Brief biography of barack obama
Outside watchdog organizations, like Airwars, estimate the number of casualties could be as many as several thousand. In September , Obama made diplomatic strides with Iran. He spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone, which marked the first direct contact between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years. This groundbreaking move by Obama was seen by many as a sign of thawing in the relationship between the United States and Iran.
In July , Obama announced that, after lengthy negotiations, the United States and five world powers had reached an agreement with Iran. The deal allowed inspectors entry into Iran to make sure the country kept its pledge to limit its nuclear program and enrich uranium at a much lower level than would be needed for a nuclear weapon.
In return, the United States and its partners removed the tough sanctions imposed on Iran and allowed the country to ramp up sales of oil and access frozen bank accounts. That year, Obama also traveled to India and reached a civilian nuclear agreement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that opened the door to U. Elsewhere, Obama moved to reestablish diplomatic ties with Cuba in December He and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the normalizing of diplomatic relations between the countries for the first time since The policy change came after the exchange of American citizen Alan Gross and another unnamed American intelligence agent for three Cuban spies.
However, the long-standing U. Kennedy , remained in effect. On March 20, , Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Cuba since , as part of his larger program to establish greater cooperation between the two countries. Just prior to the trip, on March 10, , Obama met at the White House with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the first official visit by a Canadian leader in nearly 20 years.
In August , the Obama administration announced the Clean Power Plan, a major climate change policy that included the first national standards to limit carbon pollution from coal-burning power plants and called for more renewable energy from sources like wind and solar power. Ultimately, the plan never took effect after facing backlash and lawsuits from business groups, companies, 27 states, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell , who was then the Republican minority leader.
In February , the Supreme Court ruled, , to block the plan by putting a hold on regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, mostly from coal power plants.
Sizwe dhlomo biography of barack obama
Obama also worked to respond to climate change on the global level. The agreement requires all participating nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the rise of global temperatures and also to allocate resources for the research and development of alternative energy sources. Obama pledged that the United States would cut its emissions more than 25 percent by On October 5, , the United Nations announced the Paris Climate Agreement had been ratified by a sufficient number of countries—including China and the United States, the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases—to allow it to take effect starting on November 4, Both justices were confirmed under a Democratic-majority Senate.
In March, the president held a press conference at the White House to present year-old U. They stated their intention to block any nominee put forward by Obama, fearing that such a confirmation would tip the balance toward a more liberal-leaning court. Garland was never granted a Senate confirmation hearing, and the seat sat empty until April when Neil Gorsuch , nominated by President Donald Trump, was confirmed.
The presidents granted a total of 1, clemencies, including commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manning , the U. Army intelligence analyst who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks. Over the course of his administration, Obama led the country away from financial catastrophe as the Great Recession gave away to market stability and a declining unemployment rate.
Obama also struggled to enact the gun control measures he hoped for, such as universal background checks and the resurrection of the federal ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Sizwe dhlomo biography of barack obama full
Some of the mass shootings during his time include at Sandy Hook Elementary School 20 children and six adult fatalities in Connecticut; an Aurora, Colorado movie theater 12 fatalities ; a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina 9 fatalities ; and a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida 49 fatalities. Ever the optimist, Obama shared these parting words at his last press conference with the White House press corps:.
On January 27, , Obama delivered his first State of the Union speech. Obama also challenged politicians to stop thinking of reelection and start making positive changes. He criticized Republicans for their refusal to support legislation and chastised Democrats for not pushing hard enough to get legislation passed. In his State of the Union address, Obama declared that the nation was out of recession.
He went on to share his vision for ways to improve the nation through free community college programs and middle-class tax breaks.
Biography of barack obama early life
With Democrats outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, Obama threatened to use his executive power to prevent any tinkering by the opposition on his existing policies. On January 12, , Obama delivered what would be his final State of the Union address. On January 10, , Obama returned to his adopted home city of Chicago to deliver his farewell address.
In his speech, Obama spoke about his early days in the Windy City and his continued faith in the power of Americans who participate in their democracy. He called on politicians and American citizens to come together despite their differences.
Sizwe dhlomo biography of barack obama president
But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity—the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one. Obama also appealed for tolerance along racial and ethnic lines and curbing discrimination:. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change—but in yours.
Biography of barack obama president: Barack Obama undoubtedly possesses one of the most complicated - and fascinating - backgrounds of any former president of the United States. Born to a father he hardly knew and to a mother he almost never saw, Obama's path to the White House is one of the most remarkable and unlikely of any I've seen..
