Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. has become the 46th President of the United States. He is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20, 2021. Joe Biden has a lot of work to do in this country. The pandemic and economic crisis has fallen into his hands. The spotlight has been placed on Biden over the past few months. Many people have turned to him as a source of hope, as a light at the end of the tunnel. The citizens of the United States are looking to President-elect Biden not only to end the pandemic, but to also jump-start the economy as well.  However, many people do not know about his background. They do not know about his early life and the ups and downs throughout his life. They will soon get to know Joe Biden better when he reports to the White House in January with his wife, Jill.

Joe Biden was born on November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Joe Biden Sr. and Catherine Finnegan. He and his family eventually moved to Claymont, Delaware when Biden was still a young boy. He has three siblings – Francis, James and Valerie. Joe and his family are proud Catholics. He will become the second Catholic President in United States history after John F. Kennedy. Biden attended a few different Catholic schools during his childhood. He attended Archmere Academy High School where he was class president and a member of the football team. He graduated from the University of Delaware in 1965 and later from Syracuse University. Between the two schools, he accumulated a law degree and majored in both history and the science of politics. Biden had a tough time in school because of the actions of other people. Biden has a stutter. He tried the best he could in school. However, other children his age decided to bully him because of it. He did not let this get him down. He got married in 1966 to Neilia Hunter. They had three children – Beau, Naomi and Hunter. Biden’s career started off as a member of a council near Wilmington, Delaware. A few years later, Biden decided to become involved in politics on a national level. He ran for the Senate. He was very successful in his endeavor, defeating J. Caleb Boggs and becoming a member of the Senate at the age of 29. This victory made Biden one of the youngest candidates ever to win a Senate race.

Biden was all ready to begin his career as a politician. He was settled in and ready to get to work. However, two weeks later, a disastrous event occurred. Biden’s wife, Neilia, was in a car accident. She was driving when a truck hit her car. She had their three children in the car with her. The crash proved to be fatal. Biden’s wife and daughter both died in the tragic accident. Biden was devastated after the deadly crash. Just a few weeks prior, he and his family were celebrating his successful Senate run. Now, his wife and daughter were both dead. The death of his wife and daughter changed Biden’s life forever. Instead of commuting to work the usual way, Biden took the train to work. He did this because he did not want to compromise time spent with his children. Their mother had just died and they were very upset. Biden wanted to be a source of comfort for his devastated children. This was seen as a selfless act by many during this time. Many people in politics were happy that Biden was taking the time to put his family first. Biden was elected for 6 consecutive terms. In 1977, Biden married Jill Jacobs, a teacher. They had one child together, Ashley. Biden was very popular in the Senate. He became involved with the wars going on in Iraq and worked to help solve climate issues. Biden decided to run for President in 1987. He had to drop out of the race before Election Day because he was accused of taking ideas from other candidates and using them for his own. Shortly after, Biden suffered a brain injury. This sidelined him for a good amount of time. This was not how Biden wanted his first run for the Presidency to end.

Joe Biden decided to try and run for President again many years later. His next run for President was in 2008. He was going up against Barack Obama. Biden ended up dropping out of the race again. He felt that he had not accumulated enough votes to seriously consider taking over the Oval Office. However, his efforts were not in vain. Barack Obama became the President of the United States and nominated Joe Biden to be his Vice President. Biden served 2 terms for a total of 8 years in office. This proved to be very successful for Biden and Obama. Many laws were passed during the Obama administration that Biden had a direct say in. For example, Biden put a lot of money towards transportation and infrastructure funding. He also worked with United States military efforts in countries like Iraq. After his time serving the country as Vice President, Biden seriously considered running for President again. Tragically, his son, Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, devastating Biden and forgoing a run for the Presidency in 2016. However, it did not deter him from running for President in 2020 against Donald Trump. Biden cited on the campaign trail that we are in a “battle for the soul of this nation.”

Joe Biden overcame many obstacles to get to where he is today. He suffered the loss of his wife, daughter and son. He also had to go through many failed election runs. However, Joe Biden remained patient. He continued to do what he loved most. He has reached out to many people over the years, often giving out his personal phone number to people who are going through challenging times. He has become an inspiration to all people who are born with a stutter. He has shown that he is a selfless person who is always willing to put his family first. Above all, he has shown that he is ready to be the next president of the United States. As Joe Biden once said, “Fear never builds the future, but hope does.” Let us use his words to rise up as a nation and come together as one united country.