Obama's Years

By Helen Hudson

A lot happened over the past eight years while Obama was president. Here are a few of the highlights to recognize the changes Obama made to the United States as president and to remember a few of the memorable events that occurred. 

2009

Jan. 20
Over one million people attend the inauguration of America’s first African-American president, Barack Obama.

Feb. 17
Obama signs the $787 billion stimulus bill.
• 1.6 million jobs a year saved or created for four years
• 24 million workers received unemployment insurance
• 15,000 transportation projects
• 3,000 water-quality projects

Dec. 11
Angry Birds hits the app store, and less than a year later, 12 million copies of this game have been downloaded.

2010

March 7
Kathryn Bigelow wins an Oscar for Best Director for her movie, The Hurt Locker, becoming the first woman to have ever won this award.

March 23
The Affordable Care Act, commonly termed as Obamacare, is voted into law and extends health-­insurance coverage to millions of Americans.

May 31
Uber starts a car service in San Francisco.

Aug. 31
Obama announces the conclusion of combat operations in Iraq.

Sept. 23
Blockbuster declares bankruptcy.

2011

May 2
SEAL Team Six kills Osama bin Laden, founder of the militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization called al-Qaeda.

Oct. 5
Steve Jobs, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc., dies.

Dec. 18
The remaining U.S. troops leave Iraq. They will return to Iraq in 2014 to fight Islamic State extremists.

2012

June 15
Obama passes an executive order called DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which
keeps undocumented children who arrived in the U.S. before age 16 from deportation.

Oct. 29
Hurricane Sandy hits New Jersey.

Nov. 6
Obama is re-elected.

Nov. 29
Fast food employees in New York abandon their stations to demand higher pay which begins the fight for a $15 minimum wage.


Dec. 14
Adam Lanza kills 20 six and seven year old children, six staff members, and then himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

2013

April 15
Two bombs explode near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The bombs kill three and harm 264 people.

Oct. 3
Snapchat stories are created.

2014

March 7
Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappears.

April 14
276 girls are abducted in Nigeria by Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group.

Sept. 30
The first Ebola case is diagnosed in the U.S.

Nov. 20
Obama announces executive actions which allow more than 4 million undocumented immigrants to apply for work permits.

2015

Feb. 17
Hamilton opens at the Public Theater.

June 16
Donald Trump announces his candidacy for president.

June 26
Same sex marriage is legalized.

Aug. 30
“As you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president.” -Kanye West at the VMA’s

Nov. 13
ISIS attacks Paris killing 130 people.


Nov. 30
World leaders gather in Paris to create a climate-change treaty. 195 countries agree to lower greenhouse-gas emissions.  

2016

Feb. 1
Zika virus hits South America.

March 30
Brock Turner, former Stanford student, is sentenced to six months in jail after being found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. The victim’s letter to Turner is viewed online 11 million times in four days.

June 7
Hillary Clinton is nominated for president by the Democratic party. She becomes the first woman put forward by a major party for president of the United States.

June 23
The United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union, creating a financial pandemonium.

Aug. 30
Obama reduced the sentences of 325 inmates, upping his total to 673, more than the past ten presidents combined.

Nov. 8
Donald Trump is elected president.

​
2017

Jan. 10
President Obama delivers his farewell address.