Running as Presidential Candidate

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The Campaign for Presidential Candidacy

In 2007, Obama ran against Hillary Clinton to become the Presidential Candidate for the Democratic Party.

Popularity

He gained much publicity because in his time as Senator he championed causes which would directly benefit the poorest members of society.
- For example, he opposed the proposal that required photo identification for voting. Obama knew that many of the poorest members of society would not have access to photo identification and therefore would be excluded from voting.
He also visited the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina with ex-presidents Bill Clinton and George H W Bush which gained him more publicity and popularity.

Running against Hillary Clinton

In February 2007, Barack Obama announced that he would run for Presidency on the very same spot that Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous ‘House Divided’ speech in 1858.
Obama ran for Presidential candidate against Hillary Clinton.
Because they were both Democrats, their policies were very similar.
Yet, Barack Obama won the contest.

Reasons for his victory

Many felt that Obama's victory was because he was an exciting, new candidate. Hillary Clinton had already lived in the White House with her husband President Bill Clinton.
Clinton’s campaign was also less effective than Obama's because she failed to mobilise voters and donations for her cause.
Barack Obama used new tactics such as the internet to raise money where Hillary Clinton was more old fashioned and relied on rich donors to make massive financial contributions.

Was Obama 'American enough'?

Hillary Clinton’s team tried to discredit Barack Obama by suggesting he wasn’t ‘American enough’.
This tactic actually backfired on the campaign and lost her much support from black voters and white liberal voters.

1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77

1.1The Thirteenth Amendment

1.1.1The Civil War & The Thirteenth Amendment

1.1.2The Impact of the Civil War

1.1.3Economic, Political & Social Position of Ex-Slaves

1.1.4Political Settlement & Andrew Johnson

1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77

1.2.1The Fourteenth Amendment

1.2.2The Fifteenth Amendment & The Civil Rights Act

1.3The Backlash

1.3.1White Supremacy Groups

1.3.2The End of Reconstruction 1887

2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890

2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases

2.1.1Jim Crow Laws

2.1.2Voting Rights

2.1.3Scientific Racism

2.1.4Civil Rights Cases

2.2Resistance and Migration

2.2.1The Northern States & Black Resistance

2.2.2Early Migration

2.2.3The Great Migration

2.2.4Race Riots

2.2.5Migration Case Study: Harlem

3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41

3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances

3.1.1The Democrat Party & the Anti-Lynching Bill

3.2The New Deal

3.2.1The New Deal

3.2.2The Alphabet Agencies

3.2.3The PWA, WPA & the NYA

3.2.4Benefits

3.2.5Impact of the New Deal & Eleanor Roosevelt

3.2.6Gone With the Wind

3.3The Second World War

3.3.1The Experience of War

3.3.2The Home Front

3.3.3The White Flight

3.3.4Restrictive Covenants

4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68

4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63

4.1.1The Desegregation of Schools

4.1.2The Montgomery Bus Boycott

4.1.3SCLC & Birmingham

4.1.4SNCC

4.1.5CORE

4.2Civil Rights 1964-68

4.2.1Civil Rights Act 1964 & Voting Act 1965

4.2.2Ghettos & Poverty

4.2.31966 - 1968

4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers

4.3.1The Nation of Islam & Malcolm X

4.3.2Divisions in the Civil Rights Movement

4.3.3The Black Panthers

4.4Literature, Film & Television

4.4.1Racial Attitudes in Literature from 1850-2009

4.4.2Racial Attitudes in Film from 1850-2009

4.4.3Racial Attitudes in Television from 1850-2009

5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09

5.1The Late 20th Century

5.1.1Migration Back to the South in the 20th Century

5.1.2The Status of Black People 1968-2009

5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career

5.2.1Barack Obama's Life

5.2.2Senator for Illinois

5.2.3Running as Presidential Candidate

5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory

5.3.1Reasons for Vicotry

5.3.2The Significance of Obama's Victory

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