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Essay on Barack Obama | Barack Obama Essay for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Essay on Barack Obama:  Barack Obama has been a very influential leader and has brought a revolutionary change in America’s United States. He has had served in the office of the President of America from 2009 to 2017. He was elected from the Democratic Party of United States of America. He was the first African-American individual to have held the President’s office and was the 44th President of America. His life is an inspiration to many as he had come across many struggles and had succeeded in his life.

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Long and Short Essays on Barack Obama for Students and Kids in English

We are providing the students with essay samples on an extended essay of 500 words and a short essay of 150 words on Barack Obama’s topic.

Long Essay on Barack Obama 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Barack Obama is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Barack Obama was one of the most influential people of the world and the man with a difference. He has served as the President of the United States of America. He was the 44th President of America. He was elected in the year 2009 to the office of the President. He was the first-ever African-American President of America. He won the elections for the post of the President from the Democratic Party of America.

Donald Trump succeeded him. He was not only a Politician but also a lawyer and author. He was also an educator and community organizer. He held the Master of Arts in Economics degree and has done fantastic and remarkable works as a financial analyst. He is a very talented person.

The full name of Barack Obama is Barack Hussain Obama II. He was born on 4 August 1961. He hailed from Honolulu, Hawaii, in the United States of America. He was born to an American mother, Ann Dunham and an African father, Barack Obama Sr. He graduated from the Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Being a black person had faced many struggles while fighting many social stigmas and discrimination and stereotypes; however, he raised his thinking skills and broadened his mind to achieve bigger and better lives. So, he could succeed what he is today and brought do many good changes in society.

In 1997, Obama had represented the 13th district and continued till the year of 2004 in the Illinois Senate. He was elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2013 too. Under his presidentship, America has undergone several favourable advantages and revolutionary changes in the economic and health sectors. It was during his tenure of President, and the same-sex marriage was legalized. This was perhaps the best social transformation that gained momentum during his period and paved ways to get legalized in many other countries.

He is married to Mitchelle Obama. He has two daughters, namely, Malia and Nasha. Barack Obama is an outstanding personality he had respect for all kind of jobs. In other words, he emphasized the dignity of labour. After he retired from the President of America’s office, his daughter worked as a waitress at some cafe. This shows his simplicity in life and the valuable virtues of self-dependency, with which he had nurtured his children. Indeed, there a lot to learn from this great personality.

Barack Obama has been awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in the category of Peace in the year of 2009 “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” It is quite surprising to find that a man of such high stature and power leading a simple life, raising a family like a decent family man, being kind and considerate towards everybody. His virtue of humility has attracted everyone towards him.

Short Essay on Barack Obama 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Barack Obama is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Barrack Hussain Obama was the 44th President of the United States of America. He has served as the President of the United States of America from 2009 to 2017. He was the African-American President. He was born in Hawaii. He was a legislator, financial analyst as well as a lawyer.

He has brought significant changes in the social, political, economic and security sectors during his presidential tenure in the United States of America. But despite such honours and success, he is always a down to earth person and has high self-esteem. He possesses many good qualities, including the dignity of labour. We should all have a clear picture of his life to achieve big things in life, but at the same time, be sober. He was elected from the Democratic Party of the United States if America. He was married to Michelle Obama and had two daughters.

10 Lines on Barack Obama in English

• We all know that Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States of America.
• He was from the Democratic party of the United States.
• He was a powerful man with high and broad intellect.
• He was the first African-African to have held the President of the United States of America.
• Obama was elected to the state senate of Illinois in 1996 and continued there for about eight years.
• He was a knowledgeable person who studied at Columbia University and Harvard Law School.
• Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the year of 2009 “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
• He has served as a skilful President by bringing good changes in America’s security, finance, and health sectors.
• Barak Obama is married to Michelle Obama and has two daughters.
• Even being such a powerful personality, he possesses the virtues of humility.

FAQ’s on Barack Obama Essay

Question 1. What is the full name of Barack Obama?

Answer: The full name of Barrack Obama is Barrack Hussain Obama.

Question 2. When did Barrack Obama become the President of the United States of America?

Answer: Barack Obama became the President of the United States of America in 2009 and continued till 2017.

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Barack Obama: Now Is the Greatest Time to Be Alive

When WIRED asked me to guest-edit the November issue, I didn’t hesitate. I know it’s the height of election season, and I happen to have a day job that keeps me pretty busy. But given the chance to immerse myself in the possibility of interplanetary travel or join a deep-dive conversation on artificial intelligence, I’m going to say yes. I love this stuff. Always have. It’s why my favorite movie of last year was The Martian . Of course, I’m predisposed to love any movie where Americans defy the odds and inspire the world. But what really grabbed me about the film is that it shows how humans—through our ingenuity, our commitment to fact and reason, and ultimately our faith in each other—can science the heck out of just about any problem.

I’m a guy who grew up watching Star Trek —and I’d be lying if I said that show didn’t have at least some small influence on my worldview. What I loved about it was its optimism, the fundamental belief at its core that the people on this planet, for all our varied backgrounds and outward differ­ences, could come together to build a better tomorrow.

I still believe that. I believe we can work together to do big things that raise the fortunes of people here at home and all over the world. And even if we’ve got some work left to do on faster-than-light travel, I still believe science and technology is the warp drive that accelerates that kind of change for everybody.

Here’s another thing I believe: We are far better equipped to take on the challenges we face than ever before. I know that might sound at odds with what we see and hear these days in the cacophony of cable news and social media. But the next time you’re bombarded with over-the-top claims about how our country is doomed or the world is coming apart at the seams, brush off the cynics and fearmongers. Because the truth is, if you had to choose any time in the course of human history to be alive, you’d choose this one. Right here in America, right now.

Let’s start with the big picture. By almost every measure, this country is better, and the world is better, than it was 50 years ago, 30 years ago, or even eight years ago. Leave aside the sepia tones of the 1950s, a time when women, minorities, and ­people with disabilities were shut out of huge parts of American life. Just since 1983, when I finished college, things like crime rates, teen pregnancy rates, and poverty rates are all down. Life expectancy is up. The share of Americans with a college education is up too. Tens of mil­lions of Americans recently gained the security of health insurance. Blacks and Latinos have risen up the ranks to lead our businesses and communities. Women are a larger part of our workforce and are earning more money. Once-quiet factories are alive again, with assembly lines churning out the components of a clean-energy age.

And just as America has gotten better, so has the world. More countries know democracy. More kids are going to school. A smaller share of humans know chronic hunger or live in extreme poverty. In nearly two dozen countries—including our own—­people now have the freedom to marry whomever they love. And last year the nations of the world joined together to forge the most comprehen­sive agreement to battle climate change in human history.

This kind of progress hasn’t happened on its own. It happened because people organized and voted for better prospects; because leaders enacted smart, forward-­looking policies; because people’s perspectives opened up, and with them, societies did too. But this progress also happened because we scienced the heck out of our challenges. Science is how we were able to combat acid rain and the AIDS epidemic. Technology is what allowed us to communicate across oceans and empathize with one another when a wall came down in Berlin or a TV personality came out. Without Norman Borlaug’s wheat, we could not feed the world’s hungry. Without Grace Hopper’s code, we might still be analyzing data with pencil and paper.

That’s one reason why I’m so optimistic about the future: the constant churn of scientific progress. Think about the changes we’ve seen just during my presidency. When I came into office, I broke new ground by pecking away at a Black­Berry. Today I read my briefings on an iPad and explore national parks through a virtual-­reality headset. Who knows what kind of changes are in store for our next president and the ones who follow?

That’s why I centered this issue on the idea of frontiers—stories and ideas about what’s over the next horizon, about what lies on the other side of the barriers we haven’t broken through yet. I wanted to explore how we get past where we are today to build a world that’s even better for us all—as individuals, as communities, as a country, and as a planet.

Because the truth is, while we’ve made great progress, there’s no shortage of challenges ahead: Climate change. Economic inequality. Cybersecurity. Terrorism and gun violence. Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and ­antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Just as in the past, to clear these hurdles we’re going to need everyone—policy makers and commu­nity leaders, teachers and workers and grassroots activists, presidents and soon-to-be-former presidents. And to accelerate that change, we need science. We need researchers and academics and engineers; programmers, surgeons, and botanists. And most important, we need not only the folks at MIT or Stanford or the NIH but also the mom in West Virginia tinkering with a 3-D printer, the girl on the South Side of Chicago learning to code, the dreamer in San Antonio seeking investors for his new app, the dad in North Dakota learning new skills so he can help lead the green revolution.

That’s how we will overcome the challenges we face: by unleashing the power of all of us for all of us. Not just for those of us who are fortunate, but for everybody. That means creating not just a quicker way to deliver takeout downtown but also a system that distributes excess produce to communities where too many kids go to bed hungry. Not just inventing a service that fills your car with gas but also creating cars that don’t need fossil fuels at all. Not just making our social networks more fun for sharing memes but also harnessing their power to counter terrorist ideologies and online hate speech.

The point is, we need today’s big thinkers thinking big. Think like you did when you were watching Star Trek or Star Wars or Inspector Gadget . Think like the kids I meet every year at the White House Science Fair. We started this event in 2010 with a ­simple premise: We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated but the winner of the science fair. Since then, I’ve met young people who are tackling everything from destroying cancer cells to using algae to produce clean energy to distributing vaccines to remote areas of the world—all before most of them can even vote.

And as I meet with these young ­people, I can’t help but wonder what might be next—what might happen at a White House Science Fair in five years or 20 years or 50 years? I imagine a student who grows an artificial pancreas right in front of the president—an idea that eventually eliminates waiting lists for lifesaving organs. I imagine the girls who discover a new fuel based on only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide; the teenager who makes voting and civic activism as addictive as scrolling through your Twitter feed; the boy from Idaho who grows potatoes from a plot of soil brought back from our colony on Mars. And I imagine some future president strolling out on the South Lawn with a student who invented a new kind of telescope. As the president looks through the lens, the girl turns the telescope to a planet she just discovered, orbiting a faraway star at the very edge of our galaxy. Then she says she’s hard at work on another invention—one that will take us there someday.

These kinds of moments are closer than you think. My hope is that these kids—maybe some of your kids or grandkids—will be even more curious and creative and confident than we are today. But that depends on us. We must continue to nurture our children’s curiosity. We must keep funding scientific, technological, and medical research. And above all, we must embrace that quintes­sentially American compulsion to race for new frontiers and push the bound­aries of what’s possible. If we do, I’m hopeful that tomorrow’s Americans will be able to look back at what we did—the diseases we conquered, the social problems we solved, the planet we protected for them—and when they see all that, they’ll plainly see that theirs is the best time to be alive. And then they’ll take a page from our book and write the next great chapter in our American story, emboldened to keep going where no one has gone before.

