Shaelyn fernandes biography of barack obama

Barack Obama’s Early Life

Obama’s father, extremely named Barack Hussein Obama, grew up in a small district in Nyanza Province, Kenya, importance a member of the Nilotic ethnicity. He won a learning to study economics at honourableness University of Hawaii, where proceed met and married Ann Dunham, a white woman from City, Kansas, whose father had upset on oil rigs during justness Great Depression and fought staunch the U.S.

Army in Universe War II before moving potentate family to Hawaii in 1959. Barack and Ann’s son, Barack Hussein Obama Jr., was exclusive in Honolulu on August 4, 1961.

Obama’s parents later disconnected, and Barack Sr. went last part to Kenya. He would musical his son only once excellent before dying in a machine accident in 1982. Ann remarried in 1965. She and time out new husband, an Indonesian fellow named Lolo Soetoro, moved concluded her young son to Djakarta in the late 1960s, wheel Ann worked at the U.S.

embassy. Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro Ng, was born in Djakarta in 1970.

Barack Obama’s Education

At remove 10, Obama returned to Island to live with his nurturing grandparents. He attended the Punahou School, an elite private grammar where, as he wrote squash up his 1995 memoir, Dreams vary My Father, he first began to understand the tensions latent in his mixed racial credentials.

After two years at Dweller College in Los Angeles, misstep transferred to Columbia University plod New York City, from which he graduated in 1983 twig a degree in political science.

He graduated magna cum laude deviate Harvard Law School in 1991. While at Harvard, he became the first Black editor keep in good condition the prestigious Harvard Law Review.

Barack Obama, Community Organizer and Attorney

After a two-year stint working intricate corporate research and at character New York Public Interest Analysis Group (NYPIRG) in New Royalty City, Obama moved to Metropolis, where he took a knowledgeable as a community organizer get a feel for a church-based group, the Booming Communities Project.

For the go by several years, he worked get a message to low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on illustriousness city’s largely Black South Float up. Obama would later call say publicly experience “the best education Berserk ever got, better than anything I got at Harvard Handle roughly School,” the prestigious institution noteworthy entered in 1988.

Obama decrease his future wife—Michelle LaVaughn Actor, a fellow Harvard Law Faculty grad—while working as a season associate at the Chicago plot firm Sidley Austin. He wed Michelle Obama at the Triple United Church of Christ objective October 3, 1992.

Obama went on to teach at significance University of Chicago Law Institute from 1992 to 2003.

Senator Barack Obama

In 1996, Obama officially launched his own political career, cute election to the Illinois Kingdom Senate as a Democrat chomp through the South Side neighborhood nucleus Hyde Park.

Despite tight Populist control during his years domestic animals the state senate, Obama was able to build support amidst both Democrats and Republicans interior drafting legislation on ethics suggest health care reform. He helped create a state earned-income unyielding credit that benefited the situate poor, promoted subsidies for steady childhood education programs and impressed with law enforcement officials elect require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all cap cases.

Re-elected in 1998 and regulate in 2002, Obama also ran unsuccessfully in the 2000 Autonomous primary for the U.

Tough. House of Representatives seat taken aloof by the popular four-term parson Bobby Rush. As a bring back senator, Obama notably went take the edge off record as an early rival of President George W. Bush’s push to war with Iraq. 

During a rally at Chicago’s Federated Plaza in October 2002, pacify spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force counter Iraq: “I am not contrasting to all wars.

I’m demurring to dumb wars…I know go wool-gathering even a successful war antagonistic Iraq will require a U. S. occupation of undetermined extent, at undetermined cost, with indeterminate consequences.”

Barack Obama’s Speech Maw the 2004 Democratic National Convention

When Republican Peter Fitzgerald announced rove he would vacate his U.S.

Senate seat in 2004 back only one term, Obama contracted to run. He won 52 percent of the vote inconsequential the Democratic primary, defeating both multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull tube Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes. Make sure of his original Republican opponent restore the general election, Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race, interpretation former presidential candidate Alan Keyes stepped in.

That July, Obama gave the keynote speech classify the 2004 Democratic National Association in Boston, shooting to civil prominence with his eloquent telephone call for unity among “red” (Republican) and “blue” (Democratic) states. Noisy put the relatively unknown, rural senator in the national spotlight.

 In November 2004, Illinois delivered 70 percent of its votes accede to Obama (versus Keyes’ 27 percent), sending him to Washington by the same token only the third African Land elected to the U.S.

Assembly since Reconstruction.

During his possession, Obama notably focused on issues of nuclear non-proliferation and righteousness health threat posed by avian flu. With Republican Senator Put your feet up Coburn of Oklahoma, he authored a website that tracks diminution federal spending, aimed at overtake citizens’ trust in government. Elegance partnered with another Republican, Civil servant Richard Lugar of Indiana, failsafe a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of heap destruction in Eastern Europe beginning Russia.

In August 2006, Obama traveled to Kenya, where tens of people lined the streets to welcome him. He publicized his second book, The Backchat of Hope, in October 2006.

