what did bill clinton do when he was president

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Why is Bill Clinton important?

Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States (1993–2001). He oversaw the country’s longest peacetime economic expansion. In 1998 Clinto...

What was Bill Clinton’s childhood like?

Bill Clinton’s father was a traveling salesman who died before his son was born. His widow, Virginia Dell Blythe, married Roger Clinton, and her so...

What is Bill Clinton’s family like?

Bill Clinton is married to Hillary Clinton, who served as a U.S. senator (2001–09) and as secretary of state (2009–13) in the administration of Pre...

What is Bill Clinton’s occupation?

Bill Clinton taught at the University of Arkansas School of Law. He served as attorney general and then governor of Arkansas, and he became the U.S...

Where was Bill Clinton educated?

Bill Clinton enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 1964 and graduated in 1968 with a degree in international affairs. That year...

What is Bill Clinton’s legacy as president?

An assessment of Bill Clinton’s legacy as U.S. president should take into account the effects of his administration’s domestic and foreign policy a...

What was Bill Clinton's role in the US government?

Bill Clinton (1946-), the 42nd U.S. president, served in office from 1993 to 2001. Prior to that, the Arkansas native and Democrat was governor of his home state. During Clinton’s time in the White House, America enjoyed an era of peace and prosperity, marked by low unemployment, declining crime rates and a budget surplus. Clinton appointed a number of women and minorities to top government posts, including Janet Reno, the first female U.S. attorney general, and Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state. In 1998, the House of Representatives impeached Clinton on charges related to a sexual relationship he had with a White House intern. He was acquitted by the Senate. Following his presidency, Clinton remained active in public life.

Who was Bill Clinton?

He was the only child of Virginia Cassidy Blythe (1923-94) and traveling salesman William Jefferson Blythe Jr. (1918-46) , who died in a car accident three months before his son’s birth. In 1950, Virginia Blythe married car dealer Roger Clinton Sr. (1908-67) and the family later moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. As a teen, Bill Clinton officially adopted his stepfather’s surname. His only sibling, Roger Clinton Jr., was born in 1956.

What was Hillary Clinton's first term?

During his first term, Clinton enacted a variety of pieces of domestic legislation, including the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Violence Against Women Act , along with key bills pertaining to crime and gun violence, education, the environment and welfare reform. He put forth measures to reduce the federal budget deficit and also signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which eliminated trade barriers between the United States, Canada and Mexico. He attempted to enact universal health insurance for all Americans, and appointed first lady Hillary Clinton to head the committee charged with creating the plan. However, the committee’s plan was opposed by conservatives and the health care industry, among others, and Congress ultimately failed to act on it.

What did the Clinton administration do in 1998?

Additionally, the Clinton administration helped broker a peace accord in Northern Ireland in 1998. That same year, America launched air attacks against Iraq ’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs. In 1999, the United States led a NATO effort to end ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

What was the economy like during Clinton's second term?

During Clinton’s second term, the U.S. economy was healthy, unemployment was low and the nation experienced a major technology boom and the rise of the Internet. In 1998, the United States achieved its first federal budget surplus in three decades (the final two years of Clinton’s presidency also resulted in budget surpluses). In 2000, the president signed legislation establishing permanent normal trade relations with China.

When was Bill Clinton governor of Arkansas?

The following year, Bill Clinton was elected attorney general of Arkansas. In 1978, he was elected governor of the state. The Clintons’ only child, Chelsea, was born in February 1980. That fall, Clinton lost his bid for re-election as governor.

Who was the second president to be impeached?

On February 12, 1999, the U.S. Senate acquitted the president of the charges and he remained in office. Clinton was the second American president to be impeached. The first, Andrew Johnson (1808-75), was impeached in 1868 and also later acquitted.

Who is William Clinton?

For other uses, see William Clinton (disambiguation). William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Prior to his presidency, he served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992 ...

What did Hillary Clinton do in 1997?

In the January 1997, State of the Union address, Clinton proposed a new initiative to provide health coverage to up to five million children. Senators Ted Kennedy —a Democrat—and Orrin Hatch —a Republican—teamed up with Hillary Rodham Clinton and her staff in 1997, and succeeded in passing legislation forming the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the largest (successful) health care reform in the years of the Clinton Presidency. That year, Hillary Clinton shepherded through Congress the Adoption and Safe Families Act and two years later she succeeded in helping pass the Foster Care Independence Act. Bill Clinton negotiated the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 by the Republican Congress. In October 1997, he announced he was getting hearing aids, due to hearing loss attributed to his age, and his time spent as a musician in his youth. In 1999, he signed into law the Financial Services Modernization Act also known as the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, which repealed the part of the Glass–Steagall Act that had prohibited a bank from offering a full range of investment, commercial banking, and insurance services since its enactment in 1933.

