US Presidents Seek Broader Ties to Africa
June 28, 2013
President Barack Obama is on a three-nation visit to Africa designed to reinvigorate America’s relationship with the continent. Obama is following in the footsteps of recent U.S. presidents who have focused on Africa, even after leaving office
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Obama’s trip to Africa is the latest in a list of visits by American presidents going back 70 years.
Allan Lichtman is a presidential historian and professor at American University.
“So by going to Africa, presidents demonstrate that Africa is not forgotten; that the African people and the African nations are important to the American people and to American policy makers,” he said.
While many presidential visits have focused on humanitarian aid, Obama is focusing on trade, investment and democracy.
Jennifer Cooke of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said Obama is looking to the future.
“Moving beyond some of that long-time commitment on humanitarian issues to a much more upbeat and forward looking engagement that a lot of young people in Africa are looking for,” said Cooke.
President Franklin Roosevelt made trips to North Africa during World War II to meet with allies, including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
In 1943 the leaders met in Casablanca and later that year in Cairo to discuss strategy for the wars in Europe and the Pacific.
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