The Obama Movement: How (And Why) Young People Fueled An Unlikely Campaign and Changed America - Softcover

IN THE MONTHS LEADING UP TO THE IOWA CAUCUSES, most pundits and political experts scoffed at the idea that young voters would play a significant role in Barack Obama’s bid for President. Yet just months later, as Obama won primary after primary with the help of unprecedented youth turnout, the conventional wisdom was turned on its head. Not since the Kennedys in the 1960s had a politician so energized young people in America. The difference was that this new generation of “Millennials” could mobilize through technology and online networking in ways unimaginable to previous campaigns. Within weeks of Obama’s presidential announcement, online groups swelled into the hundreds of thousands, creative videos went viral on YouTube, and interest translated into record-setting donations and massive turnouts across the country. The Obama Movement captures the energy and idealism of a grassroots movement that swept the nation and made history. In addition to the twenty-five personal stories that comprised the first edition, this fully updated book includes a new introduction and a detailed narration of the campaign as it unfolded, from Iowa to the nomination.

JOSEPH VOGEL is the author of several books, including James Baldwin and the 1980s, This Thing Called Life: Prince, Race, Sex, Religion, and Music and Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson. He was the founder and director of the national grassroots organization, Barack the Youth Vote.