This article appears in the November 2016 issue. Subscribe now .

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Barack Obama: Impact and Legacy

When President Obama left office on January 20, 2017, his impact and legacy were unclear. He will always be the first African American president in US history, and his administration was notable for its stability. With Republicans in control of both the presidency and the Congress in 2017, however, some of Obama’s most notable achievements—the Affordable Care Act, the Paris climate change agreement, and Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals—were overturned or under attack. 

Obama’s lasting impact on American life may turn out to have been greatest in terms of the crises that did not happen. Despite teetering on the edge of economic catastrophe, the nation did not fall into the abyss of a second Great Depression in 2009. And despite calls for more aggressive military action, the nation scaled back on its troop commitments rather than launching additional wars. How long and in what form Obama’s policy changes will endure remains to be seen. Those that depended on unilateral executive action have been the most fragile, since they can be undone by subsequent actions by his successors in the presidency.

Obama’s job approval rating in polls of the American people rose during his second term, cresting at about 60 percent during his final months in office. The public also rated him highly in comparison with other recent presidents. A Quinnipiac University polls released in late January 2017 found that 29 percent said he was the greatest president since World War II, just one point behind Ronald Reagan, who was named by 30 percent and well ahead of every other postwar president.

Michael Nelson

Professor of Political Science Rhodes College

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‘Better Is Good’: Obama on Reparations, Civil Rights, and the Art of the Possible

The second in a series of interviews between Ta-Nehisi Coates and the president

In “ My President Was Black ,” The Atlantic ’s Ta-Nehisi Coates examined Barack Obama’s tenure in office, and his legacy. The story was built, in part, around a series of conversations he had with the president. This is a transcript of the second of those four encounters, which took place on October 19, 2016. Valerie Jarrett, the senior adviser to the president, was also present. You can find the other interviews, as well as responses to the story and to these conversations, here .

Ta-Nehisi Coates: I’ve talked to Marty [Nesbitt], I talked to Mama Kaye [Wilson], I talked to Eric Holder, so I’ve been making the rounds. I’ve got all the goods.

Barack Obama: You’ve got all the goods.

Coates: I’ve got all the goods. Talked to [David] Axelrod, talked to [David] Plouffe.

Obama: I’m ready to just fill in the gaps.

Coates: I thought we’d talk about policy today. I wanted to start by getting a sense of your mind-set coming into the job, and as I’ve understood you—and you can reject this—your perspective is that a mixture of universalist policies, in combination with an increased level of personal responsibility and communal responsibility among African Americans, when we talk about these gaps that we see between black and white America, that that really is the way forward. Is that a correct summation?

Obama: I think it’s a three-legged stool and you left out one, which is vigorous enforcement of antidiscrimination laws. So the way we thought about it when we came in is that—and obviously we came in during crisis, so how we might have structured our policy sequencing if, when we came in, the economy was okay, and we weren’t potentially going into a great recession, and folks weren’t all losing their homes, might have been different. But as a general matter, my view would be that if you want to get at African American poverty, the income gap, wealth gap, achievement gap, that the most important thing is to make sure that the society as a whole does right by people who are poor, are working class, are aspiring to a better life for their kids. Higher minimum wages, full-employment programs, early-childhood education: Those kinds of programs are, by design, universal, but by definition, because they are helping folks who are in the worst economic situations, are most likely to disproportionately impact and benefit African Americans. They also have the benefit of being sellable to a majority of the body politic.

Step No. 2, and this is where I think policies do need to be somewhat race-specific, is making sure that institutions are not discriminatory. So you’ve got something like the FHA [Federal Housing Administration], which was on its face a universal program that involved a huge mechanism for wealth accumulation and people entering into the middle class. But if, in its application, black folks were excluded from it, then you have to override that by going after those discriminatory practices. The same would be true for something like Social Security, where historically, if you just read the law and the fact that it excluded domestic workers or agricultural workers, you might not see race in it, unless you knew that that covered a huge chunk of African Americans, particularly in the South. So reinvigorating the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, making sure that in our Department of Education, where we see evidence of black boys being suspended at substantially higher rates than white boys for the same behavior, in the absence of that kind of rigorous enforcement of the nondiscrimination principle, then the long-standing biases that I believe have weakened, but are still clearly present in our society, assert themselves in ways that usually disadvantage African Americans.

If you’ve got those two things right—if those two things are happening—then a third leg of the stool is, how do we in the African American community build a culture in which we are saying to our kids, “Here’s what it takes to succeed. Here’s the sacrifices you need to make to be able to get ahead. Here’s how we support each other. Here’s how we look out for each other.” And it is my view that if society was doing the right thing with respect to you, [and there were] programs targeted at helping people rise into the middle class and have a good income and be able to save and send their kids to school, and you’ve got a vigorous enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, then I have confidence in the black community’s capabilities to then move forward.

Now, does that mean that all vestiges of past discrimination would be eliminated, that the income gap or the wealth gap or the education gap would be erased in five years or 10 years? Probably not, and so this is obviously a discussion we’ve had before when you talk about something like reparations. Theoretically, you can make, obviously, a powerful argument that centuries of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination are the primary cause for all those gaps. That those were wrongs done to the black community as a whole, and black families specifically, and that in order to close that gap, a society has a moral obligation to make a large, aggressive investment, even if it’s not in the form of individual reparations checks, but in the form of a Marshall Plan, in order to close those gaps. It is easy to make that theoretical argument. But as a practical matter, it is hard to think of any society in human history in which a majority population has said that as a consequence of historic wrongs, we are now going to take a big chunk of the nation’s resources over a long period of time to make that right. You can look at examples like postwar Germany, where reparations were paid to Holocaust victims and families, but—

Coates: They lost the war.

Obama: They lost the war. Small population, finite amount of money that it was going to cost. Not multiple generations but people, in some cases, who are still alive, who can point to, “That was my house. Those were my paintings. Those were my mother’s family jewels.” If you look at countries like South Africa, where you had a black majority, there have been efforts to tax and help that black majority, but it hasn’t come in the form of a formal reparations program. You have countries like India that have tried to help untouchables, with essentially affirmative-action programs, but it hasn’t fundamentally changed the structure of their societies.

So the bottom line is that it’s hard to find a model in which you can practically administer and sustain political support for those kinds of efforts. And what makes America complicated as well is the degree to which this is not just a black/white society, and it is becoming less so every year. So how do Latinos feel if there’s a big investment just in the African American community, and they’re looking around and saying, “We’re poor as well. What kind of help are we getting?” Or Asian Americans who say, “Look, I’m a first-generation immigrant, and clearly I didn’t have anything to do with what was taking place.” And now you start getting into trying to calibrate—

Coates: Isn’t there just—not to cut you off—isn’t there, and this is out of the role of U.S. president, I’m almost speaking to you as a law professor now, an intellectual, in fact—

Obama: Well, that’s how I was answering the question, because if you want me to talk about politics, I’ll be much more blunt about it.

Coates: I figured that. I thought that was what I was getting.

Obama: I was giving the benefit of playing out, theoretically, how you could think about that.

Coates: And I appreciate that. And the question I would ask is in that situation, to the immigrant who comes here, first generation, and says, “I didn’t do any of this,” but the country is largely here because of that. In other words, many of the benefits that you will actually enjoy are, in fact, in part—I won’t say largely—in part here because of the past. So when you want the benefits, when you invoke the past, that thus you inherit the debt, too—

Obama: Yeah, yeah. I mean, I guess, here’s the way—probably the best way of saying it is that you can make a theoretical, abstract argument in favor of something like reparations. And maybe I’m just not being sufficiently optimistic or imaginative enough—

Coates: You’re supposed to be optimistic!

Obama: Well, I thought I was, but I’m not so optimistic as to think that you would ever be able to garner a majority of an American Congress that would make those kinds of investments above and beyond the kinds of investments that could be made in a progressive program for lifting up all people. So to restate it: I have much more confidence in my ability, or any president or any leader’s ability, to mobilize the American people around a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment to help every child in poverty in this country than I am in being able to mobilize the country around providing a benefit specific to African Americans as a consequence of slavery and Jim Crow. Now, we can debate the justness of that. But I feel pretty confident in that assessment politically. And, you know, I think that part of my optimism comes from the belief that we as a people could actually, regardless of all the disadvantage of the past, regardless of the fact that a lot of other folks got a head start in the race, if we were able to make the race fair right now, and—

Coates: You think we could catch up?

Obama: We were able to make sure that it stayed fair for a long time and that children going forward were not encumbered by some of that same bias of the past, I think it would not take long at all, because we are a talented, resourceful people. Just play this out as a thought experiment: Imagine if you had genuine, high-quality early-childhood education for every child, and suddenly every black child in America—but also every poor white child or Latino [child], but just stick with every black child in America—is getting a really good education. And they’re graduating from high school at the same rates that whites are, and they are going to college at the same rates that whites are, and they are able to afford college at the same rates because the government has universal programs that say that you’re not going to be barred from school just because of how much money your parents have. So now they’re all graduating. And let’s also say that the Justice Department and the courts are making sure, as I’ve said in a speech before, that when Jamal sends his résumé in, he’s getting treated the same as when Johnny sends his résumé in.

Now, are we going to have suddenly the same number of CEOs, billionaires, etc., as the white community? In 10 years? Probably not, maybe not even in 20 years. But I guarantee you that we would be thriving, we would be succeeding. We wouldn’t have huge numbers of young African American men in jail. We’d have more family formation as college-graduated girls are meeting boys who are their peers, which then in turn means the next generation of kids are growing up that much better. And suddenly you’ve got a whole generation that’s in a position to start using the incredible creativity that we see in music, and sports, and frankly even on the streets, channeled into starting all kinds of businesses. I feel pretty good about our odds in that situation.

And my point has always been: We’re so far from that. Why are we even having the abstract conversation when we’ve got a big fight on our hands just to get strong, universal antipoverty programs and social programs in place, and we’re still fighting to make sure that basic antidiscrimination laws are enforced, not just at the federal level, by the way, but throughout government and throughout the private sector? And those are fights that we can win because—and this is where I do believe America has changed—the majority, not by any means 100 percent, but the majority of Americans believe in the idea of nondiscrimination. They believe in the idea that Jamal and Johnny should be treated equally. They believe in the idea that a child shouldn’t be consigned to poverty just because of circumstances of their birth. Now, in practice, in daily social interactions, etc., there may be all kinds of biases and prejudices that are unspoken, that people aren’t aware of, that affect who’s hired, and who gets loans, and how kids are treated in school. But it’s a powerful thing if you have on your side an idea that the overwhelming majority of people believe in because that’s how you can build a consensus that’s lasting. And that’s how you avoid an argument that “I’m being treated unfairly because you are treating somebody differently than me.” Everybody potentially can make the claim that we should all be treated fairly. As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we’re going to be doing things that, very easily in the minds of a lot Americans feel like, “Now I’m being treated unfairly.”

