William Jefferson Clinton, the forty-second President of the United States, was born William Jefferson Blythe IV on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. He was the first and only child born to Virginia Cassidy Blythe and William Jefferson Blythe III, a traveling salesman and former car dealer who was killed in a car accident three months before his son was born. Bill lived with his mother's parents in Hope, Arkansas while his mother was attending school in New Orleans to become an anesthetist. In 1950 Virginia Cassidy Blythe married Roger Clinton, a car dealer. The family lived in Hope until they moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1953. Soon after arriving in Hot Springs, Bill's half brother was born. Bill's childhood was less than ideal due to the fact that his new step father was an alcoholic and prone to physical abuse. Roger Clinton eventually died of cancer in 1967. Though his family was of the Baptist faith, Bill attended a Catholic elementary school for two years before entering public schools in Hot Springs. In High School Bill was active in numerous clubs and activities, including marching band in which he played tenor saxophone. Bill Clinton graduated from high school in 1964 and enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. where he majored in international affairs. At Georgetown Clinton served as president of his class during his freshman and sophomore years. During his junior and senior years Clinton paid for his tuition by working part time as an assistant secretary for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, head by Democratic Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Clinton served as a volunteer for the Red Cross, distributing food and clothing to people left homeless by the rioting in Washington caused by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Bill Clinton graduated college in 1968, his high grades earning him a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in Oxford, England. Clinton spent two years studying in England before returning home to the United States and enrolling at Yale Law School. He received a partial scholarship and took numerous part time jobs to pay his tuition at Yale. In 1972 Bill Clinton served as the campaign coordinator in the state of Texas to elect Democrat George S. McGovern for President. Bill Clinton graduated from law school in 1973 and secured a teaching position at the University of Arkansas Law School in Fayetteville.
On October 11, 1975, Bill Clinton married Hillary Rodham of Park Ridge, Illinois, a fellow alumnus of Yale Law School. The couple had one daughter, Chelsea, who was born in 1980.
In 1974 Bill Clinton secured the Democratic nomination to represent Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in the general election by his Republican opponent, incumbent John Paul Hammerschmidt. In 1976 Clinton was nominated by the Democrats for Attorney General of Arkansas. He ran unopposed in the general election and took his seat in January of 1977. As Attorney General of Arkansas, Clinton fought against big business abuses in regard to the environment and against utility rate hikes. In 1978 Clinton ran for governor of Arkansas on a platform that advocated improving roads and education. He defeated his Republican opponent Lynn Lowe in the general election. As governor of Arkansas, Clinton found it difficult to rally support for his programs. In keeping with his campaign promise he instituted a plan to improve Arkansas' roads, but placed a tax on drivers' licenses in order to pay for the project. Governor Clinton's license tax made him extremely unpopular in Arkansas. His programs to protect the environment were criticized for keeping industry out of Arkansas, thereby contributing to the state's rising rate of unemployment. Governor Clinton did not fight a federal plan to house 18,000 Cuban refugees at Fort Chaffe in Arkansas and was heavily criticized when the Cuban refugees rioted, causing a state-wide emergency. Governor Clinton ran for reelection in 1980, but was defeated by his Republican opponent Frank D. White. Upon leaving office, Clinton settled in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he joined the firm of Wright, Lindsey, and Jennings.
Bill Clinton ran for governor again in 1982. He campaigned on a platform that was far less liberal than the policies of his first term had been and focused primarily on economic and educational reform. Clinton beat his Republican opponent, incumbent Governor White, by a small margin in the general election. As governor, Clinton remained faithful to his campaign platform. In 1983 he passed legislation that required teachers to periodically take a basic skills test in order to keep their jobs. Governor Clinton raised teacher's salaries and increased the number of courses offered to students. He instituted a test for entry into high school and introduced open enrollment which enabled students to attend schools in a system outside their home district. Governor Clinton also provided state-funded scholarships for high achieving students interested in going to college. To pay for all of these reforms Governor Clinton raised the state sales tax. In 1985 Governor Clinton passed legislation which provided tax breaks to large high-tech corporations as an incentive to attract skilled labor opportunities to Arkansas. The plan was successful in boosting Arkansas' economy and in lowering the states' unemployment rate. Governor Clinton was reelected to office by an overwhelming margin in 1984, in 1986 (a new law increased the governor's term from two years to four), and again in 1990. All in all Bill Clinton served five terms as Governor of Arkansas.
While serving as governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton was active in national politics. In 1985 he served as chairman of the Southern Growth Policies Board and as vice chairman of the National Governor's Association. Clinton became chairman of the Governor's Association in 1986 and was reelected in 1987. As chair of the Governor's Association he was responsible for a plan on welfare reform which resulted in the Family Support Act of 1988. Governor Clinton increased his national prominence when he gave a speech nominating Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts for President at the 1988 Democratic National Convention.
Governor Clinton began his campaign for the Democratic nomination for President in 1991. Clinton secured the nomination at the National Democratic Convention in New York City, after defeating former governor of California, Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr., in the primaries. The vice presidential nomination was secured by Senator Al Gore of Tennessee. The Republicans re-nominated President George Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle. Ross Perot, a Texas millionaire, ran as an independent candidate with former U.S. Navy Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale as his vice presidential running mate. Governor Clinton promised to reform the national education system and boost the economy, using similar programs to those which he had used in Arkansas. He promised to reduce the deficit and institute a national health care plan. Clinton planned to pay for his new programs by raising the taxes of the wealthy. He criticized President Bush's handling of the economy, and accused him of being out of touch with the needs of the American people. The President stood on his successes in foreign relations, and pointed out that Clinton lacked the experience to effectively deal with the "New World Order." In response to charges about the economy, President Bush blamed the Democratically-controlled Congress. Partisan bickering, which had rendered the federal government largely ineffective during the years of the Bush Administration, was largely responsible for the success of independent candidate Ross Perot. When Perot unexpectedly and inexplicably dropped out of the race in July 1991 (only to reenter just as inexplicably a few months later) the Democratic candidate Bill Clinton, with his youth and outsider status in regard to the political scene of Washington, appealed to the majority of voters as the lesser of two evils. By this time, Clinton had come under numerous attacks over alleged marital infidelity and because he evaded the draft during the years of the Vietnam War. President Bush used both of these allegations to raise questions about Clinton's character, but in the end, the Clinton/Gore team beat Bush and Perot by a considerable margin in the popular vote and by 370-168-0 in the electoral college. Bill Clinton became the forty-second President of the United States on January 20, 1993.
In February of 1993, President Clinton's budget, which included an across-the-board tax increase, the institution of an energy tax measured in BTU units, and the reduction of federal spending, was approved by Congress after a period of deadlock. Vice President Al Gore cast the deciding vote in favor of the Clinton budget.
