Clark and Bearman came to the discipline through different paths. Clark studied liberation theology at Union Theological Seminary. Bearman taught sociology and became known for his analysis of adolescent behavior and social networks.
The two first collaborated on the September 11, , Oral History Project. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks in Lower Manhattan, Clark wanted to go out into the field but needed help to quickly organize such a big project. She called on Bearman, and together they trained thirty interviewers, who then fanned out over the city, speaking with eyewitnesses, first responders, Muslims, artists, survivors, and other New Yorkers, getting their stories before official narratives took hold.
In , Clark and Bearman began thinking about a new, large-scale oral history, one that would embrace a broad cross section of American life. But in , as the foundation was thinking about a presidential oral history, the talks resumed. The team will consult with a sixteen-member advisory board of prominent historians, sociologists, literary scholars, and journalists chaired by University President Lee C.
This is a really big and complicated project. Nevins, who subscribed to the great-man theory — the idea that exceptional leaders drive history — lamented that telephone conversations were replacing personal letters, diaries, and memos.
And so he interviewed policymakers, business leaders, publishing moguls, and philanthropists, eliciting information that he felt might be of value to posterity. Eisenhower administration.
The Eisenhower project was not the first of its kind. The presidential oral-history genre began in , under the auspices of the Harry S. Truman Library. The standard presidential oral history consists of hundreds of hours of audio recordings and thousands of pages of transcriptions.
By documenting a presidency through the recollections of cabinet secretaries and labor leaders, senators and speechwriters, attorneys general and ambassadors, the presidential oral history provides elaborate details and rich insider anecdote.
In the John F. In , Obama became just the third Black senator since Reconstruction. In US history there had been only four Black governors, but Barack Hussein Obama, a name that did not portend electoral success, ran for president of all fifty states and won. What were the internal discussions about the mission that killed Osama bin Laden?
An interesting area would be his relationship with Africa and the policy priorities there. And his relationship with the Congressional Black Caucus — people pushing him on matters where they felt he was too moderate. But we have no idea what happens once we get inland. Unemployment is down, median household income is up, and the housing market has largely recovered.
Despite positive economic numbers, many Americans — particularly blue-collar workers — feel the recovery has left them behind. Woods, a Columbia resident who says he goes to the Obama store just about every time he leaves his house. He also was effusive in his praise for President Obama. But when asked about Trump, Woods crouches down and begins looking left and right, exaggerating his movements, glancing skyward as if looking for some unseen surveillance.
But running the country? Give everybody a shot. He might be for the people. During the campaign, Trump floated the idea of banning all Muslim travel to the United States. It became a rallying cry during his charge to the White House. And yet even Obama store co-owner Saleh, a Muslim, seems at least somewhat willing to give Trump a chance. Reporter for Post and Courier-Columbia. Freelance columnist. Charley's dad. Pizza Inn evangelist. Edit Close.
Toggle navigation Menu. Close 1 of 7. Photo by Daniel Hare. A customer buys lottery tickets at the Obama gas station. Author twitter Author email. Can it be that BHO is a complete fraud?? More than 20, students currently attend Columbia. Columbia University proudly claims Obama as a graduate. The university magazine Columbia College Today profiled him as far back as , after he was elected to the U.
Last year, the New York Times wrote about Phil Boerner, who roomed with the future president during his first year at Columbia. Boerner recalled that Obama sometimes wrapped himself in a sleeping bag to keep warm in the chilly apartment they shared, and that some nights he would cook chicken curry for dinner.
In an article published in Columbia College Today , Boerner also wrote:. Occasionally we went to The West End for beers. We both liked taking long walks down Broadway on a Sunday afternoon, and listening to the silence of Central Park after a big snow. I also remember jogging the loop around Central Park with Barack.
Obama even published an article in a school magazine called the Sundial. It imposed regulations to make medical coverage — with no limits due to preexisting conditions — available to all through the expansion of Medicaid optional for states and state or federal insurance exchanges, and provided subsidies to help individuals pay for insurance. Democrats hailed it as a landmark breakthrough. Republicans saw it as Big Government intrusion at its worst and as a policy that worsened the health care system.
Unemployment benefits and payroll tax cuts were later extended. The national economy recovered — more jobs and economic growth, with low interest rates and low inflation — especially compared to other countries that adopted more austere measures. Democrats praised these actions but lamented that had added government spending not been thwarted by Republicans, economic growth and wages would have recovered further.
Republicans criticized Obama for not cutting taxes and government regulations that could have enabled the market to produce a stronger and lasting recovery to benefit the middle class.
Partisan critics disagree on whether this regulation or intervention was too little or too much — or even necessary. And there was more disagreement: Exceeding the initiative taken by George W.
Democrats praised this for sparing jobs and boosting manufacturing, while Republicans were less supportive of the level of government involvement. Republican leaders especially complained about the use of executive orders to impose new regulations.
The politics of international relations that Obama specialized in while a Columbia political science major changed dramatically after the end of the Cold War. His foreign and national security policies have led to heated debates that perhaps began when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, not long after he took office, for his ongoing emphasis on diplomacy. He also created controversy by reaching out to the Muslim world, and with his concerns about nuclear proliferation and climate change.
Obama ended U. A high point was when he successfully ordered the Navy Seals mission that found and killed Osama bin Laden in retaliation for the terrorist attacks. Obama stood fast, emphasizing the need for a political solution in the region based on the American experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was severely criticized for not providing sufficient arms to the Syrian rebels whom the U.
The administration succeeded in helping topple — leading to the killing of — Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, but this produced conflict and instability in Libya, where U. Ambassador J. There was vehement, and especially partisan, disagreement over the ending of tight and effective sanctions against Iran and the freeing of Iranian funds held by the U. The U. Consumers also benefitted greatly from a sharp drop in the price of gasoline.
On the other hand, this development on the energy front led to further partisan debates about environmental protection regulation — including conflict over the use of hydraulic fracking, which had greatly expanded production.
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