OPINION: Biden’s 50-year legacy

Photo via: U.S. Congress/Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

Joseph R. Biden, the oldest of four siblings, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 20, 1942. He grew up in a working-class family and attended Catholic school, where he was bullied for having a severe stutter. 

“I wanted so badly to prove I was like everybody else,” Biden recalled in his book “Promises to Keep”. His goal to manage his stutter ultimately gave him perseverance and a great sense of determination, qualities that helped him to become class president and that he would keep throughout his life. 

Biden graduated from the University of Delaware in 1965 with a double major in history and political science. One year later, he married his first wife, Neilia Hunter. He graduated from Syracuse Law School in 1968, and had three children in the following years: Beau, Hunter and Naomi. 

After realizing corporate law wasn't for him, Biden became a public defender and was elected to the New Castle County Council. He then ran against Delaware Republican Sen. Caleb Boggs. Biden campaigned for change with the help of his family and friends and emphasized that he was more in touch with the generation than Boggs. One of his political radio ads said, “Joe Biden, he understands what’s happening today.”

Biden's message resonated with voters. At age 29, the underdog defeated Boggs by over 3,000 votes, making him one of the youngest senators in U.S. history. He had to wait until age 30 to take his seat in the Senate. Unfortunately, the celebration did not last long. 

On Dec. 18, 1972, just weeks after Biden’s victory, Neila and the three Biden children were involved in a car accident. A tractor-trailer struck their car and Neila and 13-month-old Naomi were killed, Beau was left with multiple broken bones and Hunter a fractured skull. Biden considered resigning before he had even begun his political career after this tragedy, but, with encouragement from colleagues, he decided to stay in office and was sworn in as Delaware's junior senator on Jan. 5, 1973, from his sons’ hospital room.

During his 36 years in the Senate, Biden made a name for himself and served lead roles on the Foreign Relations Committee and Judiciary Committee. In 1975, he met Jill Jacobs, and they got married two years later. They had a daughter, Ashley, in 1981.

Some of his Senate successes are helping to pass the Brady Bill, which required background checks on most gun purchases and placed a temporary ban on sales of some military-style semi-automatic guns. He also sponsored the Violence Against Women Act. The act made it easier to prosecute sexual assault, domestic violence and other forms of violence against women. Biden has called the law his “proudest legislative accomplishment.” 

Biden had two failed presidential campaigns; however, in 2008, then-Illinois Senator Barack Obama selected him as his running mate. During his vice presidency, some of Biden’s accomplishments included working hard to reduce violence against women, gun violence and playing a large role in the Recovery Act. Biden and Obama developed a strong friendship throughout Obama’s presidency, and, at the end of his administration, Obama surprised Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

After the death of Beau from cancer in 2015, Biden decided not to run for president in 2016. Instead, he and Jill created the Biden Foundation and the Biden Cancer Initiative. However, in 2019, Biden decided it was his time and announced that he was running for president. 

For many, Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 election was the change that our country needed. Biden entered office and was left to clean up the mess left by Trump. He helped us recover from the worst pandemic in modern history, did more than any other president to fight climate change, helped to make history by picking Kamala Harris as his running mate, established the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and did so much more that is swept under the rug. He was handed a country that was falling apart from the Trump presidency and did what he could to restore and rebuild.

He decided to step down and endorsed Kamala Harris in hopes that she would have a better chance than him of defeating Donald Trump. However, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, and we are back to where we started before the Biden presidency. 

Biden devoted 50 years of his life to serving us. He went from one of the youngest senators who campaigned for change and catered toward a new generation to the oldest President whose age was his own worst enemy and ended up tarnishing his legacy. Though he was not perfect, as no president is, he accomplished a great amount for our country.

Biden believes that history will be kind to him. In his Oval Office farewell address, he said, "You know, it will take time to feel the full impact of all we've done together, but the 

seeds are planted, and they'll grow, and they'll bloom for decades to come." Thank you, President Biden, for your 50 years of service.