Essay on Biography of President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama jr. was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He grew up with his father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., and mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. He went to college first at Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1989, then went to Columbia University, where he graduated in 1983, and finally went to Harvard Law school in 1991, where he met his wife, Michelle Robinson Obama. They had two daughters, Malia Obama and Natasha “Sasha” Obama.
Constitutional Issues
Barack Obama faced many Constitutional Issues during his presidency. One significant issue he faced was in regards to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as Obamacare. Obamacare increases the affordability of healthcare, providing more people with healthcare. It was extremely controversial, with republicans, in general, strongly opposing the reform, and democrats, in general, strongly supporting it.
One of the most controversial and central parts of ObamaCare is that it was required that everyone not receiving healthcare, is required to pay for it, with exceptions for people with enough financial hardships that the insurance would cost more than eight percent of their household income or certain religious groups. This was controversial because there was a tax penalty for all people not exempted, but had remained uninsured, causing the debate over whether or not Congress could penalize people for not buying healthcare. In 2012, this debate ended up in the supreme court, with a 5-4 ruling that it was indeed constitutional.
Another significant issue Obama faced during his presidency was the Iraq war. In addition to Obamacare, ending the Iraq war is one thing that Obama is widely known for. The war began in March 2003 because the Bush administration believed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and that Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s tyrannical dictator, was housing terrorists. Even from the beginning, Obama opposed the war, though, at the time, many people disagreed with him.
In August of 2010, Obama announced that the U.S.’s combat mission in Iraq had ended, but the troops were going to stay in order to support the Iraqi soldiers. By June of 2011, 100,000 troops had already left Iraq.
Despite Obamacare and the Iraq war being the largest constitutional issues during Barack Obama’s presidency, there were a number of other issues. These include when, in February of 2015, Obama spoke to the nation about, and in favor of the prospect of legalizing marijuana, in mid-2015, when same-sex marriage was legalized in the U.S., and
First Lady
Michelle Robinson Obama was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois. She always was incredible in school and even skipped 2nd grade. For college, she went to Princeton University and graduated in 1985. She later entered Harvard Law School and graduated. After graduating from Harvard, Michelle Obama joined the Chicago corporate-law firm of Sidley; Austin and mentored Barack Obama who was a Harvard law student at the time and had joined the firm as an intern in 1988. She married Barack Obama in 1992 and was quickly plunged into politics.
During Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, Michelle Obama was a crucial part of their campaigning; touring the country with him, and even sometimes made her own appearances to support him. In addition, Michelle Obama had her own goals and was able to work towards them during her husband’s presidency. During Barack Obama’s presidency, Michelle Obama fought the epidemic of obesity in America, promoting physical activity and healthy eating. She started the program Let’s Move! in February 2010, which encouraged everyone to make healthier changes.
Often, she would visit schools and invite children to the white house where they would tend to her vegetable garden in order to promote healthy lifestyles. She traveled to foreign countries with and without the president, with the intent to improve the relationship with those countries. In addition, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden worked together and launched a program that supported the families of military members in April 2011.
Summary of Administration
Barack Obama’s presidency began in November of 2008 and ended in January of 2017. He had 8 years in office. During those years, he did many notable things. In 2009, Obama was very active. In February of 2009, he signed a $787 billion spending plan to prompt the economy, announced a salary limit of $500,000 for top executives that had requested federal bailouts, and started a $75 billion plan to help 9 million Americans faced with mortgage problems. In May, he made the first supreme court nomination, judge Sonia Sotomayor who was the first Latina supreme court justice and third woman on the top court. In the summer, after Obamacare was put into effect, it took over media headlines, causing immense controversy.
Obama’s first act in 2010 was in April, after the explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico when he met with victims of the explosion and established a $20 billion fund for the victims. In May Obama ordered 1,200 National Guard troops to enhance security along the U.S.-Mexican Border, and Fired Stanley A. McChrystal, who was the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and replaced him with David Petraeus. In the late Spring, he gave speeches about how education is important to the success of America. In August, he spoke to the nation, marking the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq.
2011 and 2012 were not as eventful as 2009 and 2010. In June of 2011, Obama spoke to the nation, announcing the withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan in July, with 33 thousand people returning home. In May of 2012, he challenged lawmakers to help Americans with a mortgage and to create jobs and disclosed his belief that same-sex marriage should be legalized. On December 14, 2012, Obama faced what he called, “the hardest day of his presidency”.
Students and teachers in Newton were attacked by an armed gunman, taking the lives of six adults and twenty children. Obama traveled to newton to publically speak about the tragic event and privately meet with the families of the victims. On December 31, 2012, the government hit the limit on money allowed to borrow, which left the middle class vulnerable to higher taxes.
2013 began with Obama announcing 23 executive orders about gun control, strengthening all background checks for the purchasing of guns on January 16. His second inauguration took place on January 21, 2013. On the first of February, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the secretary of state, stepped down and was replaced by Senator John Kerry. In September, Congress failed to raise the national borrowing limit as a result of the debt ceiling that was hit on Dec. 31, 2012.
This caused 800,000 government to be forced to take a leave of absence, essentially shutting down the government. As a result of this, republican leaders demanded the defunding of Obamacare, a demand that Obama refused to negotiate with. After 16 days, republicans gave in to president Obama, allowing temporary spending bills to pass. Dr. Janet Yellen was nominated by Obama as chair of the Board of the Federal Reserve in October. She was the first woman to ever be nominated for the position.
Works Cited
- “Affordable Care Act (2010).” Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, edited by Thomas Riggs, 2nd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2015, pp. 10-12. Biography In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3611000019/BIC?u=mlin_c_gibbons;sid=BIC;xid=0294951f. Accessed 3 May 2018.
- “Barack Obama.” Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 74, Gale, 2009. Biography In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1606004418/BIC?u=mlin_c_gibbons;sid=BIC;xid=88f4b098. Accessed 3 May 2018.
Devaney, Sherri, and Mark Devaney. Barack Obama(JB). MI, Lucent, 2007. - Freeman, Richard, et al. “Barack Obama.” Paywizard.org, 2018, paywizard.org/main/salary/vip-check/barack-obama. Accessed 3 May 2018.
- “Kathleen Sebelius.” Newsmakers, vol. 4, Gale, 2008. Biography In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1618004793/BIC?u=mlin_c_gibbons;sid=BIC;xid=3b18062b. Accessed 3 May 2018.
- “Michelle Obama.” Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 61, Gale, 2007. Biography In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1606003703/BIC?u=mlin_c_gibbons;sid=BIC;xid=bdb31a03. Accessed 3 May 2018.
Nardo, Don. Barack Obama. Minneapolis, Compass Point Books, 2010. - “President Map.” The New York Times, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2012, www.nytimes.com/elections/2012/results/president.html. Accessed 3 May 2018.
- Williams, Joel, et al., editors. “Barack Obama: Vetoed Legislation.” Ballotpedia, www.nytimes.com/elections/2012/results/president.html. Accessed 3 May 2018.