Coates: One of the things I would say—the first thing I want to say is—I don’t want to draw this into an either-or argument, that if you make the reparations argument, you therefore don’t support everything else that you said.

Obama: I’m well aware of that.

Coates: Okay. The second part, you’re talking about how the country has changed, and the consciousness, and I think we both agree that 150 years ago that wasn’t true. And I wonder, is it the work, perhaps maybe not of presidents but certainly of people outside of government, to change that mind-set? And if one can come to see, for instance, that, yeah, it is true that nondiscrimination should be a basic value that we share, that, as I would put it, responsibility for our history is one, too?

Obama: Right. And I think that it is. I want my children—I want Malia and Sasha—to understand that they’ve got responsibilities beyond just what they themselves have done. That they have a responsibility to the larger community and the larger nation, that they should be sensitive to and extra thoughtful about the plight of people who have been oppressed in the past, are oppressed currently. So that’s a wisdom that I want to transmit to my kids. And it may be that we found an area where you’re more optimistic than me. But I would say that’s a high level of enlightenment that you’re looking to have from a majority of the society. And it may be something that future generations are more open to, but I am pretty confident that for the foreseeable future, using the argument of nondiscrimination, and “Let’s get it right for the kids who are here right now,” and giving them the best chance possible, is going to be a more persuasive argument.

One of the things you learn as president is, as powerful as this office is, you have limited bandwidth. And the time goes by really quickly and you’re constantly making choices, and there are pressures on you from all different directions—pressures on your attention, not just pressures from different constituencies. And so you have to be pretty focused about where can you have the biggest, quickest impact. And I always tell my staff, “Better is good.” I’ll take better every time, because better is hard. Better may not be as good as the best, but better is surprisingly hard to obtain. And better is actually harder than worse. [Laughter]

It requires enormous energy for us to cut the African American uninsured rate by a third. A lot of scars. Bernie Sanders would say, “You still have millions of African Americans who aren’t insured, and if we had a single-payer system, that wouldn’t be the case.” And that’s true. But it is my judgment that had I spent the first two years trying to get a single-payer system, all those folks who now have health insurance that didn’t have it would still be uninsured. And those are millions of people whose lives are impacted right now. I get letters from them right now. “You saved my child’s life.” “I did not have to sell my home when my wife got sick.” And that is what, as a policy maker, I’m trying to achieve during the short period of time that I’m here.

Now, you as a thinker, you as a writer, you as a philosopher, you want to stretch the boundaries of thinking, because you’re not constrained by trying to move the levers of power right now. And so I think that these are all worthy topics of conversation. Sometimes I wonder how much of these debates have to do with the desire, the legitimate desire, for that history to be recognized. Because there is a psychic power to the recognition that is not satisfied with a universal program, it’s not satisfied by the Affordable Care Act, or an expansion of Pell grants, or an expansion of the earned-income tax credit. It doesn’t speak to the hurt, and the sense of injustice, and the self-doubt that arises out of the fact that we’re behind now, and it makes us sometimes feel as if there must be something wrong with us, unless you’re able to see the history and say, “It’s amazing we got this far given what we went through.” So part of, I think, the argument sometimes that I’ve had with folks who are much more interested in sort of race-specific programs is less an argument about what is practically achievable and sometimes maybe more an argument of “We want society to see what’s happened, and internalize it, and answer it in demonstrable ways.” And those impulses I very much understand, but my hope would be that, as we’re moving through the world right now, we’re able to get that psychological or emotional peace by seeing very concretely our kids doing better and being more hopeful and having greater opportunities. And your son thriving at some United Nations model conference, and me seeing Malia and Sasha doing amazing things. And some of the mentees that I was talking to at A and T overcome incredible disadvantages and starting to gain confidence in what they can do in the world. And I’ll stop there.

Coates: You know, Mr. President, I think largely what a lot of us fear, everything you described—Pell grants, health care, all the programs—that’s the world—let me speak for myself, not for anybody—that’s a world I’d want to live in whether black or not. That just speaks to society’s commitment to its citizens. What we fear is that the gap will never close. Or let me rephrase that: The gap will close, but it will never actually be equal. There will always be carrying this. That without some sort of specific acknowledgment—you know, when I was working on this piece about race, the theory—fine. Going to a 90-year-old’s house in Lawndale in Chicago, and I’m not supposing you don’t have more experience with this, because you read letters and travel and you see, but as a journalist to sit there and see somebody who fought in World War II, and to hear him talk about how they had done everything right—basically obeyed their side of the social contract—and to hear them basically say, “And what I got was ripped off.” And then to have in my city in Baltimore, right now about 10 years ago during the housing crisis, to see Wells Fargo going to these black folks who just want to buy homes, who just want to be part of the basic American dream, social contract, and to see them being ripped off, not in the same fashion but the same idea—taking from them. We fear without any sort of direct engagement of that question, it won’t stop.

Obama: Well, this is why the antidiscrimination principle being enforced is important. Because it won’t stop if some of the underlying biases aren’t challenged and surfaced. And that in and of itself creates backlash and denial. This is what I mean when I say better is hard. Just making sure that right now folks aren’t being ripped off—that’s a challenge. I remember when I was in Chicago and data started coming out that when black folks walk into an auto dealership, and women, too, to some degree, they are automatically given higher quotes, worse deals. And this was just documented extensively across auto dealerships around the country. There was a tax being imposed on black folks. By collecting that data, you can construct policies to combat that. And that’s potentially thousands of dollars in people’s pockets that are being taken away right now. But it’s hard to do. It requires an effective government agency, and data collection, and pushing, and shoving, and litigation until finally you start getting new norms and new practices.

And my argument—it’s not even an argument—my conviction is that those fights need to be fought right now and can be won. And if in fact we have finite political capital, energy, resources, we need to win those fights. And if we win all those fights, and now let’s say the income gap, and the wealth gap, and the education gap have for the most part been closed—let’s say hypothetically, knowing what we know now about public policy, that we could close the education gap so that it was only a couple percentage points, and we could make sure that hiring barriers and educational barriers had been leveled down, and unemployment among African Americans right now instead of being double was only 10 percent higher than white unemployment—if we got to that point, first of all, America as a whole would be a lot richer. Second of all, the African American community would not just be wealthier, but it would actually also be more politically empowered by virtue of having more resources. Third, I actually believe that some residue of discrimination would lessen, because it’s my view that there is a certain percentage of the white population that stereotypes and makes assumptions about African Americans because they don’t inject the history of slavery and Jim Crow into current incarceration rates, or crime rates, or poverty rates, or what have you—but if they started having more middle-class black kids who are friends with their kids, eating Cheerios in their kitchen, their attitudes start changing. If we achieve all that and there’s still a gap, at worst we’re much better positioned to pursue strategies to close that final gap. And at best we might surprise ourselves in terms of how well we’re doing.

So there’s going to—as I said before, it’s a generational project just to get America to live up fully to its ideals and to have the kind of society where everybody has a shot, and every kid is getting a good education, and people are getting living wages, and they have decent retirement. And if we got there and we looked up and we said, “You know what? Black folks are still doing a little bit worse off than whites, but it’s not like it was 20 years ago,” then we can have a discussion about how do we get that last little bit. But that’s a high-class problem to have. And to me the question right now is: How do I close that first three-quarters of the achievement gap, education gap, wealth gap? What gives me the best chance to do that? And I’m pretty darn sure that if America is a just society and treating people well right now, irrespective of past wrongs, that I’m going to close a big chunk of that gap . I’ve seen it.

This is what I always take away from something like My Brother’s Keeper—it’s almost an analogy. I look at some of the kids that I interact with, and they were born with so many disadvantages. And you could start off in your first interaction with them saying, “Unless they get a lot of compensatory help, they’re not going to be able to compete; they’re just so far behind, and they’re wounded and they’re hurt.” Think about that young man we were talking to: His mother was a drug addict, and his dad is in prison, and he has no sense of direction. And there’s no doubt that the more you did for him, probably the better he would do, but what’s always striking to me is he just got a little bit. He just had a few adults paying attention and telling him he was worth something while he’s in juvee, he’s just got somebody who is willing to pay his community-college fees, and suddenly you’ve got this young man sitting there who is so self-aware that to the president of the United States he can say, “Look even though I look like I’ve got my act together, I’ve still got pains, wounds, there’re issues I still have, and yet I’m going to be a teacher and I can tell my story, and here’s how I’m thinking about social change in the community.” And I’m thinking to myself, Wow . I believe he can close that gap, and my conclusion is that five years from now, if you ask me who has a better shot of being a great teacher in a school, that guy or some kid who grew up in an upper-middle-class community who out of all kinds of good-hearted impulses wants to be a teacher, I’m betting he ends up being the better teacher. That gap has been closed, even though you would think it wouldn’t be.

Now, I don’t want to exaggerate; having as many African American men as we’ve had in the criminal-justice system, and the amount of time it takes for the damage done by that to wash through our society and our communities, the disadvantages born out of kids being undiagnosed with mental-health problems early, or not getting the kind of exposure to reading and math when they’re 4 or 5 or 6 years old, that carries a cost. But I know that those gaps can be closed. And they can be closed substantially, more than I think we believe. So I guess maybe we can agree that in some ways you’re more optimistic than me, and in some ways I’m more optimistic than you. You’re maybe more optimistic than me in terms of the ability to persuade a society to make up for past injustices; but maybe I’m more optimistic than you about the ability to persuade a society to make up for current injustices and the capacity of the victims of those injustices to catch up pretty quickly.

Coates: Were you surprised relatively early on in your presidency when people criticized you for not having a quote-unquote “black agenda”?

Obama: No. I mean, I think if you worked at the community level in Chicago and then a politician on the South Side of Chicago, and worked at the state level, then you’re pretty familiar with all the variations of politics in the African American community and criticisms you may get. If you’re not familiar with those or you don’t have a thick enough skin to take it, then you probably wouldn’t have gotten here.

Coates: So it didn’t surprise you at all?