How much did Bill Clinton raise for Hillary Clinton?

During the 2008 Democratic presidential primary campaign, Clinton vigorously advocated on behalf of his wife, Hillary. Through speaking engagements and fundraisers, he was able to raise $10 million toward her campaign. Some worried that as an ex-president, he was too active on the trail, too negative to Clinton rival Barack Obama, and alienating his supporters at home and abroad. Many were especially critical of him following his remarks in the South Carolina primary, which Obama won. Later in the 2008 primaries, there was some infighting between Bill and Hillary's staffs, especially in Pennsylvania. Considering Bill's remarks, many thought he could not rally Hillary supporters behind Obama after Obama won the primary. Such remarks lead to apprehension that the party would be split to the detriment of Obama's election. Fears were allayed August 27, 2008, when Clinton enthusiastically endorsed Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, saying all his experience as president assures him that Obama is "ready to lead". After Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was over, Bill Clinton continued to raise funds to help pay off her campaign debt.

How much did the Clinton administration pay Iran?

In February 1996, the Clinton administration agreed to pay Iran US$131.8 million (equivalent to $217.49 million in 2020) in settlement to discontinue a case brought by Iran in 1989 against the U.S. in the International Court of Justice after the shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655 by the U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser.

How many pardons did Hillary Clinton give?

Clinton controversially issued 141 pardons and 36 commutations on his last day in office on January 20, 2001. Most of the controversy surrounded Marc Rich and allegations that Hillary Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham, accepted payments in return for influencing the president's decision-making regarding the pardons. Federal prosecutor Mary Jo White was appointed to investigate the pardon of Rich. She was later replaced by then-Republican James Comey, who found no wrongdoing on Clinton's part. Some of Clinton's pardons remain a point of controversy.

What school did Bill Clinton attend?

In Hot Springs, Clinton attended St. John's Catholic Elementary School, Ramble Elementary School, and Hot Springs High School, where he was an active student leader, avid reader, and musician. Clinton was in the chorus and played the tenor saxophone, winning first chair in the state band's saxophone section.

Why did Bill Clinton create the Clinton Foundation?

He created the Clinton Foundation to address international causes such as the prevention of HIV/AIDS and global warming. In 2009, he was named the United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti, and after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, he teamed up with George W. Bush to form the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

What was Bill Clinton's job?

Seeking to increase his national profile, Clinton served as chairman of the National Governors Association from 1986-87. At the end of the decade he became chair of the Democratic Leadership Council, a group of moderate Democrats seeking to move the party in a centrist direction.

Who Is Bill Clinton?

Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. In 1978 Clinton became the youngest governor in the country when he was elected governor of Arkansas. Elected U.S. president in 1992 and reelected in 1996, Clinton enacted legislation including the Family and Medical Leave Act and oversaw two terms of economic prosperity. Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1998 following the revelation of his affair with Monica Lewinsky but was acquitted by the Senate in 1999. Since leaving office, Clinton has worked with the Clinton Foundation and campaigned for his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in the 2008 and 2016 presidential elections.

What did Clinton do in 1996?

In 1996, he signed a law increasing the national minimum wage. He also emerged favorably from a budget dispute with House Republicans that resulted in a pair of government shutdowns in 1995, the second of which lasted three weeks.

How tall was Bill Clinton when he snapped?

At the age of 14, already standing more than 6 feet tall, Clinton finally snapped. He told his stepfather, "If you want them, you'll have to go through me.".

What high school did Bill Clinton attend?

Clinton attended Hot Springs High School, a segregated all-white school, where he was a stellar student and a star saxophonist for the school band. The principal of Hot Springs High, Johnnie Mae Mackey, placed a special emphasis on producing students devoted to public service, and she developed a strong bond with the smart and politically-inclined Clinton.

Where did Bill Clinton teach law?

Clinton began teaching at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville and thrust himself into politics. In 1974, he challenged Republican incumbent John Paul Hammerschmidt for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

What were Bill Clinton's first accomplishments?

