Historical Dictionary of the Barack Obama Administration

Second Edition

Michael J. Pomante II and Scot Schraufnagel

Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States. In a country with a rich history of racial animosities, Obama represents a notable deviation in the trajectory of America’s presidential history. At the close of his second term in office, a survey of the personalities and events associated with his presidency is fitting. In this walk through recent history we will be keen to point out the president’s successes, failures, and challenges. Governing in a society ripe with ideological and partisan polarization, the Obama Administration was surrounded by controversy, much of it manufactured by his opponents but salient nonetheless. This volume will attempt to provide perspective and clarity on the most important individuals and experiences connected to Obama during his eight years in office, but also his early life. Information included in this volume also includes discussion of his transition out of office and events taking place at the beginning of the Donald Trump Administration.

This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Barack Obama Administration contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, including the president, his advisors, his family, his opponents, and his critics, as well as members of Congress, military leaders, and international leaders. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Barack Obama.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 478 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼

978-1-5381-1151-2 • Hardback • April 2018 • $129.00 • (£99.00)

978-1-5381-1152-9 • eBook • April 2018 • $122.50 • (£95.00)

Series: Historical Dictionaries of U.S. Politics and Political Eras

Subjects: Political Science / American Government / Executive Branch, Reference / Dictionaries

Historical Dictionary of the Barack Obama Administration

Second Edition

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States. In a country with a rich history of racial animosities, Obama represents a notable deviation in the trajectory of America’s presidential history. At the close of his second term in office, a survey of the personalities and events associated with his presidency is fitting. In this walk through recent history we will be keen to point out the president’s successes, failures, and challenges. Governing in a society ripe with ideological and partisan polarization, the Obama Administration was surrounded by controversy, much of it manufactured by his opponents but salient nonetheless. This volume will attempt to provide perspective and clarity on the most important individuals and experiences connected to Obama during his eight years in office, but also his early life. Information included in this volume also includes discussion of his transition out of office and events taking place at the beginning of the Donald Trump Administration.

This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Barack Obama Administration contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, including the president, his advisors, his family, his opponents, and his critics, as well as members of Congress, military leaders, and international leaders. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Barack Obama.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 478 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼

978-1-5381-1151-2 • Hardback • April 2018 • $129.00 • (£99.00)

978-1-5381-1152-9 • eBook • April 2018 • $122.50 • (£95.00)

Series: Historical Dictionaries of U.S. Politics and Political Eras

Subjects: Political Science / American Government / Executive Branch, Reference / Dictionaries

Author

Michael J. Pomante II received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Northern Illinois University in 2016. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Tulane University. He is the co-author of research that has been published in American Politics Research.

Scot Schraufnagel is a former Peace Corp volunteer serving in Sierra Leone West Africa; he has a PhD in political science from Florida State University and has been studying the United States Congress and the Presidency for the past 20 years. His research appears in leading political science journals and he is the author of the Historical Dictionary of the United States Congress.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Foreword Jon Woronoff
Preface
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Chronology
Introduction
THE DICTIONARY
Appendixes
A. Barack Obama’s Cabinet
B. Barack Obama’s Presidential Election Victories in Historical Context
C. Barack Obama’s Midterm Election in Historical Context: Contemporary Era
D. Barack Obama’s Executive Orders in Historical Context: Contemporary Era
E. Barack Obama’s Veto Activity in Historical Context: Contemporary Era
F. Public Approval Rating of Barack Obama in Historical Context: Contemporary Era
G. Barack Obama’s Legislative Success in Historical Context: Contemporary Era
Bibliography
About the Authors

Reviews

Pomante (Tulane) and Schraufnagel (Northern Illinois) provide a valuable service to researchers with this expanded version of their historical handbook, published in 2014. It now incorporates President Barack Obama's second term. The benefits of edited volumes in print or electronic formats include the provision of context as well as valuable third-party fact-checking through peer review before publication. In addition to the A–Z entries, readers get a chronology, cross references, and useful appendices on the cabinet, presidential and mid-term election returns (and their analyses), executive orders, veto activities, and Roper Center–sourced public approval ratings. A bibliography, which will grow in time, and black-and-white photographs with descriptive captions join the list of this compendium’s components. Although the evaluation of this period may change, this book provides an essential background of facts and figures. Curiously, other books in this series designate particular presidents' terms as "eras" (e.g., Nixon-Ford, Reagan-Bush, and George W. Bush); 44th's is described as "administration." Obama was a consequential president, and this apparently first complete dictionary on his presidency is an essential contribution to the fields of history and political science.

Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.
— Choice Reviews

Concise and clearly written, the information provided here will be very useful to all those interested in this landmark time in American political history. Academic, school, and public libraries should certainly consider adding this work, either in paper or as an e-book.
— American Reference Books Annual