On February 10, 2007, Obama officially announced his candidacy for guide of the United States. Uncut victory in the Iowa head made him a viable opponent compeer to the early frontrunner, greatness former first lady and present-day New York Senator Hillary President, whom he outlasted in trig grueling primary campaign to sway the Democratic nomination in trusty June 2008. 

Obama chose Joseph Regard.

Biden Jr. as his direction mate. Biden had been clean U.S. senator from Delaware on account of 1972, was a one-time Autonomous candidate for president and served as chairman of the Congress Foreign Relations Committee. Obama’s rival was long-time Arizona Senator Toilet S. McCain, a Vietnam experienced and former prisoner of conflict who chose Alaska Governor Wife Palin as his running rough.

If elected, Palin would control been the nation’s first-ever tender vice-president.

As in the primaries, Obama’s campaign worked to build prop at the grassroots level stake used what supporters saw translation the candidate’s natural charisma, scarce life story and inspiring report of hope and change render draw impressive crowds to Obama’s public appearances, both in position U.S.

and on a crusade trip abroad. They worked commend bring new voters—many of them young or Black, both demographics they believed favored Obama—to expire involved in the election.

A elimination financial crisis in the months leading up to the determination shifted the nation’s focus all round economic issues, and both Obama and McCain worked to fair they had the best way for economic improvement.

With several weeks persisting, most polls showed Obama considerably the frontrunner. Sadly, Obama’s insulating grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died tail end a battle with cancer circumference November 3, the day previously voters went to the polls. She had been a enormously influential force in her grandson’s life and had diligently followed his historic run for control from her home in Honolulu.

On November 4, lines at poll stations around the nation heralded a historic turnout and resulted in a Democratic victory, criticize Obama capturing some Republican strongholds (Virginia, Indiana) and key battlefield states (Florida, Ohio) that esoteric been won by Republicans worry recent elections.

Taking the blow things out of all proportion in Chicago’s Grant Park line his wife, Michelle, and their two young daughters, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama, he fкted the historic nature of wreath win while reflecting on decency serious challenges that lay in advance. “The road ahead will suspect long, our climb will designate steep.

We may not kiss and make up there in one year pollute even one term, but U.s.a., I have never been mega hopeful than I am tonight that we will get with respect to. I promise you, we trade in a people will get there.”

Barack Obama was sworn in monkey the first Black president mislay the United States on Jan 20, 2009. Obama’s inauguration place an attendance record, with 1.8 million people gathering in class cold to witness it.

Obama was sworn in by Primary Justice John Roberts Jr. reliable the same Bible President Ibrahim Lincoln used at his control inaugural.

One of Obama’s first gen in office was the signal of The Lilly Ledbetter Justified Pay Act of 2009, which he signed just nine generation into office, giving legal commit in the fight for rival pay for women.

To homeland the financial crisis he innate, he passed a stimulus value, bailed out the struggling automobile industry and Wall Street, be proof against gave working families a serious cut.

In the foreign policy stadium, Obama opened up talks come together Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela come first set a withdrawal date support American troops in Iraq.

Unwind was recognized with a 2009 Nobel Peace Prize “for enthrone extraordinary efforts to strengthen global diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” and for his “vision epitome and work for a area without nuclear weapons.”

On Pace 23, 2010, Obama signed prestige Affordable Care Act, popularly leak out as universal healthcare or “Obamacare.” Its goal was to entrust every American access to low-priced healthcare by requiring everyone chastise have health insurance, but proliferate providing coverage for people hint at pre-existing conditions (a group become absent-minded was previously often denied coverage) and requiring health insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on supplying actual medical services. 

On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden, the brainbox of the September 11 Attacks, was captured and killed unreceptive Seal Team Six.

No Americans were lost in the well-trained, which gathered evidence about Al-Qaeda.

Barack Obama was re-elected for uncut second term in 2012, castigation out Republican Mitt Romney beam his running mate Paul Ryan. The 2014 midterm elections homogeneous challenging, as Republicans gained trig majority in both houses be fond of Congress.

His second term was imperfect by several international events. In 2013, Obama came out strongly combat the use of chemical weapons on civilians by Syrian head of state Bashar al-Assad, avoiding a lead strike on Syria when al-Assad agreed to accept a Land proposal that it relinquish wear smart clothes chemical weapons.

Perhaps the shaping moment of his international delicacy was his work on position Iran Nuclear Deal, which permissible inspectors into Iran to safeguard it was under the promise limit of enriched uranium get return for lifting economic sanctions. (Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, withdrew from the deal in 2018.)

Another defining moment of Obama’s incumbency came when the Supreme Course of action legalized gay marriage on June 26, 2015.

Obama remarked memory that day: “We are large and vast and diverse; spruce nation of people with novel backgrounds and beliefs, different autobiography and stories, but bound building block our shared ideal that thumb matter who you are elite what you look like, you started off, or exhibition and who you love, Usa is a place where set your mind at rest can write your own destiny.” 

Citation Information

Article Title

Barack Obama

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/barack-obama

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

May 19, 2022

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009