William

Jefferson
Clinton
William Jefferson Blythe III
The United States 42nd President was born William
Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946 in Hope,
Arkansas (Source 1).
He was named after his father, a traveling salesman
who died in a car accident three months prior to his
birth (Source 2).
His mother, Virginia Cassidy Blythe, studied to
become a nurse when Bill was 4 years old, and Bill
lived with his grandparents. Bills family stretched
back five generations as Arkansas natives (Source
3).
Virginia remarried to Roger Clinton when Bill was 8
years old. Roger, an abusive alcoholic, was a
dynamic and conflicting part of Bills childhood at
15 Bill threatened Roger that there would be no
more domestic violence in the house. But at 17 Bill
took Clinton as his legal last name, the one the
American people recognize as their president
(Source 4).
Growing Up

The Clintons lived in Hot Springs, Arkansas in a

house without indoor plumbing. His mother and
step-father were oft distracted by local gambling
and mineral spas (Source 5).
Bill developed his own interests, including a life-
long love of music, particularly the saxophone
(Source 6).
Gospel music drew him into the Baptist Church,
and despite a lack of religious family, became a
prominent member of the community (5).
At still-segregated Hot Springs High School,
principle Johnnie Mae Mackey stressed the
importance of public service, and took Clinton
under her wing as a political protg (3).
Meeting
Kennedy
Ever since he was child,
Clinton's mother had told
him that he would some day
be President of the United
States. The Kennedy
handshake left Clinton
determined to fulfill her
prediction (Source 5).
The Influence of Kennedy and King
I didnt know how many people he would shake hands with, and I
wanted to make sure I was one of them. It had a very profound influence
on me, I think that its something I carried with me always. And I was very
fortunate someone took a picture of it and gave it to me so I was always
able to remember it Bill Clinton
As they boarded the bus to leave, Jim Ramstad, now a Congressman
from Minnesota, remembers Bill Clinton made an announcement: I
remember President Clinton turning around then Bill Clinton and
telling all of us that someday he was going to have President Kennedys
job, that someday he was going to be President of the United States
(Source 7).
In 1963, two influential moments in Clinton's life contributed to his decision
to become a public figure The other was listening to Martin Luther King's
1963 I Have a Dream speech (he memorized Dr. King's words) (Source 8).
ABC News, The Day Bill Clinton Met JFK:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/day-bill-clinton-met-jfk-23387874
Law, Politics, and
Vietnam

Clinton graduated from Georgetown University in 1968, and won a

Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford University (3).
Beginning in 1966, Clinton clerked for the U.S. Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, and developed a close relationship with
Senator J. William Fulbright from his native Arkansas. Fulbright helped
instill into Clinton a moral aversion to the Vietnam War, and he
demonstrated against the conflict at Georgetown and Oxford (5).
Selected for the Vietnam War draft while at Oxford, Clinton avoided
active duty by enrolling in the Arkansas Law School ROTC program,
but never attended and instead went back to Oxford (3).
In 1970 Clinton entered Yale Law School, where he graduated in
1973 alongside fellow classmate and romantic interest Hillary
Rodham (2).
Political Trajectory

After Yale, Bill and Hillary moved back to Arkansas, where Bill taught at
the state law school (4).
In 1974, he tried for his first elected office, running as a Democrat for
Congress, but lost in a close race (1).
Clinton won his first election in 1976 as Attorney General of Arkansas,
and his second soon after in 1978 as the youngest Arkansas Governor in
history (3).
He lost reelection in 1980 due largely to lack of experience. Admitting
his mistakes, and promising adaptability and compromise, Clinton
won four consecutive elections and served as Arkansas Governor again
from 1982-1994 (1).
A sign of things to come, Clintons governorship was marked by a
centrist approach, reform for health care, education, and welfare, and
close political collaboration with Hillary (5).
Meanwhile

Bill Clinton and Hillary

Rodham got married
in 1975, and had their
only child, Chelsea, in
1980 (2).
Its the Economy, Stupid

As governor from a small southern state, Clinton kept himself relevant nationally
by chairing the National Governors Association from 1986-87 and heading the
Democratic Leadership Conference in 1991 (4).
Clinton announced his 1992 presidential campaign and later added Al Gore
as his running mate on the promise of a New Covenant between
progressive views (on race, among other things) and an American Dream-type
focus on individual work and economic improvement (5).
His opponent, incumbent President George H.W. Bush, faced a $300 billion
national deficit, even after breaking his promise not to raise taxes. Clinton
aggressively attacked Bush and his predecessor, President Reagan, for the
ineffectiveness of their trickle-down economics, spawning the campaigns
defining slogan: Its the Economy, Stupid (5).
The inclusion of independent candidate Ross Perot helped further draw from
Bushs election pool, and Clinton handily won the election by double Bushs
electoral college votes. Yet he only received 43 percent of the popular vote (2).
The 42 nd Presidency: Foreign Policy

Clinton championed the doctrine of enlargement, increasing

Americas activity in peacekeeping, expanding free trade (through
NAFTA, for example), and promoting democracy while
simultaneously cutting back on risks that could lose American lives or
materials (5).
The United States role as world leader in human rights and
democracy was successful for Clinton in resolving disputes between
Russia and Baltic States, improving the Mexican economy,
facilitating peace talks between Israel and Palestine, and halting
the ethnic cleansing of Albanians by the Serbian government
without the loss of any American life (5).
On the flip side, Clinton was criticized for not taking more risks in
solving the genocide in Rwanda, Haitian political security, and
Somalian warlord struggle (5).
The 42 nd Presidency: Home Front

From the beginning, Clinton sent a message to the nation of whose

president he was everyones through his pursuit of a cabinet
that looked like America (5).
Economically, he entered facing a $290 billion deficit and turned
that into a $124 billion surplus by 1999. He did so by cutting taxes for
working families, eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy, instituting
spending cuts on welfare programs, creating 22 million jobs,
promoting home ownership, and subsidizing education (Source 9).
Other notable legislation included the Violence Against Women
Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the North American Free Trade
Agreement, Dont Ask, Dont Tell, and the Violence Crime Control
and Law Enforcement Act, all of which spanned the political
spectrum and receiving varying degrees of support from Democrats
and Republicans alike (2).
 The 42
Presidency: Republican
nd

Resurgence
Clinton was the first Democratic president to serve two terms since FDR in the
1940s (9).
Despite the conservative nature of some of Clintons economic plan, including
welfare reform, it did not receive a single vote from a Republican in Congress in
1993. While initiatives against crime and NAFTA were also conservative in nature,
Clinton alienated Republicans with tax increases and liberal social policies (5).
Health care reform was a cornerstone of Clintons campaign speech, yet it
ended up being the resounding failure of his presidency. Placing Hillary at the
head of the task force, keeping the bills content secret from the public while
drafting, and avoiding Congress input were major mistakes that doomed
reform and gave Republicans a strong rallying cry against Clinton in the 1994
midterm elections (5).
In 1994, Republicans took both houses of Congress for the first time in forty years,
bolstered by attacks on both Clintons personality and policy. The Gingrich
Revolution pushed Republicans in Congress more toward the right and created
less opportunity for the parties to negotiate across the aisle as partisan divides
grew (5).
The 42 nd Presidency: Scandal

Bill Clinton became the second president ever to be impeached on December

19, 1998, on accounts of perjury and obstruction of justice (2).
Republicans first launched an investigation into investment improprieties on
Clintons part regarding property on the Whitewater River, and Kenneth Star led
a thorough inquiry into the Whitewater scandal (5).
Largely coming up empty on Whitewater, the investigation stalled until a witness
revealed knowledge to Starr about Clintons sexual involvement with a White
House intern, Monica Lewinksy. Interviews with Clinton, Lewinsky, and other
White House officials led to Clinton being charged with perjury and obstruction
of justice in covering up the affair (5).
Clinton admitted to the affair, but maintained that he had not lied. He
apologized to the nation on television, as salacious details about what had
transpired became common knowledge (6).
The Republican-led House impeached him but the Senate did not convict
Clinton, with many Senators arguing that Clintons behavior was inappropriate
but did not constitute high crimes or treason (5).
 After the White House

Clinton maintained strong humanitarian efforts throughout the

globe following his presidency, most notably through the William J.
Clinton Foundation, whose mission is "to alleviate poverty, improve
global health, strengthen economies and protect the environment,
by fostering partnerships among governments, businesses,
nongovernmental organizations and private citizens (3).
Spinoffs of this Foundation include the Clinton Global Initiative, the
Haiti Fund, the Clinton Climate Initiative, and the Clinton Health
Access Initiative (9).
His groups have led efforts to fight obesity, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and
natural disasters in the U.S. and abroad, while also trying to develop
communities through health and economic resources (9).
Clinton Dynasty
Hillary Rodham Clinton served as First Lady for Bill, and subsequently
Senator from New York and Secretary of State under President
Barack Obama (3).
She ran for president in 2008 and 2016, losing the Democratic
nomination to Barack Obama in the former and losing the general
election to Donald Trump in the latter (5).
He was very involved in each of Hillarys campaign efforts, giving
speeches along the campaign trail and fundraising. Some of Bills
presidential policies fell out of favor with liberals and Democrats,
including his stance on crime and welfare reform, while some were
not popular to begin with. Hillary was careful to distance herself from
Bills policies while using his charismatic personality to garner
momentum in the races (5).
Hillarys myriad political successes already established the Clintons
as a political dynasty, but some cited this as a reason against her
election, raising the question of whether political dynasties fall in line
with the American political tradition.
Sources

1. "Bill Clinton Biography." Encyclopedia of World Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 July 2017.
<http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ch-Co/Clinton-Bill.html>.
2, "Bill Clinton." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 02 July 2017.
<http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/bill-clinton>.
3. "Bill Clinton." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 12 Dec. 2016. Web. 02 July 2017.
<https://www.biography.com/people/bill-clinton-9251236>.
4. "William Jefferson Clinton Biography." Clinton House Museum. Clinton House Museum, n.d. Web.
02 July 2017. <http://www.clintonhousemuseum.org/learn/bill-clinton>.
5. "U.S. Presidents / Bill Clinton." Miller Center. University of Virginia Miller Center, n.d. Web. 02 July
2017. <https://millercenter.org/president/clinton>.
6. "William J. Clinton." The White House. The United States Government, 08 Mar. 2017. Web. 02 July
2017. <https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/williamjclinton>.
7. "The Day Bill Clinton Met JFK." ABC News. ABC News Network, n.d. Web. 02 July 2017.
<http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/day-bill-clinton-met-jfk-23387874>.
8. "Bill Clinton Meets President John F. Kennedy." World History Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 July 2017.
<https://worldhistoryproject.org/1963/7/24/bill-clinton-meets-president-john-f-kennedy>.
9. "Arena Profile: President Bill Clinton." The Arena: - President Bill Clinton Bio. Politico, n.d. Web. 02
July 2017. <http://www.politico.com/arena/bio/president_bill_clinton.html>.