The Presidency of Barack Obama

There are many pictures and

diagrams in this presentation.

Yet, you have a set of notes as

depicted to the right.

Whenever a slide comes up

with the title that matches your

note taking guide, that is when

you copy down the notes. On

the presentation, the sentence

will be underlined. It will be

blank on your note sheet.

Simply fill in the blanks with the

matching lines.

E. America Enters World War

II (1945-Present)

g. Analyze the origins of the

Cold War, foreign policy

developments, and major

events of the administrations

from Truman to present

2.Changes at Home

a. Analyze major domestic issues and

responses of the administrations from

Truman to present

e. Identify the major contemporary social,

environmental, and political issues (e.g.,

immigration, global warming, terrorism), the

groups involved, and the controversies

engendered by those issues

f. Assess increasing global interdependence,

the potential for conflict, and the U.S. role in

world events in the present and future

The Rise of Barack Obama

-In 2004, Barack Obama’s landslide victory in the

Illinois Senate Election made him a very popular

figure in the Democratic Party.

-That year, at the Democratic National Convention,

Obama gave the keynote speech and his popularity

increased.

-History was made, in 2008, when the Democrats

nominated Obama as the first African American to

run as a Presidential candidate in a major political

party. Joe Biden, a Senator from Pennsylvania,

became his Vice Presidential running mate.

At the Democratic National Convention, in Denver

Colorado, Obama accepted the Democrats’ nomination

to run for President in the 2008 Election.

The Election of 2008

-George W. Bush had completed two terms and

could not run again. The Republicans nominated

John McCain, a Senator from Arizona.

-McCain had a long political career and was a war

hero. He was a prisoner of war in the Vietnam

War for six years. As his running mate, John

McCain chose Sarah Palin, the governor of

Alaska.

-Obama won the Election of 2008 and became

the first African American President in the history

of the USA.

In the Election of 2008, Barack Obama and Joe Biden faced

off against John McCain and Sarah Palin.

The Great Recession: 2007-2009

-By 2008, Before Obama took office, the economy took a

drastic downturn. Many people lost their homes and banking

firms faced bankruptcy. By January of 2009, unemployment

topped 7.2%. The highest unemployment rate during this era

reached around 10%.

-Before leaving office, George W. Bush, going against

traditional Republican economic policy, supported using

taxpayer money to bail out various banks.

-Obama continued Bush’s policy and also supported the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund

infrastructure, education, and other programs. By 2015,

unemployment had fallen to 5.7%. Yet, other economic traits

of the USA were still criticized by many, such as the growing

national debt.

The Government and Medical Insurance

-Before Obama, the USA’s medical field used a

great deal of capitalism. By in large, people had to

purchase insurance or achieve jobs that provided it,

if they wanted to use it.

-There were some government structured programs

like Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the

poor. Yet, most did not qualify for these.

-President Obama asserted the government should

play a greater role in how insurance operated to

ensure more Americans had access to healthcare.

He asserted the past system left too many

uninsured.

Obamacare

-In order to get the government more involved in managing

how insurance operated, Obama supported the passing of the

Affordable Care Act of 2010, dubbed Obamacare by the

media.

-The law required insurance companies to cover all applicants

with a set of minimum standards and to offer the same prices,

regardless of gender and even if the applicant had a

preexisting condition concerning a past health problem or

illness. It also mandated that citizens buy insurance or face a

tax penalty.

-Many Liberals praised these efforts for offering insurance to

those who did not have it. Many Conservatives argued the

government was creating an expensive, massive bureaucracy

that would damage the high quality of medical services present

in the USA.

The Tea Party Challenges Obama

-The national debt had topped $10 Trillion under

George W. Bush and, by 2015, had topped $16

Trillion under Obama.

-Within the Republican Party, many expressed

concern about Obama’s actions. They asserted

Obamacare and other measures increased

government spending and grew the national debt.

-A similar Conservative movement, called The Tea

Party, sought to reduce the size of the

government by cutting government funded

programs and reducing taxes.