Obama: No. I think, and look, Ta-Nehisi, I don’t want to discount those criticisms, but offsetting those criticisms is that I have 90 percent or 95 percent support in the African American community and it’s not sort of “Well, he’s black, so it’s okay. We’re not going to say anything even though we’re seething.” And I hang out with a lot of middle-aged black women, and they’re not casual in their support of me. There’s a lot of love forthcoming. Partly because they understand the constraints of this society. They know that this is hard. And they also, I think, see me and Michelle trying. It’s one thing if they were watching and we were not working on poverty issues, and we weren’t working on education issues, and we weren’t working on health-care issues. You know, they’re pretty sophisticated; they understand that I’m trying to move an aircraft carrier here, I’m not just steering the speedboat. And so part of it is, I think, intellectual, and part of it is obviously emotional as well. But that support has been so constant and gracious and loving. Michelle and I have never felt as if, at any stage, folks didn’t have our backs. And as a consequence, I think that just spurred us on that much more to make us want to do the right thing, and do our best in the positions that we have.

Coates: So perhaps more substantive than that early-on critique, for instance—and Valerie [Jarrett] and I talked a little bit about this—when you attempted to bring in some of the Black Lives Matter activists and folks refused. And I heard you address this at Howard, too. What I would say—did you understand why some of them refused? Could you comprehend it?

Obama: Oh, I absolutely could comprehend it. A couple of them refused because they’re 20, or 21. I mean, that’s why they refused. It’s the same as when we were working on immigration reform and there was a young Latino man, young immigration activist here who, in the Roosevelt Room, refused to shake my hand.

Coates: Are you serious?

Obama: Absolutely. And I’m going around the table shaking everybody’s hand. And he made a point of saying, “I can’t shake your hand; you’re deporting too many people.” And I just said to him, “Young man, I’m glad that you feel so passionately about this issue, but you’re with the president right now in the White House. You’ve got to think about what’s going to be most effective in getting what you need, what you’re trying to accomplish. Because this may not be your best strategy.”

Coates: How did he respond?

Obama: Like a 21-year-old would, which is sort of a mixture of defiance and uncertainty and embarrassment. Which is fine. Look, so I guess I don’t—one of the things you understand, and it’s hard to do, but you—and I’m not saying I’m impervious to criticism—but one of the things that you come pretty early on to understand in this job, and you start figuring out even during the course of the campaign, is that there’s Barack Obama the person and there’s Barack Obama the symbol, or the office holder, or what people are seeing on television, or just a representative of power. And so when people criticize or respond negatively to me, usually they’re responding to this character that they’re seeing on TV called Barack Obama, or to the office of the presidency and the White House and what that represents. And so you don’t take it personally. You understand that if people are angry that somehow the government is failing, then they are going to look to the guy who represents government. And that applies, by the way, even to some of the folks who are now Trump supporters. They’re responding to a fictional character named Barack Obama who they see on Fox News or who they hear about through Rush Limbaugh.

Coates: What I’m trying to get at is a theory—you’re very unique in the sense that you are the president but you’ve also been an activist. You’ve actually occupied both roles. So what I’m getting at is, can you see how—

Obama: Is there utility—

Coates: In not being so close to power?

Obama: Yeah. And my argument would be: Yes, and it’s the reason why I am always interested in engaging in people who are pushing us and pushing against the status quo. But having been an activist, the only thing that I’m always encouraging activists to do is, once you have raised the issue, and even through controversial means, you have to come behind it with an agenda and the possibility of reconciliation if power meets your demands. And that was true during the civil-rights movement, that was true during the union movement, that’s always been true. And so the only time I get frustrated with activist criticism is if I have recognized them, and invited them to work with me to figure out how we solve this problem that they’re concerned about, and either they don’t engage out of the sense of purity—“I’m not going to shake his hand”—or you’re not sufficiently prepared so you don’t even know what to ask for, or you’re not being strategic as an activist and trying to figure out how the process has to work in order for you to get what you want.

So I’ll give you some specific examples just so that this isn’t too abstract: I thought Brittany Packnett, who was one of the Ferguson activists, really interesting, smart young lady, really impressive—you might want to talk with her. So she was one of the organizers of the Ferguson movement, ended up joining our task force. She came in here and she just knew her stuff. And I don’t think at any point backed off, even in our first meeting, saying, “Here’s what we’re concerned about; here’s where we’re disappointed in the Justice Department’s response; here’s what we need.” But she was sufficiently well-informed and engaged that it was very easy then to say, “You are right about this, you’re wrong I think about that, but I’m not sure, let’s sit down and see if we can hammer out a strategy that we agree with. And by the way, I want you talking to that police chief over there and that sheriff, because I think you might be able to persuade them if we break this down into its component parts.”

Now, in contrast, there have been times where, let’s say on LGBT issues, when we were trying to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I got the Pentagon and Bob Gates, a Republican holdover from the Bush administration, to authorize a study of how you might end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, headed up by Jeh Johnson, who at that time was a council to the Justice Department. And it was going to take a year to conduct that study, issue a report, and figure out how it might be implemented, what effect it would have on unit cohesion and military effectiveness. And I had laid out this strategy because if I could get the Pentagon’s imprimatur on this thing, then I knew that we could end up getting legislation passed to reverse the policy, and we could get the branches of all the military to implement it. But during the course of that year, probably every speech I gave, I’d have gay activists just screaming at me during rallies. And you just say, “Come on, man. Not only do I agree with you, but I’ve actually got a strategy to execute, we are executing it, and in what sense do you think that you yelling at me here is going to advance your cause?”

Coates: They don’t want you to forget.

Obama: Well, the theory was they didn’t want us to forget. But the problem was, and we saw some of this in the immigration-reform issues as well, was they hadn’t done sufficient homework to know that I didn’t have all the capacity they thought I did in order to just execute this through the stroke of a pen. So I think that where I’ve gotten frustrated during the course of my presidency has never been because I was getting pushed too hard by activists to see the justness of a cause or the essence of an issue; I think where I get frustrated at times was the belief that the president can do anything if he just decides he wants to do it. And that sort of lack of awareness on the part of an activist about the constraints of our political system and the constraints on this office, I think, sometimes would leave me to mutter under my breath. Very rarely did I lose it publicly. Yeah, usually I’d just smile. [Laughter] No, and the reason I say that is because those are the times where sometimes you feel actually a little bit hurt. Because you feel like saying to these folks, “[Don’t] you think if I could do it, I [would] have just done it. Do you think that the only problem is that I don’t care enough about the plight of poor people, or gay people, or immigrants, or …?”

Coates: But don’t they have some level of distrust towards you? I mean, that’s what I’m hearing: They don’t trust you to ultimately follow through. And isn’t that kind of the mind-set that the activist has to have?

Obama: Well, I think, yes. Which is why I don’t get too hurt. I mean, I think there is a benefit to wanting to hold power’s feet to the fire until you actually see the goods. I get that. And I think it is important. And frankly, sometimes it’s useful for activists just to be out there to keep you mindful and not get complacent, even if ultimately you think some of their criticism is misguided.

I’ll give you an example that’s outside the issues of social justice, but the criticism that some on the left consistently have given us around drone strikes. The truth is that this technology really began to take off right at the beginning of my presidency. And it wasn’t until about a year, year and a half in where I began to realize that the Pentagon and our national-security apparatus and the CIA were all getting too comfortable with the technology as a tool to fight terrorism, and not being mindful enough about how that technology is being used and the dangers of a form of warfare that is so detached from what is actually happening on the ground. And so we initiated this big process to try to get it in a box, and checks and balances, and much higher standards about when they’re used. But the truth is that, in trying to get at terrorists who are in countries that either are unwilling or unable to capture those terrorists or disable them themselves, there are a lot of situations where the use of a drone is going to result in much fewer civilian casualties and much less collateral damage than if I send in a battalion of marines. And I think right now we probably have the balance about right.

Now, you wouldn’t know that if you talked to Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International or some of the international activist organizations. Certainly you wouldn’t know that if you were talking to some of the writers who criticize our drone policy. But I’ve actually told my staff it’s probably good that they stay critical of this policy, even though I think right now we’re doing the best that we can in a dangerous world with terrorists who would gladly blow up a school bus full of American kids if they could. We probably have got it about right. But if suddenly all those organizations said, “Okay, the Obama administration’s got it right, and we don’t have a problem here,” the instinct towards starting to use it more, and then some of those checks and balances that we’ve built up starting to decay—that’s probably what would happen. So there’s an example of where I think, even if the criticism is not always perfectly informed and in some cases I would deem unfair, just the noise, attention, fuss probably keeps powerful officials or agencies on their toes. And they should be on their toes when it comes to the use of deadly force.

Coates: This actually ties right back in. I wanted to ask you about it, so I’m glad you brought that up. You know, you’re a great—and I don’t want this to come of as a “gotcha” question, I want to have a discussion here about this to the extent that we have time, a discussion about this—

Obama: Oh we better, I mean, we have time, we’ve spent a lot of time—

Valerie Jarrett (senior adviser to Obama) : We have around 15.

Coates: You know you’ve talked quite a bit about your admiration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which is sincere and heartfelt. Have you thought much about how you reconcile that, not just with you yourself, but actually with the office of being president, which does involve killing—it’s part of it as commander in chief—do you think much about reconciling those two things?

Obama: Yeah. Absolutely. When you take on the position of president, you are committing yourself to, first and foremost, protecting the American people. You are accepting an institutional role that requires you to make hard decisions and hard choices, and as a consequence you have to take your moral sense and not put it aside, but rather take that moral sense and apply it to the particulars of a job that is going to test those ethical and moral precepts differently than if you’re a professor, or a business person, or a dad. And if I were not comfortable with the judicious use of our military to protect the American people, than I shouldn’t have run for president. And having said that, I do think that the wisdom of a King or a Gandhi can inform my decisions. I may not be able to follow their beliefs to their logical conclusions, but I can think about what Gandhi said or King said about violence begetting violence, and still be true to my job by asking myself the question whenever we’re confronted with a situation where some may be arguing for military action: Will this actually result in America being safer, or the most lives being saved?

But these kinds of questions arise not just in the military sphere. Going back to the discussion we were having about immigration reform, some of the most challenging discussions I’ve had are with activists who essentially would argue that any immigrant from Central America, let’s say, who gets here to this country should be allowed to stay because their country is dangerous, their country is poor, and the opportunities for that mom and that kid are much greater here, and why would you send them back? And I remember—I think you were sitting in this discussion, Valerie—when I said to one young activist who herself was the daughter of an undocumented worker, and so could speak from a very personal and legitimate perspective—I remember saying to her: I agree with you, from a moral perspective, that a child from Honduras is worth the same as my daughter. God is not a respecter of boundaries; he’s not saying that American kids deserve a better life than Honduran kids. But I’m the president of the United States, and the nation-state by definition means that boundaries mean something and borders mean something. And I have to be able to implement a policy that doesn’t completely erase borders and boundaries. Not because I think that Honduran child who’s gotten here is less worthy of love, attention, opportunity than my child, but because I’m the president of the United States of America and I’m not speaking as a religious leader. I’ve got certain responsibilities that I have to carry out in a very specific institution and in a specific moment in time.

