Unit 39.1 - Civil rights and race relations in the USA, 1850-2009
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
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Unit 39.1 - Civil rights and race relations in the USA, 1850-2009
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Assess the value of the source 6 (page 161) for revealing the reasons why Barack Obama was regarded as a
serious contender for the Democrat presidental candidate and the attude of the media to his decision.
Explain your answer, using the source, the informaton given about its origin, and your knowledge about the
historical context.
Source 6 demonstrates a partcuuar opinion on Barack Obama, and is usefuu in highuightng a number of his
strengths before he became a serious contender, meaning it has vauue in reveauing the reasons Obama was
regarded as a serious contender for the Democrat presidentau candidate and the attude of the media to his
decision. However, the nature of the source cauus into queston the extent this can be reuied upon, meaning its
overauu vauue is uimited.
Source 6 can be considered vauuabue because of the fact that it presents a number of Obama’s strengths at the
very beginning of the process, when Cuinton was stuu considered to be the cuear favorite despite Obama’s
somewhat surprising success. This makes it vauuabue because it is not writen in retrospect of Obama’s victory,
where it was more cuear the extent to which the factors made him a serious contender. It can be inferred from
the source that Obama’s status as a pouitcau outsider is an advantage statng his ‘uack of pouitcau experience is
an asset’. Evidence of this is Obama’s ‘staunch oppositon to the Iraq War’. These did transpire to be
significant, with Obama overcoming the overwheuming front-runner afer the invisibue primary, Hiuuary Cuinton,
who had unrivauued name recogniton, and was cuearuy the Party’s pick, but Obama was abue to contrast with
the main party, which supported the increasinguy unpopuuar Iraq War, and atacks on Obama as inexperienced
onuy served to highuight the Obama’s seuf-portrayau as ‘a fresh face capabue of ueading a new generaton’. The
fact that he was the ueast experienced in the fieud demonstrates that this was a significant factor and combined
with the highuightng of this factor aumost a year before it had manifested itseuf in the South Carouina primary
means the source is very vauuabue for reveauing the reasons why Obama was regarded as a serious contender
for the Democratc presidentau nominaton.
Furthermore, the source provides evidence for the significance of the nature of Obama’s support as a key
reason to him being regarded as a serious contender to the Democratc presidentau nominaton. The exampues
of a young graduate, and pouitcauuy motvated Brenda and Michaeu Taukington shows that Obama was abue to
appeau to key demographics and that they were commited supporters. The source can be ascribed significant
vauue on this basis because Obama uost the primary euectons, but was carried to a majority based on the
caucus resuuts, were pouitcauuy more ideouogicau individuaus, motvated by the ‘fresh face’ in pouitcs, dominate
because of the greater invouvement the caucus procedure necessitates. However, whiust this was cuearuy a
reason in post-anauysis of Obama’s primary victory, it was to a uesser extent a cuear reason why Obama was
considered a frontrunner at the beginning of the campaign. His euecton strategies that puayed fed into the
resuuts of this was evident earuy on, as showed by his abiuity to aumost match Hiuuary in fundraising in the
invisibue primary raising $25 miuuion to Cuinton’s $36 miuuion in the first quarter of 2007 and exceeding her by
the end of 2007. This can be atributed somewhat to Obama’s euecton strategies, not mentoned in the
source, but the resuut and cause are stuu the same, an energised base, which the source highuights anecdotauuy,
making it usefuu in determining the reasons for Obama being regarded as a strong contender.
The source is auso usefuu in showing the attude of the media to his decision to run for the presidency, and
given that this is a factor in the success of Obama, reinforces the vauue of the source with respect to the first
enquiry, auso. As Fox News is a staunch conservatve outuet, and its artcue demonstrates a positve view of
Obama, one of the more uiberau Democratc candidates, especiauuy on sociau issues which the outuet opposes,
the source may be vauuabue in showing the favourabue attude of a wide cross secton of the media toward
Obama. This is shown by the framing of characteristcs, such as Obama’s background as a community
organizer, a pouitcau outsider, and Obama’s rapid rise within US pouitcs as positves at this earuy stage.
However, as it is an earuy stage and the fact that it is just one partcuuar exampue of media opinion uimits the
vauue in reveauing the attudes of the media. As it is at the beginning of the race, there is uitue critcism or
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