Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 - 2017. Obama was the first African-American president in our nations history.
Internet Resources
- Barack Obama: White HouseBarack Obama served as the 44th President of the United States. His story is the American story — values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.
- Barack Obama: HistoryBarack Obama, the 44th president of the United States and the first African American president, was elected over Senator John McCain of Arizona on November 4, 2008. Obama, a former senator from Illinois whose campaign’s slogan was “Change we can believe in” and “Yes we can,” was subsequently elected to a second term over Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
- Barack Obama: Life Before the PresidencyThe life of President Barack Obama prior to the presidency.
- Office of Barack and Michelle ObamaAs President Obama has said, the change we seek will take longer than one term or one presidency. Real change—big change—takes many years and requires each generation to embrace the obligations and opportunities that come with the title of Citizen.
- Obama White House WebsiteOfficial archived White House website of President Obama.
Streaming Media
- Barack ObamaThrough a combination of first-person interviews and those with friends, family, and colleagues, Biography® explores the life of the President from his childhood in Honolulu to his successful bid to become America’s 44th Chief Executive. Learn about his struggles to find an identity as a teenager and how his dedication to learning and compassion for his peers propelled him through two of the top universities in the U.S. Follow him through his days as a community organizer in Chicago, as a state senator in Illinois, as a member of the U.S. Senate, and as his party’s nominee for President of the United States. Finally, take a look at how he harnessed the power of change to connect with millions of Americans on his way to winning the White House in November 2008.
- By the People: The Election of Barack ObamaAn all-access pass to the historic Obama campaign during its two-year odyssey to the White House from 2006-2008, chronicling the daily ups and downs of the campaign trail as experienced by Obama, his family, campaign stuff and volunteers.
- Inside Obama's PresidencyAs Barack Obama is sworn in for his second term, FRONTLINE takes a probing look at the first four years of his presidency. With inside accounts from his battles with his Republican opponents over health care and the economy to his dramatic expansion of targeted killings of enemies, FRONTLINE examines the president's key decisions and the experiences that will inform his second term.
- Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect UnionHBO’s three-part documentary, Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union, chronicles the personal and political journey of President Barack Obama by weaving together conversations with colleagues, friends, and critics, alongside his own speeches and interviews. The series begins with Obama’s childhood and takes us through his perspective as the son of a white mother from Kansas and an African father, his spiritual formation by a generation of Black leaders, and his hopes for a more inclusive America as the country grapples with its racial history. Through the story of one man irrevocably bound to America’s history – both its promise and struggles, Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union reflects on the country’s past and present national identity.
- Obama at WarTens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in Afghanistan, led by a new commander and armed with a counterinsurgency plan that builds on the lessons of Iraq. But can U.S. forces succeed in a land long known as the "graveyard of empires"? And can the U.S. stop the Taliban in neighboring Pakistan, where U.S. troops are not allowed and the government is weak?
Perspectives
A Promised Land
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency--a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation's highest office. Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune's Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective--the story of one man's bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of "hope and change," and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama's conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.
Reference, Archives, & Primary Sources
- Barack Obama: Credo ReferenceA Credo Reference landing page on Barack Obama. This page includes links to reference works, journal articles, and a mind map.
- Public Papers of the Presidents of the United StatesThe Public Papers of the Presidents, which is compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), began in 1957 in response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications Commission.