So why don’t you ask one last question? And then we can decide how much more you’ve got.

Coates: Okay. I wonder if part of this is the fact, as we talked about last time, that the idea of a black president was so remote to everybody that if it happened, it must mean that all these other things would be true about the world—the world would change. I don’t want to use the word postracial or anything like that. But the expectation of the idea of a black president was almost abstract to people.

Obama: Right.

Coates: And I wonder—I heard you talk about this very early in your presidency, but there was so much fervor, the crowds that you were getting—at what point did it occur to you: Oh, I’ve got to tamp this down a little bit. People are going to expect me to split the seas ?

Obama: Well, we used to talk about this in the middle of the campaign. It’s interesting when you go back. I told this to Valerie: We had to get out of Chicago so quick. Election night happens, suddenly I’m talking to Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson and trying to figure out whether the world’s going to fly apart, and Michelle is trying to figure out where the girls are going to go to school. And we pack up and leave and basically our house in Chicago just became like a time capsule. My desk in my home office still had stacks of articles and bills and stuff from 2008. And probably last year I went back, maybe it was earlier this year, and I just start going through some stuff and there was an article—it was the [ Time magazine “Person of the Year” issue], and this was at the height of Obama Hype, I mean I’d just been elected—

Coates: Were you tired of it? Were you like, “Please stop”?

Obama: Oh yeah. But I read the—there’s an interview of me in there—and I read through it, and what’s interesting was, I was pretty realistic to people about what we could get done, and the situation we were in, and trying to tamp down expectations. If you listen to my stump speeches, if you listen to what I said at Grant Park, I kept on saying, “Look, this is not just about me, this is not going to happen in one year, or one term, or even one presidency.” And we tried to layer into everything we were saying a sense of hope, but also realism. I don’t regret the excitement, because I do think that it helped us accomplish as much as we did. I don’t regret the fervor, because I do believe, in the African American community but also for other communities, and I know from talking to people, for communities around the world, the election of an African American to the most powerful office on Earth meant things had changed, and not just in superficial ways. That in some irreversible way the world was different.

But I can say with confidence that I never bought into the hype, and I made sure that the people around me didn’t buy into the hype, and I did not surround myself with people who fed me the hype. And I’m glad of that as well. Because I think we would have made a lot more mistakes and would have accomplished a lot less had we not been grounded in some basic truths.

And I would say this, I’ll go back to those black ladies I was talking about who love them some Barack and love Michelle even more—and by the way, they are not middle-aged anymore, because I’m now middle-aged. So they’re a little bit older. As fervent as they were, as excited and happy as they were when I was elected, they had to go to work the next morning. They still had trouble paying those bills. They might have still had a son who was in trouble with the law or couldn’t get a job because of a felony record. They didn’t stop being grounded. And in many ways they’re my touchstone, because they are what I meant when I talked about the audacity of hope. If you read that passage, it talks about not blind optimism, but it’s hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty—that’s what makes it audacious. Those are the ladies sitting in church. And in the same way that they might feel a joy and release on Sunday, they are still going to work on Monday. And that’s who I was listening to during this process. And if at the end of my presidency they feel like I did a pretty good job, then I’ll feel pretty good.

Coates: Okay.

Obama: All right.

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At a glance: the Obama presidency

• Politics and ascent to the presidency
• The Nobel Peace Prize and partisanship
• Passage of health care reform
• Economic challenges
• Deepwater Horizon oil spill
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• The midterm congressional election and its aftermath
• Upheaval in the Middle East
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• Executive action and the 2014 midterm election
• Baltimore riot, Charleston shooting, Supreme Court approval of same-sex marriage, and agreement with Iran
• More executive action
• Historic trips and more shootings
• Life after the presidency
• President Obama’s cabinet

Who were Barack Obama’s parents?

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Barack Obama’s parents married while students at the University of Hawaii . His father, Barack Obama, Sr., a Kenyan, became an economist in the government of Kenya. His mother, S. Ann Dunham, became an anthropologist. They divorced in 1964. Ann then married (and later divorced) another foreign student, Indonesian Lolo Soetoro.

Barack Obama graduated from Punahou School, an elite academy in Honolulu , and then attended Occidental College before transferring to Columbia University and earning (1983) a B.A. in political science . He graduated (1991) magna cum laude from Harvard University ’s law school and was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review .

After working as a writer and editor in Manhattan , Barack Obama became a community organizer in Chicago , lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago , worked as a civil rights attorney, and then served in the Illinois Senate (1997–2004), as a U.S. senator (2005–08), and as U.S. president (2009–17).

Barack Obama’s first book, Dreams from My Father (1995), is the story of his search for his biracial identity by tracing the lives of his now-deceased father and extended family in Kenya . His second book, The Audacity of Hope (2006), is a polemic on his vision for the United States.

Barack Obama was the first African American president of the United States (2009–17). He oversaw the recovery of the U.S. economy (from the Great Recession of 2008–09 ) and the enactment of landmark health care reform (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ). In 2009 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Are DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and the DREAM Act, supported by Barack Obama, good for America?

Whether DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and the DREAM Act, supported by Barack Obama, are good for America is widely debated. Some say the policies are are good for the U.S. economy and deporting Dreamers is cruel. Others say the policies only encourage more illegal immigration and amnesty should not be given to law breakers. For more on the Dreamer debate, visit ProCon.org .

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Barack Obama (born August 4, 1961, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.) is the 44th president of the United States (2009–17) and the first African American to hold the office. Before winning the presidency, Obama represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate (2005–08). He was the third African American to be elected to that body since the end of Reconstruction (1877). In 2009 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

Obama’s father, Barack Obama, Sr., was a teenage goatherd in rural Kenya , won a scholarship to study in the United States , and eventually became a senior economist in the Kenyan government. Obama’s mother, S. Ann Dunham , grew up in Kansas , Texas , and Washington state before her family settled in Honolulu . In 1960 she and Barack Sr. met in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii and married less than a year later.

When Obama was age two, Barack Sr. left to study at Harvard University ; shortly thereafter, in 1964, Ann and Barack Sr. divorced. (Obama saw his father only one more time, during a brief visit when Obama was 10.) Later Ann remarried, this time to another foreign student, Lolo Soetoro from Indonesia , with whom she had a second child, Maya. Obama lived for several years in Jakarta with his half sister, mother, and stepfather. While there, Obama attended both a government-run school where he received some instruction in Islam and a Catholic private school where he took part in Christian schooling.

He returned to Hawaii in 1971 and lived in a modest apartment, sometimes with his grandparents and sometimes with his mother (she remained for a time in Indonesia, returned to Hawaii, and then went abroad again—partly to pursue work on a Ph.D.—before divorcing Soetoro in 1980). For a brief period his mother was aided by government food stamps, but the family mostly lived a middle-class existence. In 1979 Obama graduated from Punahou School, an elite college preparatory academy in Honolulu.

Obama attended Occidental College in suburban Los Angeles for two years and then transferred to Columbia University in New York City , where in 1983 he received a bachelor’s degree in political science . Influenced by professors who pushed him to take his studies more seriously, Obama experienced great intellectual growth during college and for a couple of years thereafter. He led a rather ascetic life and read works of literature and philosophy by William Shakespeare , Friedrich Nietzsche , Toni Morrison , and others. After serving for a couple of years as a writer and editor for Business International Corp., a research, publishing, and consulting firm in Manhattan , he took a position in 1985 as a community organizer on Chicago ’s largely impoverished Far South Side. He returned to school three years later and graduated magna cum laude in 1991 from Harvard University ’s law school, where he was the first African American to serve as president of the Harvard Law Review . While a summer associate in 1989 at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin, Obama had met Chicago native Michelle Robinson , a young lawyer at the firm. The two married in 1992.

After receiving his law degree, Obama moved to Chicago and became active in the Democratic Party . He organized Project Vote, a drive that registered tens of thousands of African Americans on voting rolls and that is credited with helping Democrat Bill Clinton win Illinois and capture the presidency in 1992. The effort also helped make Carol Moseley Braun , an Illinois state legislator, the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Senate . During this period, Obama wrote his first book and saw it published. The memoir, Dreams from My Father (1995), is the story of Obama’s search for his biracial identity by tracing the lives of his now-deceased father and his extended family in Kenya. Obama lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago and worked as an attorney on civil rights issues.

Essay on Barack Obama

Students are often asked to write an essay on Barack Obama in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Barack Obama

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Hawaii. His parents were from Kansas and Kenya. He was raised by his mother and grandparents.

Obama studied at Occidental College before transferring to Columbia University. Later, he graduated from Harvard Law School.

Political Career

Obama served in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004. In 2004, he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

In 2008, Obama became the first African American president of the U.S. He served two terms, focusing on healthcare, economy, and foreign policy.

250 Words Essay on Barack Obama

Introduction, political ascendancy.

Obama’s political journey began in Illinois, where he served as a State Senator from 1997 to 2004. His charisma, eloquence, and pragmatic approach to politics catapulted him to national prominence following his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. In 2008, he was elected President, promising hope and change.

Domestic Policy

Obama’s domestic policy was marked by progressive reforms. The Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare”, was a landmark legislation that aimed to overhaul the American healthcare system. His administration also championed the cause of same-sex marriage, culminating in its legalization nationwide in 2015.

Foreign Policy

In foreign policy, Obama sought to ‘reset’ relations with Russia and extend an ‘open hand’ to Iran. His administration was also responsible for the operation that led to the death of Osama bin Laden. However, his handling of the Syrian Civil War and the rise of ISIS drew criticism.

Obama’s presidency was transformative, marked by significant policy achievements and substantial challenges. His tenure was a testament to the power of inclusive leadership, and his enduring popularity underscores his impact on American society. As scholars continue to evaluate his legacy, Obama remains a compelling figure in contemporary politics.

500 Words Essay on Barack Obama

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, served two terms from 2009 to 2017. Born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, he is a significant figure in American history as the first African-American president. His presidency was not merely a symbolic victory for racial equality, but it was also marked by significant policy achievements and challenges.

Early Life and Career

Obama’s political career began in the Illinois State Senate in 1997. His charismatic keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention catapulted him into the national spotlight, leading to his election as a U.S. Senator later that year. His meteoric rise continued with his successful presidential campaign in 2008, where his message of hope and change resonated with many Americans.