In 2009, The Tea Party movement began to gain popularity in

Conservative politics. They opposed many of the economic policies of

President Obama, including Obamacare. They asserted that raising taxes

and increasing the deficit would damage the country.

Occupy Wall Street

-A common question in politics is this: Should the government

reduce taxes to encourage citizens to spend more money on

goods and services or increase taxes to fund and manage

various social programs?

-In this era, many protestors took to the streets of various

cities in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Protestors

camped out and refused to leave various areas. Unlike the

Tea Party movement, they were protesting against income

inequality between big businesses and the common people.

Many in this group believed the rich were not paying their fair

share of taxes.

-They claimed 99% of people struggled economically, while

1% were very wealthy. Many protestors occupied areas

around the nation, such as New York’s financial district.

Starting in 2011, many protestors took the streets to occupy Wall Street

and other urban areas. Their concerns were rooted in the assertion that

the 1% of the wealthiest citizens were thriving while. the 99% were

struggling economically.

During Obama’s Presidency, on the Liberal side of the political spectrum, many protested the income inequality in which 1% of the

nation controlled a vast amount of the nation’s wealth, in the Occupy Wall Street Movement. On the Conservative side of the political

spectrum, many in the Tea Party Movement protested against the large government spending of the Obama administration.

The following is a recap concerning the

hostilities between the terrorist, Osama Bin

Laden, and the United States. You do not

have to take notes again until the slide comes

up that looks like this.

Just pay attention for these slides until the notes begin again.

.From the 1950s to the late 1980s, the Russian USSR was the chief military

enemy of the USA. When the USSR invaded Afghanistan, the USA backed

extremists to stand against the spread of the USSR.

Afghanistan

When Muslim extremists rebelled in Afghanistan, against the

Soviet influence in their nation, the USA initially supported

them, since both groups stood opposed to the Soviet Union..

The USA and extremists, like Osama bin Laden, worked together to keep

the USSR from controlling Afghanistan. Ironically and tragically, years

later, in 2001, Osama Bin Laden led an attack on the USA, despite the

USA’s help in Afghanistan to keep the USSR out of the region.

The Middle East possesses a large amount of the world’s oil supplies.

In August of 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait to takeover Kuwait’s oil fields. President George

H.W. Bush formed an alliance to challenge this move and remove Iraq from Kuwait. This

led to the Gulf War in which the USA and many allies forced Iraq out of Kuwait.

Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq, led his nation to invade Kuwait to

control Kuwait’s oil fields. This initiated The Gulf War. The USA, led

by George H.W. Bush, led an alliance to force Iraq out of Kuwait

and help Kuwait maintain its independence.

During the Gulf War, Bin Laden, a leader in Al-Qaeda did not want the USA

to come to Saudi Arabia to fight against Iraq. Bin Laden was NOT an ally

of Saddam. He wanted to fight Saddam without the USA’s help and his

extremism taught that people who did not practice his religion should not

be in Saudi Arabia, home of Mecca, a holy site in Islam. After the USA did

arrive, Bin Laden began plotting terror attacks against the USA.

.

While Clinton was President, Al-Qaeda set off a car

bomb in the World Trade Center (1993), attacked

various embassies of the USA in Africa (1998), and

detonated a bomb beside the USS Cole (2000).

Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda initiated attacks on New York and

Washington D.C. on 9/11/2001. Several of his followers hijacked and

crashed planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Bin

Laden’s radical ideology wickedly targeted any who

disagreed with his extremist views.

After the tragic events of 9/11/2001, President George W. Bush initiated military attacks on Al Qaeda and the group harboring them in Afghanistan, The Taliban. Yet, while Bush was President, the USA never

found Osama Bin Laden..

In 2003, when Saddam Hussein refused to allow the UN to inspect his

nation for Weapons of Mass Destruction, the USA invaded Iraq.

Remember, Saddam and Bin Laden were NOT ALLIES. Iraq and

Afghanistan were two different military engagements

Saddam’s Iraqi government was quickly

toppled in the 2003 USA led invasion of Iraq.

