Personal+Background

By Andrew T.
 * __Barack Obama's Personal Background__**



Barack Hussein Obama made history in 2008 by becoming the first African-American president in the United States. Although many people may know about his political background and ideals, it is still important for America to learn a little about Obama’s personal background. Learning about his upbringing and personal life enables us to find out how much experience he has accumulated and what kind of a person he is.

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was raised by his mother Ann Dunham and his father, Barack Obama Sr. However, his parents divorced when he was two years old and later divorced.

After the divorce, Barack Obama only saw his father once in 1971. His father died in a car accident in 1982.

Obama’s mother married again and in 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.

When Obama turned ten years old, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham. His mother eventually moved to Hawaii to live with him as well.

Obama attended the esteemed Punahou academy from fifth grade through twelfth grade and graduated with honors in 1979. He was one of only three black students at the school.

In Obama’s memoirs, he says that during his years at Punahou academy he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He also admitted to using alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years.

After high school, Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. Afterwards, he transferred to Columbia University in New York and graduated with a degree in political science in 1983.

Obama later worked at Business International Corporation which was a company that provided international business information to corporate clients. He also worked as an organizer at New York Public Interest Research Group which is a non-profit organization primarily focused on subjects such as environmental preservation and consumer protection.

Obama later moved to Chicago in 1985 and worked as a community organizer with low income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and with the Altgeld Gardens public housing development. He also joined the Trinity United Church of Christ during this time period.

Later, in 1988, Barack Obama entered Harvard Law School. During his time at Harvard, he was elected as the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude in 1991.

In 1988, Obama worked as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin. During this time period he met his future wife, Michele. They would later marry on October 3rd 1992 and have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer. He joined the firm Miner, Barnhill, and Galland. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law School.

In 1992, Obama helped organize voter registration drives during Bill Clinton’s campaign. In 1995, Obama wrote a biography called “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race And Inheritance”. He won a Grammy for the audio version of the book.

Obama’s advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He was elected in 1996. During these years, Obama worked with both Democrats and republicans in drafting legislation on ethics, expanded health care services and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor. And after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In the year 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush.

In the year 2003, Obama decided to run for an open seat in the U.S. Senate. In the 2004 Democratic primary, he won 52% of the vote. In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote. He was the third African-American elected to the U.S Senate.

During his time in the Senate, he became the first to raise the threat of avian flu on the Senate floor and spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina. He also pushed for alternative energy development and tried to improve veteran’s benefits.

Obama would later announce his candidacy for the 2008 presidential nomination and eventually become president.

__**Blog Link on Obama Information**__ Andrew T

The RSS feed below contains a lot of information about President Obama. It talks about some of the acts he has commited as president. It talks about bills he has passed or speeches he has made. It also talks about what the nation thinks about him. It talks about his personal background as well. This is great for people who want to learn more about Obama or keep up with what he is doing as president.

rss url="http://history-obama.com/feed/" link="true" description="true" number="10" date="true"