Obama’s presidency was marked by significant legislative accomplishments. The Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as “Obamacare,” extended healthcare coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. His administration also oversaw the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” enabling openly gay individuals to serve in the military.

Post-Presidency

Since leaving office, Obama has remained active in public life. He established the Obama Foundation to inspire and empower future leaders. He has also published a memoir, “A Promised Land,” providing an in-depth account of his presidency.

Obama’s legacy is complex and multifaceted. His presidency represented a significant step forward in American racial equality. His policy achievements, particularly in healthcare, have had a substantial impact on American society. However, his foreign policy decisions and handling of economic crises have also drawn criticism.

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Barack Obama - List of Essay Samples And Topic Ideas

Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, holds a significant place in history as the first African American to hold the office. Essays on Barack Obama could explore his political career, the challenges and accomplishments during his presidency, or his influence on global politics. Additionally, discussions could extend to his post-presidential role, his memoirs, or the social and cultural impact of his presidency in the broader discourse on race and identity in America. A substantial compilation of free essay instances related to Barack Obama you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

How did Barack Obama Change the World

Barack Obama A good leader represents the characteristics of honesty, caring, good personality, and being understandable. Obama was a leader that is educated and inspiring to people and he was talented and he had accomplished many things in life. Barack Obama was the first senator in Illionois. Barack was also the first African American president in the United States. Barack made a healthcare program that has changed many people’s lives and this is called Obamacare. Obama was a good leader […]

Rhetorical Analyzation of Barack Obama’s Victory Speech

On November 4th, 2008 Democrat Senator Barack Obama walked through the blinding lights and roaring crowd to deliver The Election Night Victory Speech at Grant Park, Illinois. During this keynote acceptance speech, he emphasized that the American dream was not on its deathbed because "change has come to America." His enticing and passionate speech echoed the words of famous speakers, unified a divided front both physically and emotionally, rhythmically explained his campaign struggles, and emphasized a call to action by […]

Black Nationalist Movement: Malcolm X

Throughout the history of the United States, the standing and equality of minorities, particularly those of African descent, has been debated and fought over, with many working for the goal of equality from myriad angles. African Americans were brought to the new world in chains, considered only 3/5th a person in the Constitution, and the US fought a tragic civil war to triumphantly end slavery. After the civil war, inequality persisted through “Black Codes” meant to restrict African American economic […]

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Leader Profile: Barack Obama

The Early Life of Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama Sr. and S. Ann Dunham. In Barack's early life, he was educated in both public schools and religious private schools that instructed with catholic or Islamic principles. He began his college career at Occidental College in Los Angeles. He transferred and earned his Bachelor of Political Science at Columbia University in New York. The experience of pursuing his […]

Barack Obama: the 44th President of the United States of America

Name: Barack Hussein Obama II Place of Birth and Date: Born August 4, 1961 (age 57), in Honolulu, Hawaii. Family Background: Obama was raised by his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, and later by his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, alongside his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, who is the daughter of his mother and her second husband. Obama's parents divorced when he was two. After the divorce, his father, Barack Obama Sr., moved to Massachusetts and eventually returned to Kenya. Obama […]

Barrack Obama: a Great President

Throughout his Presidency, Barrack Obama proved to be a skilled policymaker than a politician, conventional wisdom aside. His accomplishments are numerous, impressive, and exceed what his supporters thought he could ever achieve. Although some critics complain that he did not do enough to transform the United States of America, he introduced remarkable policies and regulations in 2009 and 2010. These policies did a lot to shape the American public life and government and contributed to the development of a society […]

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney

On Tuesday, November 6th, 2012, the United States presidential election was held, alongside many federal elections, state, and local elections. The incumbent Barack Obama candidate for the Democratic Party has defeated the Republican Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 332-206 (Electoral College) and 51.38%- 48.61% (popular vote). In most cases, both candidates’ political positions were aligned as liberal and conservative ideologies. In the 2012 presidential election, both Obama and Romney spent over one billion dollars during their campaign. They have […]

The Election of Barack Obama

Barack Obama was inaugurated as the first African American president, being the 44th president in office. The picture I chose with Barack Obama, including the word "Hope" was his campaign poster in his 2008 presidential election. The poster is also seen with the words "Change" or "Progress" which all these words represented him in his campaign. When Barack Obama was elected as the first African American president, he raised the hopes of many Americans, especially the African American population, he […]

How Obama Impacted Society

Barack Hussein Obama II was born in state capital, Hawaii on August 04, 1961. His parents Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr. were an interracial couple and they didn't last long. His parents divorced when Obama was just 2 years old and his parents both remarried and had children. Obama doesn't have any biological siblings but he does have 8 half-siblings. Although Obama's dad wasn't really around, the two still wrote to each other until the early 1980s when Barack […]

Barack Obama: his Life and Career

BARACK OBAMA Barack Obama was born in August 4, 1961,in Honolulu, Hawaii and later became the first African American president. Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States, and the first African American to serve as the president of the United States of America. First elected to the presidency in 2008, He served two terms as the 44 President of the United States. Early Life. His mother, Ann Dunham, was born in Army base in Wichita, Kansas, during […]

Barack Obama’s Inaugural Speech

Barack Obama’s Inaugural speech of 2013, promoted equality for all Americans. In the United States Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president for the second time in history. Barack Obama led our nation to new developments and growth. He  united our nation, which drew strength and courage from younger people who denied their generations indifferences. In 2013, Barack Obama made his Inaugural Address speech to persuade the American people that he could form America into a  better place with […]

Biography of Barack Hussein Obama

Barack Hussein Obama is an american politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2008-2017. Obama was the first black president and him being sworn in as president is said to be  "the best thing to happen to america in a long time". Being the first black president was just the beginning of what would be an interesting presidential run for Obama. Like many people expected, Obama made some great changes that helped better the country. […]

Barack Obama History Paper

Barack Obama was born on August 8th, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to his mother, Ann Durham, and his father, Barack Sr., who met at the University of Hawaii Manoa campus. His father was from Kenya and was the first-ever student from an African country to attend this university. His mother was originally from Kansas, where her ancestors were antislavery activists. His parents' marriage was short—interracial marriages were very rare at that time and illegal in some states. His mother's family […]

Roots of Resilience: Unveiling the Story of Barack Obama Parents

The lineage of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, threads back to an intricate tapestry woven by his parents, each contributing an indelible mark to his extraordinary journey. Born to Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr., the President's story is intertwined with the resilience, diversity, and determination of his parents. Ann Dunham, an intrepid and spirited woman, hailed from Kansas and embodied the tenacity and curiosity that defined her son. Her boundless curiosity and passion for learning […]

President Barack Obama and Operation Geronimo to Assassinate Osama Bin Laden Discursive Essay

Operation Geronimo, a pivotal mission executed under the administration of President Barack Obama, marked a significant moment in the history of the United States' fight against terrorism. The operation, carried out on May 2, 2011, resulted in the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the leader of the terrorist group al-Qaeda. This mission symbolized a major triumph in the War on Terror and a defining moment in Obama's presidency. The decision to carry […]

Barack Obama and Gay Marriage

Thesis sentenceI was raised in a Christian home like most American people, where we were taught by the church that being homosexual is a sin. I grew up believing this for most of my life until I met a dear friend who would change my views on the subject matter. I watched this person be humiliated and discriminated against because of her sexual orientation. This made me wonder how one sin would be worse than another. I know I have […]

Unforgettable Event that Changed my Life

Our lives are always shaped by events around us. This implies that human life is surrounded by everyday life decisions and choices which always bring about a result which may impact a closer or a far-off individual either positively or negatively. Despite the fact that we as low-level members of the society may not have had a hand in the decision made or we may not even have control over the outcome, it is upon us to synthesize the experience […]

The Presidency of Barack Obama: a First Historical Assessment

This content aims to critically review the book "The Presidency of Barack Obama: A First Historical Assessment," by Julian E. Zelizer. He is a CNN political analyst based in the department of History and Public Affairs in Princeton University. Zelizer has authored a variety of books that have significant information on the occurrences and explanations of events in the United States. Zelizer also appears regularly as a news commentator on various platforms such as radio, television, and print. The book […]

Books about Barack Obama

Remnick David is both a writer and journalist born October 29 in New Jersey. In the year 1994, won the Publishers accolade for his novel the Lenin's Tombs: the last days of the Empire. He a graduate from Princeton University. Today Remnick is an editor with the New Yorker magazines. He has written several books including the bridge: the rise and life of Barrack Obama. This was his sixth book to be written by him. Current Rennick is married to […]

Influential Women – Ellen DeGeneres

I believe that Ellen Lee DeGeneres deserves more credit and ovation for what she has done in her life by inspiring men and women all the world. She was born in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. Growing up she wanted to become a veterinarian but said she wasn't “book smart”. Ellen grew up a funny girl, she started doing stand-up comedy at a young age. In a article I read, the author stated “At the age of 23, […]

The Development of Cultural Racism Associated with American Politics

Abstract Politics in the United States have always been a heated issue, and never more so than now. The surprising election of Donald Trump has created a clear cultural divide on many levels that continues to cultivate hate, and gifts not just Americans but the entire world with cultural racism that we have not seen for a long time. The political divide in America affects every American, every day, so much so that you would be hard-pressed to find someone […]

“Dreams from my Father”: a Journey of Self-Discovery and Racial Identity

In the rich tapestry of memoirs written by American figures, Barack Obama's "Dreams from My Father" holds a unique place. Crafted long before his presidency, the book offers a candid and introspective look into the early life of the 44th President of the United States. It chronicles Obama's personal journey to understand his racial identity, his heritage, and the intricate relationship he had with his absentee father. This deeply personal narrative is more than just an autobiography; it delves into […]

A Statistical Analysis and Graphic Data of the Affordable Care Act in America

The political support for the Affordable Care Act is something that is bound to vary throughout the country. Each state has an opinion on the new healthcare initiative enacted by Barack Obama, and it can easily be seen which states supported it. Looking at the information from the dataset health.csv, one can easily analyze and construct plots and tables that help to view correlations and lack thereof. One major correlation between two factors is that of percent_favorable_aca and Obama_share_12, which […]

Analysis of the Affordable Care Act and the Birth Control Pill

Obamacare was signed into law in March 2010. The law covers various types of health plans, benefits, and services. Just years ago millions of women were paying for or couldn't afford birth control. Now, "an estimated 27 million women are currently benefiting from Obamacare's no-cost services” (Ressler). Birth Control is an ongoing debate on whether the pill itself should be covered for by taxes due to peoples rights and beliefs about its use. Another issue about the contraception is who […]

Public Policy in Government Essay

Public policy is used by the government to create order or to look into the issues that are affecting the citizens of the United States. They are carried out through following guidelines that are indicated in the constitution. A policy is not a tangible thing but rather, public policy is used to describe a set of laws, regulations, and mandates. They are made through a political process. This legal process helps the government be able to create laws that serve […]

Why have Americans Lost Trust in the Government?

