King - The Presidents Who Shaped Our World

The Presidents Who Shaped Our World

Dean King

Platinum Publishing

Contents

Barack Obama: Heralding a New Age inthe American Presidency

Dean King

Platinum Publishing

Tableof Contents

On January20, 2009, millions of people around the world were glued to their televisionsets and more than one million witnessed the ceremony in Washington, DC. It wasa glorious day, and everyone was excited to witness the inauguration of the 44thPresident of the United States.

Itwas a momentous victory for Barack Obama who had just won the 2008 PresidentialCampaign against Republican John McCain, making him the first African AmericanPresident in the history of presidency. His victory speech was heard bymillions, but his inauguration was attended by more. It was an emotional momentfor many Americans who have been searching for hope and change in a country ravagedby global recession.

Obamarepresented that hope and change. Being an African-American, his win wasperceived as unprecedented because his rising to the rank of President, themost powerful man in the United States, shattered racial barriers that havelong afflicted the country. Of course, there is still discrimination in someplaces in the country, but Obamas win was a statement in itself that onecannot be judged by his skin color.

Theswearing-in ceremony was conducted in front of almost two million people. Thenumber of attendees during the inauguration was a testimony to how Americans expectthe new President to bring changes and make the country better. And with suchgreat responsibility awaiting the new President, Barack Obama took the oath ofoffice.

Thecrowd cheered while the new President was accorded the 21-gun salute. And as hedelivered his inauguration speech, he succeeded in moving and motivating theAmerican people.

Obamahas since established himself as a great orator, and a speech like the one hedelivered at his inauguration day was what propelled him to popularity fromthat day in 2004 when he delivered his keynote address during the DemocraticParty national convention. But prior to that, Obama was an obscure personality.

Alot of people from the crowd may have been asking, Who is this skinny man witha funny name? Without a doubt, they were interested to know Obamas past, hisroots, and how he made it to the top. It seemed that in just a few years, herose from being a lawyer to the President of the United States. But his journeywas never smooth sailing.

BarackHussein Obama Jr. was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His namemeans blessed or blessing from God in Swahili and Arabic. He was born to ablack father and a white mother.

Obamasparents were an unlikely couple. Barack Sr., of Luo ethnicity, came from asmall village in Kenya. The Luo tribe was known for its intelligence whosometimes entered politics. His father, Hussein Onyango Obama, was a tribalelder and medicine man. At the time, Kenya was a British colony. Hussein workedas cook for British officers throughout his sons childhood.

Duringhis younger days, Barack Sr. lived in a poor village and herded his fathersgoats. When he was a little older, he attended an English-speaking school housedin a tin-roof shack, one among many schools that the British government set uparound the country. Barack Sr. stood out in class, mainly because of his sharpmind. He was able to earn a scholarship to a better school in Nairobi.

Whilehe was in Nairobi, Kenya became an independent nation. Its leaders set aboutestablishing a joint education program with America. The government then sentits most promising students to U.S. universities. The students would thenreturn to Africa with the latest information as recompense to the country that hadsent them overseas.

BarackSr. was 23 when he was chosen to attend the University of Hawaii to studyeconomics. He became the first African student at the university, and alwaysearned top grades.

Obama Sr. at a party with students fromUniversity of Hawaii

Atthe university, Barack Sr. became known for speaking out on behalf of otherforeign students. He was elected the first president of the InternationalStudents Association.

AnnDunham, meanwhile, came from a different background. She was a white woman who camefrom Kansas. Her father, Stanley Dunham, sold furniture, and the family wouldoften move from one place to another. Ann graduated from high school in WashingtonState before the family moved to Hawaii. There, Stanley and Madelyn Dunhamopened a furniture store.

Ann Dunhams full name is actually Stanley Ann Dunham because herparents had expected a boy. Always a stubborn man, her father didnt change thename that they picked out when Ann was born. At school, Ann was constantlyteased for having a manly name. She would be called Stanley Steamer and Stanthe Man. But soon, she dropped her first name and was thereafter known as Ann.

Lifein Hawaii suited the Dunhams. Honolulu, the capital, was populated by peoplefrom different nations throughout the Pacific Ocean. The Dunhams met Hawaiiansas well as Japanese, Filipinos, Chinese and Americans. Honolulu means ajoining together, and government leaders called their hometown the GatheringPlace.

The Dunhams: Ann and her parents Stanley andMadelyn

Annenrolled in the University of Hawaii and studied anthropology. In her firstyear, she took a class in Russian language. She was 18 by this time, and met atall, dark foreign student named Barack Obama. Ann was an easy-going andintelligent person, and soon Barack Sr. was drawn to her. They would usuallydebate politics and the economy. They would discuss terrible clashes over racein the United States.

Theylived at a time when blacks were expected to sit in the back of buses and useseparate facilities such as bathrooms. Many regions prohibited blacks fromvoting and blacks and whites from dating each other. Subsequently, protestserupted across the South.

Obamaand Ann, meanwhile, became closer. Ann invited him home to meet Stanley andMadelyn. The Dunhams welcomed him. They easily took to Obamas sense of humor.When Ann and Obama announced their engagement, the Dunhams were a bit unsureabout the relationship. It was not common during the 1960s for mixed-racecouples. But Anns parents respected her choice anyway.

Obamasfather was even less sure about the relationship. Hussein told his son that hethought Ann was not willing to follow the Luos customs because of herdifferent culture. But the couple still pushed through with their marriage in1960. It was a bold move, considering that mixed marriages were banned in halfthe states in the United States. If Obama and Ann traveled as man and wife inthe South, he could be hung.

BarackObama Jr. was born in 1961, a time when mixed marriages were still illegal in19 states. Many people believed that it was wrong for whites to marry blacks.It even got to the point that some states enacted Jim Crow laws, laws thatdiscriminated against African Americans and required blacks and whites to useseparate facilities.