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Excerpt from Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, delivered on January 20, 2009

Excerpt from Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, delivered on January 20, 2009

“My fellow citizens, I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our Nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the Presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents.

So it has been; so it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our Nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the Nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly. Our schools fail too many. And each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land, a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious, and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”


The 2000s in America

Obama, Barack

by Karen Hunter

Identification: US president, 2009–

Born: August 4, 1961; Honolulu, Hawaii

Democrat Barack Obama was elected as the forty-fourth president of the United States in November 2008. He became the first African American in US history to be elected to the office of president. Obama’s election was the culmination of a career in law and public service, and his rise to prominence in American politics was a particularly unique story, one that has become known worldwide for its cultural significance.

Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 to Ann Dunham, an eighteen-year-old Caucasian student from Kansas, and Barack Obama Sr., a University of Hawaii student from Kenya. After graduating from Columbia University in New York, Obama came to Chicago to work at the grassroots level. He first worked with a church-based job-training program in Chicago’s poor South Side. He also worked in school reform and city services reform programs in the same area.

After three years of community work in Chicago, Obama returned to the East Coast where he attended law school at Harvard University. There, he was the first African American editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review and graduated magna cum laude.

After an unsuccessful try for a House of Representatives seat in 2000, Obama announced in 2004 that he would run for the US Senate. Obama had served as an Illinois state senator for six years before deciding to run for the Senate. He won the 2004 election by nearly 70 percent and became only the third African American to hold a US Senate seat since Reconstruction in the 1860s. His unique background appealed not only to liberal white and African American voters within Chicago but also to rural white voters in southern and central Illinois.

Obama stated two goals as the main focus of his Senate career. The first included making sure that children receive basic services such as healthcare, early childhood education, decent housing, and good teachers. The other was to demonstrate the value of diversity in the world.

Following his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in August 2004 and first-time election to the Senate in November 2004, Obama was singled out as a major political leader. Early supporters of Obama suggested that his growing popularity had as much to do with his humility, compassion, and integrity as it did with his political agenda.

Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency on February 10, 2007. Obama’s rising star captivated both the general public and political analysts, although some questioned whether or not he would be able to turn that support into a strong and viable candidacy.

Obama publicly announced that he had secured the Democratic Party nomination for president on June 3, 2008. Headlines worldwide proclaimed his victory as historic; he became the first African American to earn the nomination of a major political party in the United States.

On August 23, Obama announced that he had selected Delaware senator Joe Biden as his running mate on the 2008 Democratic Party ticket. The Obama campaign stressed Biden’s experience in foreign policy in supporting his preparedness to be vice president.

Obama was elected US president on November 4, 2008. He earned 365 Electoral College votes—far surpassing the 270 needed to claim victory. In the popular vote, Obama and Biden received 69,456,897 votes. Republican Party candidates Senator John McCain of Arizona and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska earned 173 Electoral College votes and 59,934,814 overall. Obama’s victory in the 2008 election made him the first African American president in US history. On the evening of November 4, Obama delivered a victory speech at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, to an audience of hundreds of thousands of his supporters. Obama congratulated his opponent McCain and commented on the historic nature of his election to the office of president. He also spoke of the need for national unity in the years ahead.

Obama took office as the forty-fourth US president on January 20, 2009. His first months as president were marked by efforts to resuscitate the US economy following the 2007–8 global financial crisis. Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on February 17, 2009, which initiated a nearly $800 billion economic stimulus package. Although critics of the plan stated that the spending program was too far-reaching and costly, some economic improvements were reported in the months following its passage into law.

In addition, President Obama committed more US troops to the war in Afghanistan, stating that deteriorating conditions on the ground in the region made increased US military involvement a necessity. In October 2009, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In its announcement of the award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized Obama’s efforts toward nuclear nonproliferation and diplomatic cooperation.

In November 2009, President Obama made his first visit as commander in chief to Asia, which included stops in China and South Korea. In China, Obama discussed continuing friendly economic relations with China while stressing the importance of human rights for people worldwide.

Obama’s second major initiative as president was the reform of the US health care system. In campaigning for reform, he voiced his support for the establishment of a universal health care system that would provide health coverage for all Americans. Although the legislative and political debate surrounding health care reform was one of the most contentious and partisan in modern American history, Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law in March 2010. While the president’s supporters lauded the passage of the bill, critics claimed the legislation represented the establishment of a health care system that would be co-opted by the federal government.

In September 2010, President Obama announced the end of US combat operations in Iraq. The last American combat brigade left Iraq in August 2010 after seven years of war.

Barack Obama

AUGHTS_ObamaBarack.jpg

(Official White House Photo/Photograph by Pete Souza)

Impact

In addition to being the first African American president in history, Obama has been celebrated for many achievements, including health care reform, helping to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the historic assassination of Bin Laden—the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He is the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in international diplomacy, becoming only the third US president to receive this award. Obama’s presidency is also significant for the African American community, as he was able to overcome significant and deep-rooted racial boundaries to hold the highest ranking position in the US government. Obama was reelected to the presidency on November 6, 2012.

Further Reading

1 

Bair, Barbara. How Race Survived U.S. History: From Settlement and Slavery to the Obama Phenomenon. New York: Verso, 2008. Print.

2 

Hendricks, John Allen, and Robert E. Denton Jr., eds. Communicator-in-Chief: How Barack Obama Used New Media Technology to Win the White House. New York: Lexington, 2012. Print.

3 

Maraniss, David. Barack Obama: The Story. New York: Schuster, 2012. Print.

4 

Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. New York: Random, 2006. Print.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Hunter, Karen. "Obama, Barack." The 2000s in America, edited by Craig Belanger, Salem Press, 2013. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=2000_0272.
APA 7th
Hunter, K. (2013). Obama, Barack. In C. Belanger (Ed.), The 2000s in America. Salem Press.
CMOS 17th
Hunter, Karen. "Obama, Barack." Edited by Craig Belanger. The 2000s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2013. Accessed September 18, 2025. online.salempress.com.