Who is Bill Clinton? Learn about Bill Clinton's early life, Bill Clinton's education, and the ways his younger years helped shape his political aspirations.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Bill Clinton | History & Education
Table of Contents
- Who is Bill Clinton?
- How Did Bill Clinton's Early Life Shape Him?
- What Was Bill Clinton's College Experience?
- Bill Clinton as a Rhodes Scholar
- What Was Bill Clinton's Law School Experience?
- How did Education Shape Bill Clinton's Career?
- What is Bill Clinton's Place in History?
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifies a Rhodes Scholar?
A Rhodes Scholar needs more than just academic excellence. The recipient must also prove a history of being a leader and a commitment to service. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, but no older than 24. They are also encouraged to get a letter from their educational institution's president.
How old was Bill Clinton when he was inaugurated?
Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States. He is the third-youngest President to be elected to the office of President in U.S. history.
What kind of educational policies did Bill Clinton support?
Bill Clinton supported multiple educational policies during his career. Some policies included helping states establish standards of excellence for all students and funding Title 1 schools to improve academic scores.
Table of Contents
- Who is Bill Clinton?
- How Did Bill Clinton's Early Life Shape Him?
- What Was Bill Clinton's College Experience?
- Bill Clinton as a Rhodes Scholar
- What Was Bill Clinton's Law School Experience?
- How did Education Shape Bill Clinton's Career?
- What is Bill Clinton's Place in History?
- Lesson Summary
President Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States of America, was born on August 19, 1946, at Julia Chester Hospital in Hope, Arkansas. His birth name was William Jefferson Blythe III. His father, William Jefferson Blythe II, however, was killed in a traffic accident three months before his birth. His mother, Virginia Dell Cassidy, left him as a baby with her parents Eldridge and Edith Cassidy so she could attend nursing school in New Orleans. During this time, Bill's grandmother tried to shape his character and taught him to read at the early age of three. Upon graduating from nursing school, his mother wed Roger Clinton when Bill was four years old. However, he would not adopt his stepfather's surname and be known formally as Bill Clinton until age 15.
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Roger Clinton was from Hot Springs, Arkansas. Young Bill Clinton and his mother moved to Hot Springs after the marriage. Roger Clinton was described as an alcoholic gambler who abused Bill's mother and half-brother, Roger Clinton Jr., regularly. At age 14, Bill was already over 6 feet tall and started threatening his stepfather with violence to protect them. The abuse did stop, but the drinking and gambling did not.
High School Years
Bill Clinton attended Hot Springs High School from 1960-1964. At that time, his high school was a segregated all-white school. However, he proved to be an excellent student and star saxophonist for the school band during his time there. At one point in his early life, he considered becoming a professional musician.
While in high school, Clinton participated in Boys' State, an American Legion program designed to introduce students to government work. He was elected an Arkansas representative of Boys' Nation and had the opportunity to meet President John F. Kennedy in the White House Rose Garden in the spring of 1963. He graduated from high school in 1964.
It was also during his time in high school that Clinton discovered the Baptist faith. He fell in love with the gospel music of the Baptist faith and would religiously get himself up and ready every Sunday morning to attend church. It was also here that Clinton found solace in his family life.
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Bill Clinton's college education took place at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Using scholarships and working a series of part-time jobs, Clinton graduated with a bachelor's degree in international affairs in 1967. However, his time at Georgetown was not easy. The student body at this Catholic-sponsored institution viewed Clinton as someone from the backwoods of Arkansas. A cliquey group of students from the school paper tried to discourage Clinton from the student office. Instead, he used his energy, charm, and good looks to elevate himself to the top of student government.
Bill Clinton was president of his freshman and sophomore class. Unfortunately for Clinton, he ran for president of the student council his junior year and lost. He also had the opportunity to intern as a clerk for Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright from 1964-1967.
During this time, he participated in the Fulbright Program, a program to help inspire international educational exchange. While participating in this program and clerking for the Foreign Relations Committee under Senator Fulbright, Clinton came to share Fulbright's view regarding the Vietnam War as immoral and contrary to the country's best interests.
