Introduction

America, its society and culture is a Western culture. It has been developing for more than two hundred years and long before the United States became a country. Today it is associated with individualism, opportunity, equality, and a place where everything is possibile. America, since its beginnings has been viewed as a Promised Land, Paradise , place where one can fulfill own dreams. According to that it has been attracting people from other parts of the world. As a consequence of the large scale immigration the country of the United States of America became ethnically, racially and culturaly most diversed country in the world. This diversity is metaphorically called a melting pot. According to The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy ( p. 438) is a term expressing the view that immigrants to the United States have been fused or melted into a single people. In other words, heterogeneous society is becoming more homogeneous. Todays American society shows a large racial diversity. Officially, six races has been recognized. It has been estimated that 79% of the whole American population stands for white ethnic group and 13% for black or African Americans. African Americans are the largest racial minority in the United States. The term race can be defined as a group of populations that share some biological characteristics , which characteristics differ this group from other groups of populations according to these characteristics. Despite the racial diversity and big tolerance towards the newcomers, until 1865, America was a slavery society. Slavery was a form of a slavor labor s ince early colonial periods. As a result of the American Revolution ( 1775-1783) all northern states

abolished slavery labor. Slavery came to an end in 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendmend to the Constitution was ratified by the Congress ( December 6, 1865) . America of today is no longer a slavery country. However, voices of the past could still be heard. For many years black residents of the United States of America were tempting towards expressing their history in front of the whole American Nation through writings, music, politics and by showing their individuality. The chance of showing it appeared in Barack Obama as a representative of the Decomocratic Party, and later in choosing him the President of the United States of America. Barack Obama was elected the first African American President on November 4, 2008. The elections took place in the middle of economic and political crisis. Barack Obama became the representative of the Nation. Through his campaign and time of holding the office tried to realize the idea of unity. As he said in his speech A more Perfect Union during the National Democratic Convention in 2004: theres not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; theres the United States of AmericaWe are one people, All of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. In other words, by becoming the Speaker of the Nation, he will be trying enforce the values like individualism of the American Nation, idealism, exceptionality, equality and reviving the idea of American dream, which is stricly associated with the United States of America. Barack Obama in his speeches and writings became the Speaker of the Nation. Although being the representative of African American society he doesnt identify himself as a black or white he is the voice of the American Nation, united in its goal

That is why his life story seems to be so exceptional and inspirational and at the same time so typical for the African American. This is why , after reading his memoir Dreams from my Father; The story of race and inheritance decided to dedicate him my thesis work. In the first C