Barack Obama Made History: The First Black President of the United States

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Barack Hussein Obama, born August 4, 1961, in Hawaii, was the 44^th president of the United States of America. Soon after graduating from Columbia University and getting a degree from Harvard Law School, he began his political career by becoming a state senator, before moving to a new position in the U.S. Senate. In addition to becoming the first black president of the united states, Barack Obama has numerous prominent achievements that will remain the history of the United States. During his two terms in office, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, Reformed American healthcare, and introduced several acts aimed at improving the economy. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed study of Obama’s positive impact, analyzing the possible underlying causes for the former president’s deeds, and using credible sources for relevant information.

Before focusing on Barack Obama’s achievements as a president of the United States, it might be wise to consider his early years. The future leader of the American nation was born to Ann Dunham and Barack Hussein Obama Sr. in Honolulu, Hawaii. As a child, he had to witness the separation of his parents, when his father moved to Kenya, where he died in a car accident in 1982 (History.com Editors). Following the divorce, Obama’s mother married Lolo Soetoro and took the family to Jakarta, where she worked at the U.S. embassy. After the birth of his half-sister Maya Soetoro in 1970, Obama went back to Hawaii, where he lived with his mother’s parents. Despite the complicated history of his family, Obama was fortunate enough to have the chance to attend Punahou private school, where his mixed race made him a minority (History.com Editors). After graduating, Obama continued his education at Occidental College, before transferring to Columbia University after two years. After graduating with a political science degree, Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black person to occupy the position of editor in Harvard Law Review.

While young Obama was receiving his education, his mother divorced her second husband, and the family was in a challenging financial situation. Despite this, Obama focused all his efforts on studying and developing intellectually, which allowed him to find a writing job for a large corporation in Manhattan. Sometime later, Obama worked as a community organizer in the Developing Communities Project, helping the impoverished parts of Chicago. He helped low-income citizens with housing and other issues (History.com Editors). Obama’s law degree granted him the job in a law firm, where he met his future wife, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson. Several years after the marriage, Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate, where he was a Democrat, and played a vital role in passing some important laws and regulations.

As a state senator, Barack Hussein Obama already pursued many of the same values that would later be at the core of his strategy as a president. His successful projects in providing healthcare to low-income households, as well as other welfare laws, made the state senator popular with the general public. His service was so appreciated that he won the election to the United States Senate in 2004, in the first-ever electoral race between two black candidates (Wallenfeldt). Obama was very vocal in his views that all American people were connected, regardless of their personal and communal differences. The newly elected senator quickly gained prominence in the Democratic party, and his previously unpopular memoir became a bestseller. In 2007, Obama announced his intention to take part in the coming presidential elections and was nominated by his party shortly after.

In his campaign, the future president promised to bring change to the political system of the country, which allowed him to connect with minorities and younger voters. Obama’s opponent John McCain noted that the candidate did not have sufficient experience to lead the United States, to which Obama responded by assigning accomplished politician Joe Biden as his campaign partner and future vice president (Wallenfeldt). Obama harnessed the benefits of his popularity through receiving donations, which helped him fund his campaign. The candidate spent hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising and other efforts to win the support of key states (Wallenfeldt). In the end, it might have been Obama’s calls to stop the war in Iraq and reduce the taxes for lower-income groups that made him win against the harsher McCain, who proposed to continue with the war.

Just by being elected, Barack Hussein Obama has made a lasting impact on American society. An African American occupying the highest position in the country was a symbol of how much society had progressed from the times when racial prejudice was accepted as the norm, and discrimination was a legal and common practice. The American people were proud to live in such a forward-thinking state, but, as always, there were still pressing issues in society that Obama had to face. In 2009, the nation was on the verge of an economic collapse akin to the great depression, but that crisis was averted (Nelson). The country also began withdrawing some troops, despite calls for further military involvement, which could have resulted in more wars.

