Xenz biography of barack obama

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Overview Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States—becoming the first African American to serve in that office—on January 20, Birth Date August 4, Education Columbia University B. November Assuming office in Jan , Obama inherited an economy struggling to overcome the deepest recession since the s.

The US recovery proved quicker than comparable economies in Europe, but growth was uneven — with low wage growth. In , Obama also passed the Dodd—Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act , which sought to reform the banking and financial sector, in the aftermath of the credit crunch. See also: US Economy under Obama. Despite concerns about the economy, in , Obama was able to win re-election, defeating the Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

Enrollment in the program began in October Despite some initial technical difficulties, it has led to an increase in the percentage of Americans with health insurance. Obama describes himself as a Christian. He was raised as Christian, though not as a regular churchgoer — saying that he made that choice in adult life. He also believes that different faiths and religions can share the same values and lead to the same goals.

I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. However, he has spoken up on issues, such as civil rights, the rights for non-documented dreamers and also the importance of civil discourse. Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. Updated 11 January On November 6, , Obama won a second term as president, capturing more than 60 percent of the Electoral College.

Obama officially began his second term on January 21, , when U. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office. In his second inaugural address, Obama called the nation to action on such issues as climate change, health care, the federal deficit, and marriage equality. Obama stated that the program had helped stop roughly 50 threats.

However, the president suffered a significant drop in his approval ratings, to 45 percent, partially due to the revelations. In August , Obama ordered the first airstrikes against the Islamic State on targets in Syria, though the president pledged to keep combat troops out of the conflict. Several Arab countries joined the airstrikes against the extremist group.

However, U. As of December , more than 1, people have died, according to military officials. Outside watchdog organizations, like Airwars, estimate the number of casualties could be as many as several thousand. In September , Obama made diplomatic strides with Iran. He spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone, which marked the first direct contact between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years.

This groundbreaking move by Obama was seen by many as a sign of thawing in the relationship between the United States and Iran. In July , Obama announced that, after lengthy negotiations, the United States and five world powers had reached an agreement with Iran. The deal allowed inspectors entry into Iran to make sure the country kept its pledge to limit its nuclear program and enrich uranium at a much lower level than would be needed for a nuclear weapon.

In return, the United States and its partners removed the tough sanctions imposed on Iran and allowed the country to ramp up sales of oil and access frozen bank accounts. That year, Obama also traveled to India and reached a civilian nuclear agreement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that opened the door to U. Elsewhere, Obama moved to reestablish diplomatic ties with Cuba in December He and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the normalizing of diplomatic relations between the countries for the first time since The policy change came after the exchange of American citizen Alan Gross and another unnamed American intelligence agent for three Cuban spies.

However, the long-standing U. Kennedy , remained in effect. On March 20, , Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Cuba since , as part of his larger program to establish greater cooperation between the two countries. Just prior to the trip, on March 10, , Obama met at the White House with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the first official visit by a Canadian leader in nearly 20 years.

In August , the Obama administration announced the Clean Power Plan, a major climate change policy that included the first national standards to limit carbon pollution from coal-burning power plants and called for more renewable energy from sources like wind and solar power. Ultimately, the plan never took effect after facing backlash and lawsuits from business groups, companies, 27 states, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell , who was then the Republican minority leader.

In February , the Supreme Court ruled, , to block the plan by putting a hold on regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, mostly from coal power plants. Obama also worked to respond to climate change on the global level. The agreement requires all participating nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the rise of global temperatures and also to allocate resources for the research and development of alternative energy sources.

Obama pledged that the United States would cut its emissions more than 25 percent by On October 5, , the United Nations announced the Paris Climate Agreement had been ratified by a sufficient number of countries—including China and the United States, the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases—to allow it to take effect starting on November 4, Both justices were confirmed under a Democratic-majority Senate.

In March, the president held a press conference at the White House to present year-old U. They stated their intention to block any nominee put forward by Obama, fearing that such a confirmation would tip the balance toward a more liberal-leaning court. Garland was never granted a Senate confirmation hearing, and the seat sat empty until April when Neil Gorsuch , nominated by President Donald Trump, was confirmed.

The presidents granted a total of 1, clemencies, including commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manning , the U. Army intelligence analyst who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks. Over the course of his administration, Obama led the country away from financial catastrophe as the Great Recession gave away to market stability and a declining unemployment rate.

Obama also struggled to enact the gun control measures he hoped for, such as universal background checks and the resurrection of the federal ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Some of the mass shootings during his time include at Sandy Hook Elementary School 20 children and six adult fatalities in Connecticut; an Aurora, Colorado movie theater 12 fatalities ; a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina 9 fatalities ; and a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida 49 fatalities.

Ever the optimist, Obama shared these parting words at his last press conference with the White House press corps:. On January 27, , Obama delivered his first State of the Union speech. Obama also challenged politicians to stop thinking of reelection and start making positive changes. He criticized Republicans for their refusal to support legislation and chastised Democrats for not pushing hard enough to get legislation passed.

In his State of the Union address, Obama declared that the nation was out of recession. He went on to share his vision for ways to improve the nation through free community college programs and middle-class tax breaks.

Xenz biography of barack obama

With Democrats outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, Obama threatened to use his executive power to prevent any tinkering by the opposition on his existing policies. Contents move to sidebar hide. Page Talk. Read Change Change source View history. Tools Tools. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. This article needs to be updated.

Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. December Michelle Robinson. Malia Sasha. Barack Obama Sr. Ann Dunham. Barack Obama's voice. Obama on the death of Osama bin Laden Recorded May 2, Early life [ change change source ]. Education [ change change source ]. Marriage and family [ change change source ].

Political career [ change change source ]. Presidency, —17 [ change change source ]. See the main article: Presidency of Barack Obama. First term, —13 [ change change source ]. See the main article: First inauguration of Barack Obama. Great Recession [ change change source ]. Obamacare [ change change source ]. Nobel Peace Prize [ change change source ].

Tea Party movement [ change change source ]. War in Iraq [ change change source ]. Economic policy [ change change source ]. LGBT rights [ change change source ]. Gun control [ change change source ]. Second term, —17 [ change change source ]. See the main article: Second inauguration of Barack Obama. Presidential Medals of Freedom [ change change source ].

Death of Nelson Mandela [ change change source ]. Minimum wage and college [ change change source ]. Legalization of same-sex marriage [ change change source ]. Climate change [ change change source ]. Nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court [ change change source ]. Post-presidency, —present [ change change source ]. References [ change change source ].

Department of Health, Hawaii. August 9, Archived from the original on October 14, Retrieved Pew Research Center - U. Washington, D. Archived from the original on October 26, Retrieved December 31, The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 28, The Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on January 29, Talk of the Nation Political Junkie blog.

Archived from the original on May 11, Barack Obama: Man of Destiny. Archived from the original on The New York Times. August 8, ISSN April 4, Archived from the original on April 5,