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After Georgetown, Clinton won the Rhodes Scholarship in 1968, which improved his collegiate experience abroad by allowing him to study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom for two years. Unfortunately, his time at Oxford was short-lived as he was drafted into the Vietnam War and forced to return to Arkansas before he could complete the two years. However, Clinton avoided military service by enrolling in the R.O.T.C. program at the University of Arkansas Law School. But, feeling guilty about avoiding the draft, Clinton resubmitted his name to the draft. Finally, he received a high enough lottery number to ensure he would not be sent to Vietnam.
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In 1970, Clinton started attending Yale Law School. While at Yale, Clinton worked on the U.S. Senate campaign of Joe Duffy in Connecticut in 1970. He also managed the Texas campaign of the Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern in 1972. Although McGovern lost the presidential election, Clinton learned a great deal.
It was here that Clinton met Hillary Rodham, who was also studying at Yale. In 2016, at the Democratic National Convention, Clinton shared the story of how he met Hillary at the Yale University Library, saying, "She exuded this sense of strength and self-possession that I found magnetic." He married her in 1975. Hillary and Bill Clinton have one daughter, named Chelsea.
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After graduating from Yale Law School in 1973, Clinton moved back to Arkansas. He chose to accept a teaching position in the law department at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
In 1973, Clinton also used the knowledge he gained from working on George McGovern's campaign to run for the House of Representatives. He ran against incumbent Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt. However, Clinton lost this 1974 race, but it was the closest election for Hammerschmidt in his twenty-six years in politics.
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Clinton did eventually get elected to a public office position. Arkansas voted and elected Clinton as the state Attorney General. This was the start of his political career. In the years leading up to eventually becoming the 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001), Clinton served as:
- Attorney General of Arkansas: 1977-1979
- Governor of Arkansas: 1979-1981
- Governor of Arkansas: 1983-1992
- Chairman of the National Governors Association: 1986-1987
- Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council: 1988
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As the 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton holds a lasting place in history. His most significant accomplishment while serving as President was leading the nation through solid economic prosperity. The national unemployment rate was the lowest in decades, and the median income surged while homeownership rates increased. The policies enacted during Bill Clinton's presidency, include:
- Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.
- Implemented the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy for L.G.B.T. military personnel.
- Ratified the North American Free Trade Agreement.
- Signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act in 1994.
- Signed a law increasing the national minimum wage in 1996.
Despite his achievements, Bill Clinton will also be remembered in history for his role in the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. While President of the United States, Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky, who was an intern at the White House at the time. When his affair with Lewinsky came into the public spotlight, Clinton denied having sexual relations with her, committing purgery in the process. As a result of the scandal, Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives but later acquitted by the Senate.
How Old is Bill Clinton and the Clintons?
As of 2023, Bill Clinton is 77 years old. His wife, Hillary, is 76 years old. Their daughter, Chelsea, is 43 years old.
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President Bill Clinton, born William Jefferson Blythe III, is best known for his accomplishments as the 42nd President of the United States of America. His childhood in Hot Springs, Arkansas was full of achievements but also included numerous difficulties. His home life was less than desirable due to Roger Clinton, his abusive, alcoholic stepfather. Despite these challenges, Clinton still made significant political accomplishments throughout his life with the support of his mother, Virginia Dell Cassidy, and wife, Hillary Rodham, who both encouraged his political dreams and aspirations.
Bill Clinton met President John F. Kennedy in the White House Rose Garden as the Arkansas representative of Boys' Nation in 1963, which gave his political aspirations momentum. From 1964 to 1966 he served as class President at Georgetown University. From 1964 to 1967, he interned and clerked for the office of Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, who was his mentor. In 1968 he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, which increased his collegiate experience abroad, allowing him to study in the United Kingdom. In 1970, he worked on the 1970 U.S. Senate campaign for Joe Duffy in Connecticut. In 1972, he managed the Texas Campaign of the Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern. His public political office began in 1977 and would continue to his becoming President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. His presidential career brought economic prosperity to the country, and multiple policies that are still in effect today were enacted.