Looking more closely at Obama’s foreign policy, one can see that the president was an advocate of respectful and non-violent action – a stark contrast from the course of the Bush administration. At the beginning of his term, he famously closed the controversial Guantánamo Bay military detention facility and made efforts to stabilize the United States’ relationship with Russia and the Muslim countries. Although some critics claimed that Obama was escalating some of the existing national security policies, he was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Whether Obama’s impact in this sphere was positive or negative is still a common topic for debate, as some of the president’s statements did not align with his general policy.

Later in the first term, when Obama’s initial popularity was dwindling, he began receiving criticism for the state of the country’s economy. One of his core projects – the health insurance reform was also facing substantial opposition. His promise to make the government more efficient in producing legislative initiatives was not coming true either, as the Republican party sought to block the Democrats’ every move, becoming the “Party of No” (Wallenfeldt). Managing to pass the healthcare reform in these conditions was arguably one of the most spectacular ways he has influenced America.

There were several issues that made the once popular healthcare reform be met with strong opposition from members of the public. The primary concern that other parties had with the proposed legislation was its cost. Due to the fact that the reform required the government to become highly involved in the healthcare sector, it would put a significant strain on the taxpayer. Despite the unfavorable political position that the democratic party has found itself in, Obama continued to push for the passing of the healthcare reform that, among other things, would introduce an alternative to private health insurance options. Although the final version of the act did not include the “public option,” it still addressed crucial points, such as ensuring coverage even in case of pre-existing conditions, as well as subsidies and tax credits for lower-income families and small businesses (Wallenfeldt). The public opinion about the reform was split, as some considered the government’s involvement with such a major segment of the economy to contradict the U.S. constitution, while others appreciated its many benefits.

In politics, there are very few cases when the impact of a major change can be clearly defined as positive or negative, and the healthcare reform is no exception. From the point of view of capitalism, creating a government health insurance option gives the state the ability to directly regulate the price of healthcare services, which contradicts the free-market ideals. However, from the humanistic position, this reform helps people get the help they need, even if they cannot afford to pay for it. It also protects citizens from being left without coverage in situations where they would expect to have it. The reform might exhibit some socialist views, but that does not make its impact inherently negative, as it ultimately helps the American population.

As to the possible reasons why Obama chose to reform American healthcare, one may find them in his worldview and biography. When presenting his idea to legislators, he explained that healthcare is a right and not a privilege, and should be protected along with other rights of American citizens (Wallenfeldt). This view might have originated from Obama’s childhood when he saw his mother live on food stamps for a short period (Wallenfeldt). He might have also developed this opinion in university, where he often spent time reading philosophical works by Nietzsche, among other authors (Wallenfeldt). Finally, when he worked as a community organizer in the impoverished parts of Chicago, Obama likely saw many people struggle to get proper medical attention, as prices of healthcare in the U.S. were rising. Working in a law firm, he could have encountered cases of people fighting to get coverage of pre-existing conditions or disputing some other insurance issues. Most likely, Obama’s determination to provide adequate healthcare for all Americans is affected, to some degree, by all of the factors mentioned above.

In conclusion, Barrack Hussein Obama was one of the most noteworthy presidents in U.S. history. He was a symbol of racial equality and a protector of peace between nations. His greatest project, solving the growing cost problem of American healthcare, manifested itself in various ways throughout his career, to finally evolve into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The healthcare reform had a lasting positive impact on the country, as tax credits allowed more people to gain access to health insurance plans. Obama has developed and implemented this reform because of his belief that healthcare is a right and not a luxury, and should be given to as many people as possible.

Works Cited

History.com Editors. “Barack Obama.”HISTORY, 2020, Web..

Nelson, Michael. “Barack Obama: Impact and Legacy.”Miller Center, Web.

Wallenfeldt, Jeff. “Barack Obama | Biography, Presidency, & Facts.”Britannica, 2020, Web.

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Barack Obama Made History: The First Black President of the United States

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