA to address privacy issues.

His administration filed briefs that urged the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges ; same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in after the Court ruled so in Obergefell. He advocated for gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootingindicating support for a ban on assault weaponsand issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning global warming and immigration.

In foreign policy, he ordered military interventions in Iraq and Syria in response to gains made by ISIL after the withdrawal from Iraq, promoted discussions that led to the Paris Agreement on global climate change, drew down US troops in Afghanistan ininitiated sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea and again after interference in the US electionsbrokered the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal with Iran, and normalized US relations with Cuba.

Obama nominated three justices to the Supreme Court : Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were confirmed as justices, while Merrick Garland was denied hearings or a vote from the Republican-majority Senate. Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the presidential election on February 10, Several other candidates, including Senator Joe Biden of Delaware and former senator John Edwards of North Carolinaalso ran for the nomination, but these candidates dropped out after the initial primaries.

In June, on the day of the final primaries, Obama clinched the nomination by winning a majority of the delegates, including both pledged delegates and superdelegates. With Republican president George W. Obama won the presidential election with of the total electoral votes and In the concurrent congressional electionsDemocrats added to their majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senateand Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid both remained in their posts.

History of barack obama president of america

The presidential transition period began following Obama's victory in the U. During the transition period, Obama announced nominations for his cabinet and administration. Obama was inaugurated on January 20,succeeding George W. He delivered his inaugural address immediately following his oath. Within minutes of Obama's taking office, his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuelissued an order suspending last-minute regulations and executive orders signed by his predecessor George W.

On January 29, Obama signed a bill for the first time in his presidency; the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of revised the statute of limitations for filing pay discrimination lawsuits. While it was originally intended to be a bipartisan bill, Congressional passage of the bill relied largely on Democratic votes, though three Republican senators voted for it.

Following his inauguration, Obama and the Senate worked to confirm his nominees to the United States Cabinet. There were three vacancies on the Supreme Court of the United States during Obama's tenure, but Obama made only two successful appointments. Justice Antonin Scalia died in Februaryduring the th Congresswhich had a Republican majority in the Senate.

Circuit to fill Scalia's seat. Obama's presidency saw the continuation of battles between both parties over the confirmation of judicial nominees. Democrats continually accused Republicans of stalling nominees throughout Obama's tenure. Once the stimulus bill was enacted in Februaryhealth care reform became Obama's top domestic priority, and the th Congress passed a major bill that eventually became widely known as " Obamacare ".

Health care reform had long been a top priority of the Democratic Party, and Democrats were eager to implement a new plan that would lower costs and increase coverage. The Massachusetts Senate special election victory of Scott Brown seriously imperiled the prospects of a health care reform bill, as Democrats lost their seat Senate super-majority.

The Affordable Care Act faced considerable challenges and opposition after its passage, and Republicans continually attempted to repeal the law. Sebeliusa 5—4 majority upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, even though it made state Medicaid expansion voluntary. In King v. Burwella 6—3 majority allowed the use of tax credits in state-operated exchanges.

The October launch of HealthCare. Risky practices among the major financial institutions on Wall Street were widely seen as contributing to the subprime mortgage crisisthe financial crisis of —08and the subsequent Great Recessionso Obama made Wall Street reform a priority in his first term. During his presidency, Obama described global warming as the greatest long-term threat facing the world.

Obama's campaign to fight global warming found more success at the international level than in Congress. The deal provided for the monitoring of carbon emissions among developing countriesbut it did not include Obama's proposal to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by From the beginning of his presidency, Obama took several actions to raise vehicle fuel efficiency in the United States.

According to a report by The American Lung Association, there was a "major improvement" in air quality under Obama. Upon entering office, Obama focused on handling the global financial crisis and the subsequent Great Recession that had begun before his election, [ ] [ ] which was generally regarded as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

There was a sustained increase of the US unemployment rate during the early months of the administration, [ ] as multi-year economic stimulus efforts continued. GDP growth returned in the third quarter ofexpanding at a 1. Obama's presidency saw an extended battle over taxes that ultimately led to the permanent extension of most of the Bush tax cutswhich had been enacted between and Those tax cuts were set to expire during Obama's history of barack obama president of america since they were originally passed using a Congressional maneuver known as reconciliationand had to fulfill the long-term deficit requirements of the "Byrd rule".

During the lame duck session of the th CongressObama and Republicans wrangled over the ultimate fate of the cuts. Shortly after Obama's re-election, Congressional Republicans and Obama again faced off over the final fate of the Bush tax cuts. US government debt grew substantially during the Great Recessionas government revenues fell. Obama largely rejected the austerity policies followed by many European countries.

After taking control of the House in the electionsCongressional Republicans demanded spending cuts in return for raising the United States debt ceilingthe statutory limit on the total amount of debt that the Treasury Department can issue. The debt-ceiling crisis developed as Obama and Congressional Democrats demanded a "clean" debt-ceiling increase that did not include spending cuts.

Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner attempted to negotiate a "grand bargain" to cut the deficit, reform entitlement programsand re-write the tax code, but the negotiations eventually collapsed due to ideological differences between the Democratic and Republican leaders. In Octoberthe government shut down for two weeks as Republicans and Democrats were unable to agree on a budget.

House Republicans passed a budget that would defund Obamacarebut Senate Democrats refused to pass any budget that defunded Obamacare. Ultimately the two sides agreed to a continuing resolution that re-opened the government and suspended the debt ceiling. Hate Crimes Prevention Actwhich expanded hate crime laws to cover crimes committed because of the victim's sexual orientation.

In MayObama became the first sitting president to support same-sex marriageshortly after Vice President Joe Biden had also expressed support for the institution. The Obama Administration filed an amicus brief in support of gay marriage and Obama personally congratulated the plaintiff.