Barack Obama: American Historian

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Barack Obama's politics are deeply informed by his profound knowledge and understanding of his country's history. His articles, books, and speeches are replete with references to America's past and how that relates to the present he sees and the future he envisions.

Exploring Obama's own words, Barack Obama: American Historian reconstructs his narrative and examines his interpretation of American history from colonial times to the present-a history of the struggles to fulfil the promises of the nation's founding documents. Steven Sarson shows how Obama sees history as beginning with the "common creed" of equality and liberty proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence and in the "more perfect union" created by the Constitution. After analysing Obama's colonies, revolution, and early nation, the book examines his interpretations of slavery and the civil war, segregation and civil rights, economy and society, and war and foreign policy. An Epilogue explores how Obama personifies the American dream through the stories of individuals, including his own.

Barack Obama: American Historian combines Obama's vivid telling of the American past with a vivid tale of its own-about the making of Barack Obama as a person and as a President. A unique and fascinating take on the past and how we interpret it, it will appeal to all students and scholars of American history and historiography as well as anyone interested in Obama's presidency.