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Additional Info
Bill Clinton: The Rise of a Charismatic Leader
By knowing the experiences that mold charismatic people, you can learn something about what makes them so influential. You often find that the best leaders had to overcome both private and professional hurdles before reaching their pinnacles. Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, is a prime example of a leader whose personal background helped to make him successful.
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Childhood Experiences
On August 19, 1946, Virginia Cassidy gave birth to her son, William 'Bill' Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas, a small town with a population of about 8,000 people. His father, William Jefferson Blythe II, was a traveling salesman who died in a car crash three months before his son's birth. Bill was raised in the home of his grandparents, Edith and Eldridge Cassidy, while his mother attended nursing classes in New Orleans so she could provide for her son. His grandmother was a firm disciplinarian who encouraged Bill to become an avid reader. Likewise, his mother fostered his academic interests at an early age, declaring he would one day grow up to be President of the United States.
By 1950, Virginia returned to Hope with her nursing degree, and months later, she wed Roger Clinton, an automobile dealer from Hot Springs, Arkansas. Soon, the family relocated to Hot Springs, a bustling resort town an hour from Hope.
In 1956, Bill's brother, Roger Clinton, Jr. was born; yet, family life began to suffer. Roger Sr. was an alcoholic who frequently abused his wife and young son. The strife of this situation had a profound effect on Bill as he entered Hot Springs High, a segregated, all-white school.
During this time, he became steadfast in his Baptist faith, walking miles to church on Sundays to hear gospel music. Although his family was not very religious, he found comfort in going to church regularly as a young man.
Education: Grade School to High School
In his early high school years, Bill took Roger Clinton's last name as a kind gesture. Nonetheless, standing 6 feet tall, he began to confront his stepfather about his abusive behavior, warning him not to strike anyone in his family again. In 1962, Roger Clinton and Virginia Cassidy divorced, but they would reunite soon thereafter.
Bill began to channel his energies toward school work and extracurricular activities. He became heavily involved in band, where he played the saxophone. He also pursued leadership roles in student government. Under the tutelage of his principal, Johnnie Mae Mackey, he focused on his leadership abilities and political ambitions, eventually being elected to Boys' State where he excelled as a positive role model.
Then, in July 1963, when he was 17 years old, Bill was chosen to attend Boys' Nation, a program sponsored by the American Legion. In a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., he met and shook hands with President John F. Kennedy. This event would change Bill Clinton's life, as he was deeply moved by this meeting. He decided right then to pursue a career in public service.
College Years
Bill Clinton began honing his political acumen early in his college career, being elected to the office of student government president his freshman and sophomore years at Georgetown University. During his junior year, he worked as a clerk for Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, who served on the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee. Clinton's relationship with the senator was important to his growth and development as a scholar. Senator Fulbright, a former Rhodes Scholar, mentored and guided Clinton, helping him to cultivate his political dreams.
Prior to earning a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from Georgetown in 1968, Clinton won the Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in England. While there, he continued to study International Affairs and met many colleagues who would one day join his own presidential administration at the White House. Since he had to return to the states because of the Vietnam War, his Oxford coursework was interrupted after two years of study. Accepted to the University of Arkansas Law School's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, he avoided the draft, although he later resubmitted himself for the draft in the fall of 1969. However, due to his birthdate and high lottery number, he was never called to serve in the war.
By 1970, Bill Clinton was enrolled in Yale University's Law School. There, he met Hillary Rodham, who was also studying law and shared his aspirations. Their diligence and persistence ultimately paid off, as they earned law degrees together in 1973. Bill decided to take a teaching job at the University of Arkansas Law School while pursuing a private law practice in Fayetteville. Two years later, he married Hillary Rodham.
Lesson Summary
Although Bill Clinton led a fulfilling childhood, his upbringing was not without difficulty. However, he did not let a troubled family life hinder his desires for academic and extracurricular achievement. His dedication to education culminated in his participation in Boys' Nation, an experience that solidified his ambitions to seek public office. Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Senator J. William Fulbright, Clinton earned a Rhodes Scholarship. This opportunity opened academic and professional doors for him, first as a lawyer and ultimately as a career politician.
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Bill Clinton | History & Education
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