On 12/13/2003, Saddam was found hiding in a make

shift hole in the ground. He was put on trial and

executed on 12/30/2006 for various crimes.

During the two terms of George W. Bush, the USA

initiated military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

These conflicts persisted through both terms.

Now, you are

returning to the note

taking guide.

Prepare to write

notes again.

Obama, Iraq, and Afghanistan

-When running for President, Obama asserted that he

would reduce the USA’s presence in Iraq and focus

the military on Afghanistan, while also seeking to

reduce the USA’s presence there as well, when the

Afghanis were trained to defend themselves.

-On May 2nd, 2011, Obama ordered a group of Navy

Seals to enter into Pakistan, where Bin Laden had

been located, to capture or kill the mastermind of the

terror attacks of 9/11/2001.

-While one helicopter crashed, all the Navy Seals

survived and Osama Bin Laden was shot and killed

by the Navy Seal team.

Bin Laden had fled Afghanistan and was

hiding in a compound in neighboring

Pakistan.

Once the USA established credible data that Bin Laden was

found in the compound, President Obama ordered Navy

Seals to storm the compound and capture or kill Bin Laden.

Diagram of the compound in Pakistan that

Bin Laden was hiding in.

President Obama and his staff were able to see the mission

to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden in real time with cameras

connected to drones flying above the compound.

“Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the

world that the United States has conducted an operation

that killed Osama bin Laden…We give thanks for the men

who carried out this operation...Finally, let me say to the

families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never

forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to

see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another

attack on our shores…today's achievement is a testament

to the greatness of our country and the determination of

the American people.” – President Barack Obama

The Second Term of Obama

-In 2011, Obama initiated a full pull out from Iraq by the

USA Military. The USA kept a small presence there of

those that trained locals. By 2014, the USA ended

operations in Afghanistan as well, except for a small

remaining force.

-Some asserted it was good for the USA to cease the

conflict in Iraq because the war had cost thousands of

American lives and was massively expensive. Others

asserted that the USA leaving Iraq would create a

vacuum in which terrorists would try to take over Iraq.

-Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney in

the Election of 2012. His policies, including Obamacare

and his military strategies, moved forward.

In the Election of 2012, Barack Obama and Joe Biden faced

off against Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

Terrorism and ISIS

-In the midst of the Civil War in Syria during 2013, the terrorist

group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

began to gain a strong hold.

-The group invaded Iraq and began to claim territory. They

asserted that their group formed an Islamic Caliphate, with

their leader being the self-declared ruler of the Islamic world.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a.k.a. Amir al-Mu'minin, a.k.a. Caliph

Ibrahim, claimed to be this Caliphate.

-Leaders in the USA government, including Obama, asserted

ISIS in no way represented the authentic religion of Islam.

ISIS pursued horrific atrocities of murder, torture, beheadings,

and crucifixions as they gained ground in Syria and Iraq. The

USA initiated air strikes against ISIS and Obama asserted that

ISIS would be defeated and their spree of terrorism would end.

The group, ISIS,

claimed that the

terrorist Abu Bakr al-

Baghdadi,

a.k.a. Amir al-

Mu'minin, a.k.a.

Caliph Ibrahim, was

the Caliphate of their

new state as they

used ruthless tactics

of torture, terrorism,

and murder to

control areas in Iraq

and Syria.

In places like Syria and Iraq, ISIS began to take over areas in the Middle East.

ISIS was able to gain a massive following in the

midst of Syria’s Civil War. The terrorist group then

moved into Iraq to control various territories.

Obama and Immigration Reform

-By 2014, the USA had experienced massive immigration

from Mexico and other areas. Political leaders debated

how the USA should address the legal status of these

individuals.

-Obama wanted Congress to reform immigration policies to

give legal status to many of these immigrants. After

Congress failed to pass a reform bill, he issued an

executive order to give assistance to many of these

immigrants, such as parents of US citizens, to stay in the

USA without being deported.

-Over three million immigrants qualified for the deferrals

that Obama issued with his executive order.

Mexico is the largest source country of

immigration to the USA.

THE

END

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