The year 2008 was a watershed in American politics: Barack Obama, senator from Illinois, garnered enough pledged delegates to become the Democratic nominee for president. The months-long round of primaries and caucuses was marked by a fiercely fought battle between Obama and his main challenger, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. By the beginning of June 2008, Hillary Clinton had suspended her own campaign and endorsed Barack Obama.

To many Americans, Obama seemed to appear from nowhere, although some may remember his galvanizing Keynote Address on July 27, 2004, at the Democratic National Convention. This speech, “The Audacity of Hope” (also the title of Obama’s second book), brought attention to the youthful politician’s deft use of language.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of Barack Obama’s ascendancy to the head of the Democratic presidential aspirants is this: he is the first African-American nominee. At times during the presidential campaign, Obama’s background seemed to overshadow his ideas and achievements, but this significant fact—paralleled, of course, by Hillary Clinton’s status as the first American woman to be considered for the presidency—captivated both the press and the public.

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Hawaii. His mother, Ann Dunham, from Kansas, and his African father, Barack Obama, Sr., of Kenya, met at the University of Hawaii. Their marriage was short-lived—they separated when Barack was two years old, and subsequently divorced. In his book Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1995), Obama explores the difficulties of growing up with a mixed heritage, complicated by the fact that after his father returned to Africa, Barack was raised by his Caucasian mother’s parents.

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