Despite several notable accomplishments in his first years as president, including the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the implementation of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy for LGBT military personnel and the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Clinton's first years in office left him politically vulnerable. Through a task force headed by First Lady Hillary, Clinton endorsed a massive health care reform act that was designed to provide universal coverage. The bill failed to move through Congress, however, and became a massive political disaster, leading to Republicans regaining control of both houses of Congress in 1994.

What was the Clinton presidency?

The Clinton Presidency: A Historic Era of Progress and Prosperity. Longest economic expansion in American history. The President's strategy of fiscal discipline, open foreign markets and investments in the American people helped create the conditions for a record 115 months of economic expansion. Our economy has grown at an average ...

What tax cuts did Clinton make?

President Clinton enacted targeted tax cuts such as the Earned Income Tax Credit expansion, $500 child tax credit, and the HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits. Federal income taxes as a percentage of income for the typical American family have dropped to their lowest level in 35 years.

What was the unemployment rate in 1993?

Unemployment dropped from more than 7 percent in 1993 to just 4.0 percent in November 2000. Unemployment for African Americans and Hispanics fell to the lowest rates on record, and the rate for women is the lowest in more than 40 years.

How many national parks did Clinton protect?

President Clinton has protected more land in the lower 48 states than any other president. He has protected 5 new national parks, designated 11 new national monuments and expanded two others and proposed protections for 60 million acres of roadless areas in America's national forests.

How much did the US pay off the national debt in 2000?

Paid off $360 billion of the national debt. Between 1998-2000, the national debt was reduced by $363 billion — the largest three-year debt pay-down in American history. We are now on track to pay off the entire debt by 2009. Converted the largest budget deficit in American history to the largest surplus.

How many police officers were funded by the Crime Bill?

As part of the 1994 Crime Bill, President Clinton enacted a new initiative to fund 100,000 community police officers. To date more than 11,000 law enforcement agencies have received COPS funding. Enacted most sweeping gun safety legislation in a generation.

How much more likely are people on welfare to work than in 1992?

People on welfare today are five times more likely to be working than in 1992. Higher incomes at all levels. After falling by nearly $2,000 between 1988 and 1992, the median family's income rose by $6,338, after adjusting for inflation, since 1993.

What did Bill Clinton do at the end of his presidency?

At the end of his tenure in the White House, Clinton had done more than any previous president to incarcerate ordinary American s. His 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, for example, splurged federal money on the construction of new state prisons.

What did Clinton do in the 1970s?

By the time of the crash, they’d hit 30. Clinton also toughened a 1977 act that required lenders to relax their rules for poorer borrowers. In other words, he made it a legal obligation for companies to throw money at people who couldn’t possibly repay it—a policy that, in all fairness, George W. Bush would continue.

How long did it take for the CIA to tell Clinton that the genocide was underway?

In 2004, however, classified documents emerged proving that the CIA had informed Clinton, Gore, and 100 top officials that a genocide was underway within 17 days of the first killings.

Who is the third greatest president of all time?

William Jefferson Clinton is like the Democrat’s answer to Reagan: a highly respected two-term president who just about everyone agrees was awesome. In a 2013 poll, CNN ranked him as the third-greatest president of all time. Over three-quarters of registered voters today see his tenure as positive.

Did Bill Clinton repeal the Glass-Steagall Act?

During his years in office he completely failed to act on regulating derivatives, a central cause of the crash. In 1999, he repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, a nifty bit of legislation that effectively blocked the creation of today’s dangerously unstable super-banks. As The Guardian noted in 2009, sub-prime loans before the repeal accounted for only 5 percent of all mortgage-lending. By the time of the crash, they’d hit 30.

What is the president's authorization code?

That element, the president's authorization codes, is supposed to remain in close proximity to the president at all times, carried by one of five military aides, representing each branch of the military. The codes are on a card called the " biscuit " carried within the "football," a briefcase that is officially known as ...

What is the president's emergency satchel?

The codes are on a card called the " biscuit " carried within the "football," a briefcase that is officially known as the " president's emergency satchel .".

How often does the White House have to check nuclear codes?

However, around 2000, according to Shelton, a member of the department within the Pentagon that is responsible for all pieces of the nuclear process was dispatched to the White House to physically look at the codes and ensure they were correct — a procedure required to happen every 30 days.

What department oversees nuclear launch?

A department within the Defense Department is tasked with overseeing all aspects of the nuclear-launch process, including the codes. During Bill Clinton's presidency, officials from that department discovered the codes had gone missing.

