2008 Election Affected African American History

Philadelphia, March 2008. Neither that city nor year suggests a crucial event in American racial history. It’s not Birmingham in 1961, or Washington, D.C. in 1963. However, on March 18, 2008, at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon-to-be President Barack Obama, a black man with an African father, took the stage and delivered a speech that would paint the racial landscape of his historic presidency. In his speech, Obama welds three distinctive rhetorical tactics to support his overarching argument that unity is compulsory in this country to produce racial equality. First, he opens with a personal and historical background to highlight the kairotic moment and exigence present, then appeals to pathos through multiple examples of racial injustice to indicate the necessity of such change, and finally uses his appeals to ethos to suggest, but not legislate, modes of change for black and white Americans. The speech was met with profound success: pundits from both the right and the left praised his bravery and oration, while, later that year, Obama defeated John McCain in a landslide victory to secure the presidency. To many, this speech was both a rhetorical and political turning point in the 2008 presidential campaign.

This inaugural speech marked the beginning of the second term of Barack Obama as president of the United States of America. It was delivered at United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2013. The event followed the presidential election in the United States and it was very important all over the world, about a million of people gathered outside the Capitol to witness the president's words and millions more from around the world watched him on television (Staff). For first time, a president talked about same sex marriage and gay rights, he also talked about divisive issues such as reform of immigration policies, stopping climate change and preserving a social welfare safety net. Obama showed a progressive and liberal agenda, focused on equal rights and possibilities for all the citizens. The theme of the speech was “Faith in America's Future,” (Caldwell) and he successfully used various rhetorical techniques and resources to influence the audience.

President Obama came into office in the aftermath of the disastrous foreign policy record of the Bush administration. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 had served as a “switchman,” leading to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Bush administration exercised unilateral use of force and reluctance to engage the international community. As a result global elites and publics viewed the US unfavorably. The US economy was negatively affected by the costs of the wars coupled with the financial crisis of 2007. It was this environment that defined the contours of the election campaign of 2008. Obama campaigned on the idea of change, which represented a regeneration of America through domestic public policy reform and a return to multilateralism in foreign policy. Both domestic and international publics and elites were galvanized by Obama’s message.

In order to move forward with anything in life it requires leaving the past behind. This is essential to restoration and growth in all aspects of life. With growth and restoration doors can be opened. Not only can that result in the idea of change but actually show evidence of it. But this act cannot be done alone. It requires more than one to stand together to complete this challenge. With voices heard and actions done, Senator Barack Obama believes that this can be accomplished while giving his speech “A More Perfect Union”. Obama argues that the problems we have today are from the past. He states they still remain because we allow them to control us and the world we live. In doing this he reminds us that this can be

Similar to Bush, Barrack Obama’s inaugural speech considers the American people a crucial force within democracy that must be nurtured and encouraged to use their good will to create a more balanced, enriched nation. In a time when international relations were causing uncertainty at best, Obama looked to the theme of the American mission greatly during his speech. Being the first non-Caucasian president, there was a

America “The land of the free and the home of the brave”. This was confirmed When Obama won the election and became the first African-American president of the United States in 2009. It gave hope to all minorities that as long as you work hard and educate yourself in America all things are possible. As an African American man was elected president despite America’s racial history of oppression. Such event promoted a sense of acceptance, fairness, and diversity. In America all things were possible. However, many people were unhappy about having an African American president and criticized all things he did including the origin of his name. Recently American went in the opposite direction as our current president believes that minorities are just a burden to society. He initially promoted division in the country by stereotyping certain minority groups. Major stakeholders are our politicians running our current government who promote their white agenda. Also, minorities who frequently

Many people would never have thought to see the day in which an African American would become President. The man chosen to make a difference would be Barack Obama, senator of Illinois. In his presidential campaign of 2008, Senator Obama gave an impactful speech, known as “A More Perfect Union”, to the country. His purpose was to widen the race divide that the nation as a whole has been avoiding for years. In his address, senator Obama uses parallelism, an urgent tone, and his purpose to his effective speech.

There were many issues Obama had to handle when he first took office as President. One was the economy which the country was suffering in a recession. Democrats defended Obama arguing that it was under President Bush that the economy was so terrible while Republicans argued that Obama had not done enough to fix the economy. Republicans also criticized Obama for being passive and apologetic with international relations with the Middle East and Russia. Obama and the Democrats did argue however that Obama’s Health Care plan would bring

President Obama’s victory speech and Martine Luther King’s speech are two of the most famous discourses that everybody is discussing today. The speeches are representation of racial progression, which starts from the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement to the election of the first black president in the American history. Both speeches are a symbol of hope and a new start of the upcoming changes. In fact, both speeches called for unity and inclusion to achieve the American dream. Furthermore, both occasions had loud voices echo not only in the United State, but also in the global level. Despite the similarity of Obama’s and King’s speeches in the persuasive and inspirational tones, their goals were for different purposes and audience, also the effects on the audience were different.

The election of President Obama marks the most noteworthy political accomplishment for African Americans in the United States during the post-civil rights revolution, thus bringing about a change in the country’s social and political landscape that was steeped in racial discrimination since the founding of this great nation. Because social and political conditions are subject to constant change, President Obama’s

When president Obama first announced his candidacy for office in 2007 he said, “In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?” Obama promised hope and a future to Americans. The Obama Administration has dedicated both of its terms of presidency to restore or reinforce existing loopholes in various areas of the country such as: economy, unemployment rate, environmental policies, immigration policies, and national security. However, the Obama presidency has been more restorative than transformative.

Different candidates often have different goals. In 2012, the candidates for the presidential election had different goals. Barack Obama's goals were to improve all citizen healthcare through a organization called Obamacare. However, the republican party was opossed to a democratic healthcare system.

Barack Obama won office on the slogan “Change We Can Believe In”. This notion was one of the refreshing reasons why most American’s voted for him. The nation wanted a change. It was growing tired of war. It was tired of political corruption. The nation wanted a president that was for the people. This reality soon began to come into question once he was elected. Obama immediately sought after healthcare reform. The result being the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare). The buildup of this law caused a lot of difficulties between Congress and the president as he sought mostly to do everything on his own, authorizing funds to be spent on its behalf, which was the right of Congress only. Furthermore, he campaigned

As the presidential race comes close to the primary it will mean an end for Obama’s term. In a recent interview, he asked the question that most American had on their mind. Which was if he could would he yearn for a third term, to which he responded “no because he's confident that things are the lot better in the United States than when he came into office’. In fact is true while in office he’s done so much good just like he promised that he would, for example, decreasing unemployment rate, and increasing more jobs and countless other examples. But where no stranger to the fact that there’s still more work to be done in the world and he acknowledge that maybe the next person that he hands the key will hope that they can do as much as possible to help this country.

In 2008, still withered by the greatest economic downturn in nearly a century and embroiled in two costly and seemingly unending wars, the citizens of the United States of America were in desperate need of a beacon of hope. However, as the new year was ushered in, so was the chance at a new start. In January 2009, the first African American president, Barack Obama took his oath and delivered his inaugural address, “A New Era of Responsibility.” In this speech, President Obama, in an attempt to unify the nation under a common idea, echoed countless former presidents in his description of the ideal American. He reminds the audience of their common roots and history by noting the great accomplishments of our founding fathers and the undeniable backing of the United States by God. As a result, his address is exceedingly nationalistic. However, his explicit descriptions of the American people as heroes are undermined by his implicit description of the American as one who cannot accept responsibility for shortcomings.