In May , Barack and Michelle finalized a multi-year deal with Netflix to create exclusive content for the streaming service through their production company, Higher Ground. The fruits of the collaboration first appeared with the August release of American Factory , an Oscar-winning documentary about the launch of a Chinese-owned automotive glass factory in Dayton, Ohio, and the clash of differing cultures and business interests.
Leaving the state to attend college, he earned degrees from Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago, where he met and married Michelle LaVaughn Robinson in Their two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha Sasha , were born in and , respectively. Obama was elected to the Illinois state senate in and served there for eight years.
In , he was elected by a record majority to the US Senate from Illinois and, in February , announced his candidacy for president. When President Obama took office, he faced very significant challenges. The economy was officially in a recession, and the outgoing administration of George W. Bush had begun to implement a controversial "bail-out" package to try to help struggling financial institutions.
In foreign affairs, the United States still had troops deployed in difficult conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. After a brief spell living in Indonesia, he moved back to Hawaii where he was raised by his grandparents. Obama later produced two birth certificates to prove his nationality. After studying law at Harvard, he worked as a civil rights lawyer in Chicago.
It was here in Chicago that he met his future wife, Michelle. They married in and had two children. In , he gained his major political breakthrough serving in the Illinois State Senate. In , he was elected to the US Senate where he gained a reputation as one of rising stars in the Democrat Party. In the aftermath of the Iraq war, his reputation was enhanced by his previous opposition to the war.
July Despite a lack of political experience, he put forward his name for the Democratic presidential candidate in Against the stiff opposition of Hilary Clinton, Obama ran a near perfect campaign. His campaign generated a flood of popular grassroots support, making use of social media and internet networking. Against the much older Republican candidate Senator John McCain, Obama won a hard-fought contest taking the presidential election.
His victory was greeted with an unusual degree of enthusiasm and excitement — not just in America, but around the world. After decades of racism and segregation blighting American society, the election of the first black American president was hugely symbolic. Archived from the original on January 15, See also: Cose, Ellis September 11, Archived from the original on June 12, Wrong, Michela September 11, New Statesman.
Archived from the original on January 16, See also: Serrano, Richard A. March 11, Archived from the original on November 8, Archived from the original on December 7, In Dreams from My Father , Obama writes: "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.
For analysis of the political impact of the quote and Obama's more recent admission that he smoked marijuana as a teenager "When I was a kid, I inhaled. Archived from the original on May 11, Seelye, Katharine Q. October 24, ABC News. Archived from the original on May 25, Retrieved May 25, Obama , , pp. Maraniss , pages with "choom gang". Retrieved October 29, Romano, Lois January 3, October 9, Archived from the original on October 31, August 17, Archived from the original on April 7, Retrieved May 1, The State Journal-Register.
Archived from the original on November 9, Retrieved August 23, February 8, Retrieved September 7, As a teenager, Obama went to parties and sometimes sought out gatherings on military bases or at the University of Hawaii that were mostly attended by blacks. Archived from the original on May 24, Retrieved May 12, Possley, Maurice March 30, Archived from the original on October 9, Talev, Margaret November 19, The Sacramento Bee.
Archived from the original on March 7, Kovaleski, Serge F. February 9, Rohter, Larry April 10, Archived from the original on April 11, USA Today. Archived from the original on May 28, Jackson, Brooks June 5, Mendell , pp. Remnick , pp. Columbia College Today. Archived from the original on September 5, Retrieved June 9, Retrieved October 1, June 26, Archived from the original on February 16, Retrieved October 15, — via National Archives.
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Illinois Issues. After Alinsky: community organizing in Illinois. Springfield, Ill. He has also been a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, an organizing institute working throughout the Midwest. And then life happens: a memoir. New York: St. Martin's Press. Retrieved January 2, Archived from the original on March 4, Retrieved June 15, Kantor, Jodi January 28, Kodama, Marie C January 19, The Harvard Crimson.
Archived from the original on January 6, Mundy, Liza August 12, Archived from the original on August 14, Heilemann, John October 22, New York. Archived from the original on May 17, Archived from the original on April 10, Ybarra, Michael J February 7, Archived from the original paid archive on February 20, Corr, John February 27, Drummond, Tammerlin March 12, Archived from the original on May 22, Pugh, Allison J.