Did Bill Clinton have codes?

That official was told by a presidential aide that President Bill Clinton did have the codes, but was in an important meeting and could not be disturbed. The aide assured the official that Clinton took the codes seriously and had them close by. The official was dismayed, but he accepted the excuse and left.

Did Bill Clinton lose the nuclear code?

Bill Clinton once lost the nuclear codes for months, and a 'comedy of errors' kept anyone from finding out

Who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1997 to September 2001?

According to Gen. Hugh Shelton, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1997 to September 2001, the number of redundancies in the nuclear-launch process "is staggering.".

When did the Taxpayers Party run for president?

The U.S. Taxpayers Party ran its first presidential ticket in 1992, having only been formed the prior year. Initially Howard Phillips had hoped to successfully entice a prominent conservative politician, such as the former Senator Gordon J. Humphrey from New Hampshire, or even Patrick Buchanan who at the time had only been mulling over running against President Bush (he would officially declare in December 1991).

What did the Bush campaign focus on?

The Bush campaign criticized Clinton's character and emphasized Bush's foreign policy successes, while Clinton focused on the economy. Furthermore, the 1992 Los Angeles riots loomed over the election, especially after the four officers were acquitted of all charges regarding the incident with Rodney King .

What did Bush and Gore do after the convention?

After the convention, Clinton and Gore began a bus tour around the United States, while the Bush/Quayle campaign began to criticize Clinton's character, highlighting accusations of infidelity and draft dodging. The Bush campaign emphasized its foreign policy successes such as Desert Storm, and the end of the Cold War. Bush also contrasted his military service to Clinton's lack thereof, and criticized Clinton's lack of foreign policy expertise. However, as the economy was the main issue, Bush's campaign floundered across the nation, even in strongly Republican areas, and Clinton maintained leads with over 50 percent of the vote nationwide consistently, while Bush typically saw numbers in the upper 30s. As Bush's economic edge had evaporated, his campaign looked to energize its socially conservative base at the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas. At the convention, Bush's primary campaign opponent Pat Buchanan gave his famous "culture war" speech, criticizing Clinton's and Gore's social progressiveness, and voicing skepticism on his "New Democrat" brand. After President Bush accepted his renomination, his campaign saw a small bounce in the polls, but this was short-lived, as Clinton maintained his lead. The campaign continued with a lopsided lead for Clinton through September, until Ross Perot decided to re-enter the race. Ross Perot's re-entry in the race was welcome by the Bush campaign, as Fred Steeper, a poll taker for Bush, said, "He'll be important if we accomplish our goal, which is to draw even with Clinton." Initially, Perot's return saw the Texas billionaire's numbers stay low, until he was given the opportunity to participate in a trio of unprecedented three-man debates. The race narrowed, as Perot's numbers significantly improved as Clinton's numbers declined, while Bush's numbers remained more or less the same from earlier in the race as Perot and Bush began to hammer at Clinton on character issues once again.

How many states did Howard Phillips vote in?

Howard Phillips was on the ballot in twenty-one states (215 Electoral Votes). Those states with a lighter shade are states in which he was an official write-in candidate.

What does the blue line on the presidential election map mean?

Presidential election results map. Blue denotes states won by Clinton/Gore and red denotes those won by Bush/Quayle. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia.

Which state voted Democratic in the last presidential election?

This was also the last time to date that the state of Montana voted Democratic in a presidential election, and the last time until 2020 that Georgia did so. Clinton flipped a total of 22 states that had previously voted Republican in the election of 1988.

Who was the Libertarian Party's vice president in 1988?

The 6th Libertarian Party National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois. There, the Libertarian Party nominated Andre Marrou, former Alaska State Representative and the Party's 1988 vice-presidential candidate, for President. Nancy Lord was his running mate.

Overview

College and law school years

Early life and career

Governor of Arkansas (1979–1981, 1983–1992)

Presidential campaigns

Presidency (1993–2001)

Public opinion

Public image

Who Is Bill Clinton?

Early Life

Education

Move to Arkansas

Governor of Arkansas

1992 Presidential Election

Presidency and Accomplishments

• Despite several notable accomplishments in his first years as president, including the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the implementation of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy for LGBT military personnel and the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Clinton's first years in office left him politically vulnerable. Thr...

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Affair with Monica Lewinsky

Impeachment

Post-Presidential Career