Throughout history Americans have viewed the government as the highest department to ever exist. Whenever there was a problem in the country we looked to the government and the officials within the government to solve the issues at hand. As we’ve evolved as a society or even more than that, a country, we’ve began to lose trust and respect for the government. Why might such a high departement lose the trust of their citizens? Looking deeper into the behaviors of […]

The Legacy of Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address: a Vision for Change and Unity

Barack Obama’s inaugural address on January 20, 2009, marked a significant moment in American history. As the first African American president, Obama’s speech was highly anticipated, carrying the weight of expectations from a diverse audience yearning for change, unity, and a new direction for the country. His address resonated with themes of hope, resilience, and collective responsibility, encapsulating a vision that sought to bridge divides and usher in a renewed sense of purpose for the nation. Obama began his speech […]

Barack Obama’s Early Years: the Foundations of a Future Leader

Barack Obama's early years stand as a testament to the profound influence of diverse experiences and environments in molding a future leader. Born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Barack Hussein Obama II came into a world characterized by stark contrasts and rapid change. His mixed-race heritage, global upbringing, and the impact of significant family members and mentors were crucial in shaping his character, values, and leadership vision. Obama's childhood in Hawaii was marked by the state's unique cultural […]

Barack Obama’s Major Accomplishments and their Impact on America

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, served from 2009 to 2017 and left a significant mark on American history. His presidency was characterized by a series of major accomplishments that reshaped various aspects of American society and governance. These achievements not only highlighted his commitment to change and progress but also had a lasting impact on the nation. One of Obama's most notable accomplishments was the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often referred to as "Obamacare." Enacted in […]

Michelle Obama’s Early Life and Upbringing in Chicago

Michelle Obama's early days in the vibrant heart of Chicago shaped not just her character but also her destiny. Born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on a crisp January day in 1964, she opened her eyes to a world teeming with possibilities, even amidst the challenges of the South Side. Fraser and Marian Robinson, her hardworking parents, wove a tapestry of love, discipline, and aspiration around their children, Michelle and her older brother Craig, in their modest South Shore apartment. Life in […]

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How to Write an Essay About Barack Obama

Understanding barack obama's legacy.

Before writing an essay about Barack Obama, it is essential to understand his impact and legacy both as the 44th President of the United States and as a public figure. Obama's presidency marked a series of significant milestones and policies that left a lasting impact on American politics and society. Start your essay by providing a brief background about Obama, including his early life, education, and rise in politics. Discuss his historical significance as the first African American president and the context in which he was elected. Understanding Obama's key domestic and foreign policies, his leadership style, and his contributions to issues like healthcare, economic reform, and international diplomacy is crucial for a comprehensive analysis.

Developing a Thesis Statement

A strong essay about Barack Obama should be centered around a clear, concise thesis statement. This statement should present a specific viewpoint or argument about Obama's presidency, political ideology, or legacy. For instance, you might explore the impact of the Affordable Care Act, analyze Obama's approach to international relations, or discuss his influence on American political discourse. Your thesis will guide the direction of your essay and provide a structured approach to your topic.

Gathering Supporting Evidence

To support your thesis, gather evidence from various sources, including Obama's speeches, policy documents, biographies, and analyses by political experts. This might include statistical data on policy outcomes, excerpts from Obama’s memoirs, or commentary from political analysts. Use this evidence to support your thesis and build a persuasive argument. Be sure to consider different perspectives and address potential counterarguments.

Analyzing Obama's Presidency and Impact

Dedicate a section of your essay to analyzing key aspects of Obama's presidency and his broader impact. Discuss specific policies and initiatives, their implementation, and their short-term and long-term effects. Explore the challenges Obama faced, such as economic crises, political opposition, and global issues, and how he addressed them. Also, consider the social and cultural significance of his presidency in the context of American history.

Concluding the Essay

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points of your discussion and restating your thesis in light of the evidence provided. Your conclusion should tie together your analysis and emphasize the significance of Barack Obama's contribution to American politics and society. You might also want to reflect on his ongoing influence after his presidency and his role in current political discussions.

Reviewing and Refining Your Essay

After completing your essay, review and refine it for clarity and coherence. Ensure that your arguments are well-structured and supported by evidence. Check for grammatical accuracy and ensure that your essay flows logically from one point to the next. Consider seeking feedback from peers, educators, or political analysts to further improve your essay. A well-written essay on Barack Obama will not only demonstrate your understanding of his presidency but also your ability to engage with complex political and historical topics.

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President obama's handwritten essay marking the 150th anniversary of the gettysburg address.

One hundred and fifty years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most memorable speeches in U.S. history from Gettysburg, PA. In dedicating the military cemetery where thousands of soldiers were buried following the Battle of Gettysburg, fought just four months earlier, Lincoln described "a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

Paying tribute to the historic speech, President Obama hand wrote an essay for an exhibit at the Lincoln Presidential Library . President Obama joins former Presidents Clinton, Carter and H.W. Bush who have submitted their contributions, along with other notable essayists including Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, General Colin Powell, and Martin Luther King III, among hundreds of others.

You can read President Obama's essay here , and below:

Here's the full text of President Obama's essay:

In the evening, when Michelle and the girls have gone to bed, I sometimes walk down the hall to a room Abraham Lincoln used as his office.  It contains an original copy of the Gettysburg address, written in Lincoln’s own hand. I linger on these few words that have helped define our American experiment: “A new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Through the lines of weariness etched in his face, we know Lincoln grasped, perhaps more than anyone, the burdens required to give these words meaning.  He knew that even a self-evident truth was not self-executing; that blood drawn by the lash was an affront to our ideals; that blood drawn by the sword was in painful service to those same ideals. He understood as well that our humble efforts, our individual ambitions, are ultimately not what matter; rather, it is through the accumulated toil and sacrifice of ordinary men and women – those like the soldiers who consecrated that battlefield – that this country is built, and freedom preserved.  This quintessentially self-made man, fierce in his belief in honest work and the striving spirit at the heart of America, believed that it falls to each generation, collectively, to share in that toil and sacrifice. Through cold war and world war, through industrial revolutions and technological transformations, through movements for civil rights and women’s rights and workers’ rights and gay rights, we have.  At times, social and economic change have strained our union.  But Lincoln’s words give us confidence that whatever trials await us, this nation and the freedom we cherish can, and shall, prevail.

The fifth and final copy of the Gettysburg Address, which President Lincoln wrote in his own hand, is on display in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House. Take a closer look of the only version that Lincoln titled, signed, and dated through the Google Art Project . 

Learn more:

• Watch President Obama read the Gettysburg Address as part of the Learn the Address Project
• Learn more about President Abraham Lincoln

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Barack Obama Essay Samples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Russia , Obama , President , Politics , World , America , Leadership , United States

Words: 1400

Published: 03/30/2020

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Barack Hussein Obama is the current President of the United States. He was born on the 4th of August, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1979, he finished school Punahou School and entered Occidental College in Los-Angeles. Then Obama graduated the Columbia University, where he made first steps as a politician. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree, he began to work as a corrector in the International Business Corporation. In 1985, he moved to Chicago and worked there as a community organizer. Three years later Obama began to study law in Harvard University. There he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review and Harvard Law Club. After graduation Harvard, he returned to Chicago and became civil rights attorney. In addition, he worked in the Democratic Party. Barack Obama is a talented writer. In 1995, Barack published his first book “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” that became successful. Then he became a Senator from Illinois from 1997 to 2004. After that, he was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. In 2008 Barack Obama became the 44th President of the US. Despite his lack of administrative experience, this statesman with a brilliant mind and great eloquence became a living symbol of changes and upcoming great accomplishments. One reason for its popularity is the new political style, the essences of which are common sense, de-ideologization, practical experience in dealing with daily challenges. The first Afro-American President was a leader of a new type without racial prejudices and other stereotypes. Barack Obama is a man of extraordinary views and beliefs. Obama speaks about women's right to abortion, the development of alternative fuel sources, the weakening of the policy toward immigrants. He did not declare a clear doctrine. His presidential campaign was based on vague promises of changes. Today, some of the features of his unique leadership are obvious. Firstly, propensity to apologize. He has apologized to Turkey for dark periods in the American history. Then he apologized to Japan for the nuclear bombardment during the Second World War. Undoubtedly, that, in such way, Barack Obama distance himself from an aggressive policy of Bush, but such behavior is also connected with personal traits. Secondly, extreme pragmatism in international relations. Being a realist by nature, Barack Obama pursues a pragmatic foreign policy. Sometimes he tends to neglect the allies and "cooperate" with rivals and enemies in order to achieve certain results. The third characteristic of the Obama’s administration policy is the appeal to the negative experience of the United States and their awareness of the right path. The United States have understood the lessons of foreign interventions and the need of setting their sights lower. Today, Washington is looking for partnership and cooperation with the countries of Europe and Middle East, China and others. The multilateralist approach to the world has bent over backwards to mend ties between the US and their European allies, reset relations between the US and Russia, to maintain a strong relationship with China and become the integrated player in the UN. He treats European countries as equal partners, not subservient pawns. The leadership style of Barack Obama is mostly collaborative. He is an attentive listener and tries to understand all arguments from opponents or supporters to make a decision. During the negotiations, the Obama team is much more open to negotiations and talks and diplomacy as a first means of dealing with world problems and even rogue states. The military action only to be used as an absolute last resort. Barack Obama prefers to pursue vigorous diplomacy ("Barack Obama | The Plaid Avenger"). The strong point of Obama as a politician and a negotiator is his eloquence, oratory skills and charm. During his speeches, he has an inner tranquility and has a lot of self-control. He managed to combine new political technologies with traditional organizational skill. He developed own unique style on the basis of assimilating the best examples from other orators. However, some people criticize him for lack of emotionality. Obama created a new style of “bottom-up, empowering” leadership focusing on collaboration. He developed a grassroots movement by building an ever-expanding organization of empowered leaders, who in turn engaged people from their social networks like Facebook. These trends portend massive changes in the 21st century leadership of American institutions, led by the Obama government itself (Bill n.p. ). The greatest accomplishment is the Affordable Care Act, which makes a universal health care. The other accomplishments are ending wars, anti-terrorism efforts and stabilizing the economy. He came out America from the economic crisis. Barack Obama created new jobs, supported equal pay for men and women, recapitalized banks, pursued credit card reforms and reduced taxes for middle-class. He saved General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy. In the sphere of environmental protection, Obama contributed to the regulation of greenhouse emissions and invested in renewable technologies. He took away Osama bin Laden, made the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, began the drawdown from Afghanistan and signed the non-proliferation treaty with Russia. In addition, he fought with Somali pirates. Barack Obama improved America's image around the world. Last decades America was perceived as the aggressor that made interventions to other countries and did not care about international opinion. The new image shows that the US is cooperative, benevolent and tolerant to other cultures. Obama’s popularity is also determined by personality traits, friendly manners, mindful decision-making, and confidence. He is charismatic, intellectual and high-educated person. I am impressed by his tolerance to Republicans and people with other views. He is logic and rational. Also, I have noticed that the direct eye contact with listeners is very important to him. His abilities to contact with audience and demonstrate brilliant leadership qualities cause admiration among people. Moreover, Barack Obama earned people`s respect for his loyalty to family. His image contributes to his career. He is always immaculately dressed and creates an impression of reliable, trustworthy person. His appearance, strict clothes and clean-shaved face creates an image of straightforward, honest and hard-working person with strong moral principles. In my opinion, Barack Obama is one of the greatest presidents America, because he is passionate for human rights and social issues. He improved race relations. Barack Obama signed the bill for equal salaries for men and women, established services for overcoming domestic violence and sexual assault. During his presidency, he has changed a healthcare system and established a universal healthcare. It was for a long time a crucial issue in American society. Today, millions of children from poor families can receive help without health insurance. He has increased federal funding and doubled the amount of grant money allocated to students seeking a higher education to cover rising tuition costs. His policies and initiatives for clean energy economy have had an incredible impact on the future of the nation. For instance, the U.S. reduced oil imports by more than 10 percent from 2010 - 2011. The Administration made attempts to reduce dependence on oil, promote alternative energy and invest in renewable technologies. Obama brought the troops from Iraq and finally, ended the war there. In addition, he is ending the conflict in Afghanistan. Obama’s fight against terrorism was successful. At last, Osama Bin Laden was removed. Unfortunately, Barack Obama could not fulfill all promises, and it is not his fault. In the US the President is dependent from congress, so he could not pass his laws through it. Nevertheless, Barack Obama is a great leader due to his accomplishments and personal traits. He became a cultural and historical symbol and called us for better awareness of personal responsibility for our words and actions. The U.S. President Obama has demonstrated the ability to provide strategic guidance, understanding the changes of the modern world and the new role of the United States.

