Barack Obama Elected
On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama, a Democratic senator from Illinois, won the presidential election of the United States, becoming the first African American elected to the nation's highest office. His victory was a landmark in a country whose history includes slavery, segregation, and a long struggle over voting and civil rights. It also came at a moment of acute national anxiety, with two wars under way and the worst financial crisis in decades unfolding.
Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 to a Kenyan father and a mother from Kansas. He studied at Columbia University and Harvard Law School, worked as a community organizer in Chicago, and taught constitutional law. After serving in the Illinois state senate, he rose to national attention with a widely praised speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and was elected to the U.S. Senate that same year. He opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a stance that helped distinguish him from rivals in the Democratic primaries.
He announced his candidacy in February 2007 and faced Senator Hillary Clinton in a long, closely fought contest for the nomination, which he secured in the summer of 2008. His campaign emphasized change and hope, drew large crowds, and made pioneering use of online organizing and small-dollar fundraising. The Republican nominee was Senator John McCain of Arizona, a Vietnam War veteran, who chose Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Obama selected Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.
The campaign was transformed in September 2008 when the collapse of major financial institutions, including Lehman Brothers, deepened a global economic crisis. Voters' concerns shifted heavily toward the economy, which most analysts consider to have helped Obama. He won about 53 percent of the popular vote and a decisive majority in the Electoral College, carrying several states that had recently favored Republicans, such as Virginia, Indiana, and North Carolina. Turnout was high, particularly among younger and Black voters.
Obama took office in January 2009 and served two terms. His administration's early years were dominated by economic recovery measures and the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which expanded health insurance coverage and became a lasting source of political conflict. Some commentators at the time spoke of a "post-racial" America, a notion many historians and critics later challenged, pointing to continuing racial disparities and polarized politics. Whatever one's view of his policies, the 2008 election remains a powerful symbol of changing possibilities in American public life.