★ In this story 03
In high school, he took his stepfather’s surname, which is why we know him as Bill Clinton today.
Early Years
The future president graduated from Georgetown University in 1968 and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. In 1973, he graduated from Yale University with a law degree and returned to his home state to teach law at the University of Arkansas. While in college, he met Hillary Rodham, whom he married in 1975.
Politics
In 1976, Bill Clinton became the state’s attorney general at the age of 30. In 1978, he was elected governor of Arkansas. He lost his re-election bid in 1980 but was once again elected in 1982. His years in office were noted for progressive programs, especially his determination to improve public education. Still, some of his constituents felt he was too liberal.
President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton won the Democratic nomination and went on to defeat Republican President George H.W. Bush and independent candidate Ross Perot in 1992. The Cold War had recently ended, but people were still suffering from a recession that began in the late 1980s. Between 1980 and 1994, there was a banking crisis that saw more than 1,600 banks close or in need of financial assistance.
During the first two years in the Oval Office, Clinton concentrated on health care reform, the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and the federal budget. The trade agreement was signed in 1992 and started on Jan. 1, 1994. It lifted tariffs on the majority of goods produced by those nations. However, in 1994, the Republicans won a majority in both houses of Congress, the first time in 40 years.
Since Republicans had control, Bill Clinton tried to become more moderate in his politics, and, in 1996, he won re-election, defeating Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole. He became the first Democrat to win a second term since President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR).
Clinton turned his attention to foreign policy and backed NATO bombing in Bosnia to stop ethnic cleansing. He also approved the bombing of Iraq to prevent Saddam Hussein from using use weapons of mass destruction, expanded international trade, and worked toward peace in Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Ireland.
When Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, he vowed to provide “the most ethical administration in history.” However, in 1998, Clinton lied under oath, saying he had not had an intimate relationship with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. He later apologized for telling the falsehood, but calls came that he should resign or be impeached. The House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice, but, in 1999, the Senate voted to acquit Clinton.
Clinton became the second president to be impeached; the first was Andrew Johnson in 1868. President Donald Trump became the third in 2019 and then again in 2021.
After apologizing, Clinton promised to keep working as hard as he could for the American people. Despite failing on his health care reform, he had many accomplishments, including creating 22 million jobs, the most ever under a single administration, according to a White House list of achievements. He raised education standards and increased school choice, connected 95% of schools to the internet, and the crime rate was the lowest in 26 years. Some other achievements include the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act, smallest welfare rolls in 32 years, lowest poverty rate in 20 years, and the deactivation of more than 1,700 nuclear warheads in the former Soviet Union.
Try a quiz based on this article
William Jefferson Blythe (Clinton) III, America’s 42nd president, was born on Aug. 19, 1946, in what US state?
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Arkansas.
In 1976, to kick off his political career, Bill Clinton, at the age of 30, became a(n) _______ in his home state.
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Attorney General.
Which independent candidate ran against Bill Clinton in the 1992 election?
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Ross Perot.
During his first two years as president, Bill Clinton focused on health care reform, the federal budget, and the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and:
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Mexico.
The last Democratic president before Bill Clinton to be re-elected for a second term was:
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Franklin D. Roosevelt.
While shifting his focus to foreign policy, President Clinton approved both the bombing of Bosnia by NATO and the bombing of:
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Iraq.
What did Bill Clinton do to destroy his vow to be the most ethical president?
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Lied under oath.
For his actions, Clinton became the fourth president to be impeached.
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False.
One of Bill Clinton’s major accomplishments as president was to create ________ jobs.
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22 million.
Which statistic was the lowest it had been 26 years under the Clinton administration?
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Crime rates.
