Barack ObamaBarack ObamaMaking HistoryMaking History

4444thth U.S. President U.S. President

A Historic Election

History was made on November 4, 2008, when Barack Obama was elected the first African-American President of the United States.

A Historic ElectionOther African Americans who made ground breaking first in our government helped pave the way for Obama.

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. Four years later, she sought to become President.

A Historic ElectionThurgood Marshall was the first African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court (1967-1991).

A Historic ElectionColin Powell was our country’s first African-American Secretary of State (2001-2005).

Who is Barack Obama?

• Born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961.

Who is Barack Obama?• His parents met while they were in college.• His father, Barack Obama Sr., was from Kenya.• His mother, Ann Dunham, was from Kansas.

Who is Barack Obama?• Obama spent the first years of his

life in Hawaii.

Who is Barack Obama?• When he was 6, he moved with his

mother and new stepfather to Indonesia.

Back in Hawaii• His mother sent him back to Hawaii when he was 10 years old.• He lived with his grandparents.• He was on the basketball team.• He graduated from high school in 1979 and went to college in

California.

New York and Chicago• Obama graduated

form Columbia University in New York.

• He then moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer, helping poor people.

Making History at Harvard

In 1988, he enrolled at Harvard Law School to become a lawyer.

There, Obama was elected the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.

Obama wrote a book about his life. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, was published in 1995.

Into Politics

• Obama moved back to Chicago to work as a lawyer.

• He also taught law at the University of Chicago Law School.

• In 1992, he married another Harvard graduate and lawyer, Michelle Robinson.

The Audacity of Hope• In 2004, Obama gave the keynote address at a Democratic convention.• His speech was called The Audacity of Hope.• His speech won him great praise and acclaim.• He was then elected Senator of Illinois.• Obama started thinking of running for President.

Who Can Be President?• According to the

Constitution, the President of the United States must be:– At least 35 years old.– Born in the United States.– Live in the United States

for at least 14 years.

Obama fulfilled all of these requirements. On February 10, 2007 he announced that he was running for President.

Congratulations!

Barack Obama44th President of the United

States of America.

FUN FACTSabout Barack Obama

• He is the first person born in Hawaii to be elected President.

FUN FACTSabout Barack Obama

• His mother’s full name was Stanley Ann Dunham. Her parents named her “Stanley” because her father wanted a boy

FUN FACTSabout Barack Obama

• In the first grade, he wrote a report for his teacher titled, “I Want to Become President”.

FUN FACTSabout Barack Obama

• On their first date, he and his wife, Michelle, went out for ice cream cones.

FUN FACTSabout Barack Obama

• He likes to play basketball and cards.

FUN FACTSabout Barack Obama

• He is left-handed. There have been 7 left-handed U.S. Presidents. (8 including Obama)

James A. Garfield (1831-1881) 20th; Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) 31st; Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) 33rd; Gerald Ford (1913- ) 38th; Ronald Reagan (1911- ) 40th; George Bush (1924- ) 41st; Bill Clinton (1946- ) 42nd.

The First Family

• Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha.