Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas, three months after his father died in an automobile accident. In high school, he took the name of his step father, Roger Clinton of Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Bill Clinton graduated from Georgetown University and was awarded a Rhodes
Scholarship to Oxford. He received a law degree from Yale in 1973. After
graduation, he returned to Arkansas and taught law at the University of Arkansas
before entering politics. His 1974 campaign for Congress ended in defeat, but
two years later he was elected Arkansas Attorney General.
In 1975, Bill Clinton married Hillary Rodham, whom he had met while a law
student at Yale. In 1980 Chelsea, their only child, was born.
Bill Clinton was elected governor of Arkansas in 1978, but lost a bid for
reelection in 1980. He regained the governorship two years later and served
until 1993. During his 12 years in office, Governor Clinton earned national
recognition for his progressive programs, especially his efforts to improve the
quality of public education.
After a tough primary campaign, Bill Clinton won his party’s nomination and
went on to defeat Republican President George Bush, and independent candidate
Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential race. When President Clinton won reelection
in 1996, he became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a
second term.
Following the early failure of his health care reform initiative, President
Clinton pursued a moderate but progressive domestic agenda. During his tenure,
the welfare system was reformed, the sale of handguns was restricted,
environmental regulations were strengthened, and a massive federal budget
deficit was turned into a surplus.
On the international scene, the Clinton Administration expanded
international trade, intervened militarily to end “ethnic cleansing” in
Bosnia, launched peace and trade initiatives in Africa and the Middle East, and
promoted a framework for peace aimed at ending the strife in Northern Ireland.
In 1998, his relationship with a young White House intern resulted in the
President’s impeachment by the House of Representatives. A trial in the Senate
found the President not guilty of the charges brought against him. President
Clinton apologized for his conduct and vowed to keep working as hard as he could
for the American people. As a result, Bill Clinton left office with historically
high approval ratings for the job he had done as the 42nd President of the
United States.
Inaugural Speech
2nd Inaugural speech
(From: Clinton Library Web Page)
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