“Barack Obama | The Plaid Avenger”. Plaid Avenger Inc, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2014 <http://www.plaidavenger.com/leaders/profile/barack-obama/> Bill, George. Barack Obama: A Leader for the “We” Generation. Businessweek, 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 7 Mar. 2014 <http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-11-11/barack-obama-a-leader-for-the-we-generationbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice>.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — My Heroes — My Hero: Michelle Obama

My Hero: Michelle Obama

• Categories: My Heroes Someone Who Inspires Me

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Published: Dec 16, 2021

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Michelle Obama: Empowering Leadership and Inspiring Advocacy

Works cited:.

• Abe, M. (2015). Japanese anime and manga characters in the United States. In Routledge Handbook of Japanese Media (pp. 145-158). Routledge.
• Freedman, J. (2014). Anime in America: The emergence of a global pop culture. A&C Black.
• Gale, D. (2015). Drawing anime and manga characters: step-by-step guide to creating your favorite characters. Chartwell Books.
• Hart, C. (2012). Manga for the beginner kawaii: how to draw the supercute characters of Japanese comics. Watson-Guptill Publications.
• Hernandez, J. (2013). Manga: Introduction, genres, global impact. ABC-CLIO.
• Koletnik, M., & Zupančič, T. (2017). The effects of Japanese anime on the drawing of Slovenian high school students. Educational Studies, 43(3), 341-354.
• Lamarre, T. (2009). The anime machine: A media theory of animation. University of Minnesota Press.
• Lunning, F. (Ed.). (2011). Mechademia 6: User enhanced. University of Minnesota Press.
• Miyake, K. (2017). What makes Japanese anime unique? A comparative analysis between American and Japanese animation. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 9(5), 57-67.
• Napier, S. J. (2016). Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing contemporary Japanese animation. St. Martin's Press.

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Operation Geronimo and Presidential Authority Essay

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Introduction

Supporting arguments.

On April 29, 2011, the then US commander in chief, President Obama, authorized an operation that ultimately led to the killing of the most wanted man on the CIA watch list, Osama bin Laden. In this Operation Geronimo persuasive essay, we discuss historical actions via the spectrum of legal and political lenses.

Reports indicate that President Obama had been consulting with the National Security Council for months on the probability of Osama bin Laden being within the suspected hideout and the possibility of authorizing a mission. Ultimately, President Obama gave the orders, and Osama bin Laden was killed in a military exercise dubbed Operation Geronimo, thus ending a decade-long search mission to capture the head of Al Qaeda. The killing of Osama bin Laden was a reprieve for millions of Americans and the international community, especially after the events of September 11, 2001, the infamous Twin Towers bomb attack by Al Qaeda. Nevertheless, questions abound on whether President Obama had legal authority for Operation Geronimo. Read this Operation Geronimo case study and discover arguments supporting Obama’s right to execute the plan.

One needs to investigate the decision using US domestic and international laws to understand President Obama’s legality in authorizing Operation Geronimo. The agnosticism surrounding the legality of permitting Operation Geronimo hinges on President Reagan’s Executive Order 12333, which states, “No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination” (Fisher & Becker, 2021, p. 2). However, this order does not define assassination contextually (Koven & Perez, 2022), and thus, the Operation cannot be termed illegal based on this understanding. In addition, after the 9/11 bombings, Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force resolution. The resolution allows the US commander-in-chief “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons” (Fisher & Becker, 2021, p. 2). Therefore, under this resolution, President Obama was within the confines of the US domestic laws to authorize the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, who was actively involved in the planning and execution of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

However, even with the legality of such authorization, questions abound on how the execution of the operation observed laws of armed conflict, viz. “military necessity, proportionality, and distinction/discrimination” (Solis, 2021, p. 268). Military necessity was qualified in this case as Bin Laden had attacked the US, and he was a threat to international peace by propagating terrorism. Likewise, the force that was used after entering Bin Laden’s house was proportional to the danger that he posed to the elite squad, for he allegedly reached for his firearm to retaliate. Finally, the discrimination requirement was fulfilled as the people who died in the ensuing confrontation were collateral damage but not targets of the assault. Operation Geronimo case study could become an ideal tool for assessing the behavior of public officials in the national security context.

As mentioned earlier, the authorization had to align with international laws. Under the international law rules of jus ad bellum, “State can justify an international use of force if the force was either used in self-defense following an armed attack or expressly permitted by the United Nations (UN) Security Council” (Lieblich, 2021, p. 1). In this case, the US was a victim of Bin Laden’s armed attack on 9/11, and capturing him was a way of self-defense. Conversely, the rules of jus in bello set “the parameters on the allowable scope and nature of that force” (Lieblich, 2021, p. 2). Therefore, the US had the legal basis to enter Pakistan and execute its mission within the confines of international law. There have been allegations that the US violated Pakistani sovereignty by raiding Bin Laden’s hideout without the involvement of the local authorities (Roy et al., 2022). The UN Charter emphasizes respect for territorial sovereignty, which all nations should respect (Koven & Perez, 2022). However, Article 51 of the same UN Charter creates a legal leeway for the US to pursue its aggressors as self-defense, even to the extent of breaching the other countries’ territorial sovereignty (Finkelstein, 2021). Therefore, President Obama acted within international law by authorizing Operation Geronimo.

Osama Bin Laden orchestrated the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which changed the way the US defended itself against such hostilities. After the attacks, Congress authorized the then-US President to pursue the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks inside and outside the country. Therefore, after President Obama received intelligence reports that Bin Laden’s hideout had been identified, he had the legal obligation and power to authorize a military attack. Later, questions on the legality of such authorization based on domestic and international laws were raised. Operation Geronimo’s persuasive essay proved an essential step towards realizing the nuanced nature of presidential powers in national security. More questions emerged about how the mission was executed and whether rules of armed conflict were observed. However, this paper has answered these questions to uphold the argument that President Obama had the legal authority to order Operation Geronimo and to execute the plan.

Finkelstein, C. (2021). The status of state and nonstate actors in postwar hostilities: Restoring the rule of law to US targeted killing operations . Vand. J. Transnat’l L ., 54, 1163. Web.

Fisher, D., & Becker, M. H. (2021). The heterogeneous repercussions of killing Osama bin Laden on global terrorism patterns . European Journal of Criminology , 18(3), 301-324. Web.

Koven, S. G., & Perez, A. F. (2022). Ethics of targeted killings and assassinations . Public Integrity , 24(3), 319-328. Web.

Lieblich, E. (2021). The humanization of jus ad bellum: prospects and perils . European Journal of International Law , 32(2), 579-612. Web.

Roy, M. I., Khalid, A., Rehman, A., & Khalid, F. (2022). Operation Neptune Spear and the Manhunt (Implications for Pakistan United States Counter Terrorism Synergism 2001-2020) . Journal of Political Studies , 29(2). Web.

Solis, G. (2021). The law of armed conflict: International humanitarian law in war (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

• Counterterrorism and Mitigation of Disasters
• Homeland Security Capabilities and Limitations
• Operation Geronimo’s International Liability
• Operation Geronimo by the US Forces
• Apache Resistance to American Settlement on the West
• Homeland Security: Current Perspectives
• Homeland Security Department: Strategy Application and Implementation
• Homeland Security Department: Strategic Planning
• Critical Infrastructure Protection Initiatives
• Homeland Security: Mass Surveillance Program
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2020, September 24). Operation Geronimo and Presidential Authority. https://ivypanda.com/essays/operation-geronimo-and-presidential-authority/

"Operation Geronimo and Presidential Authority." IvyPanda , 24 Sept. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/operation-geronimo-and-presidential-authority/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Operation Geronimo and Presidential Authority'. 24 September.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Operation Geronimo and Presidential Authority." September 24, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/operation-geronimo-and-presidential-authority/.

1. IvyPanda . "Operation Geronimo and Presidential Authority." September 24, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/operation-geronimo-and-presidential-authority/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Operation Geronimo and Presidential Authority." September 24, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/operation-geronimo-and-presidential-authority/.

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