On November 4, 2008, Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the highest office in a nation built on slave labor. Obama, a 47-year-old senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain with 52.9% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes, drawing the highest voter turnout in 40 years. His victory, just 43 years after the Voting Rights Act, was celebrated worldwide as a milestone in the long struggle for racial equality. In Chicago's Grant Park, where 240,000 supporters gathered, and in living rooms across the country, people wept. Obama's presidency (2009-2017) included the Affordable Care Act, the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the legalization of same-sex marriage. But his election also exposed deep racial divisions: the "birther" conspiracy, the rise of the Tea Party, and the backlash that ultimately contributed to the election of Donald Trump in 2016 revealed that the struggle over American identity was far from settled.
The Election of Barack Obama
Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States — the first African American to hold the office — in an election that symbolized both the progress and unfinished business of the civil rights movement.
Historical Context
November 4, 2008The Election of Barack Obama
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