Bill Clinton

World Famous People

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton served as the 42nd President of the United States of America. Before becoming president he served 5 terms as the governor of Arkansas. Clinton was a member of the Democratic Party and was a very popular president, with advances in the areas of education, jobs, and the environment domestically while encouraging peace talks internationally with the Northern Island and Palestinian conflicts. President Clinton's achievements were overshadowed by the Monica Lewinski scandal where he had sexual relations with a White House intern and was impeached, yet later acquitted by the Senate. Clinton's popularity remained high even after the Lewinsky controversy and was one of the most popular American presidents upon leaving office.

President Clinton was born as William Jefferson Blythe III on the 19th of August, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. His father (William Jefferson Blythe, Jr) was a traveling salesman that was killed in a vehicle accident before he was born.

Clinton's grandfather James Elridge Cassidy was a major influence on the young future president. Whilst living with his grandparents, Bill would go to work with his Papaw at his two jobs, which included a nighttime security position at a local sawmill and the running of a small grocery store. During these times his grandfather would share his life experience with young Billy.

In the south of the United States there were major problems with racism and segregation was used to keep blacks away from whites. With a regular stream of black customers to his grandfather's grocery store, Clinton saw that his grandfather treated them the same as he treated his white customers. Both his grandfather and grandmother (Edith Grisham Cassidy) were against the unfair segregation laws and the rampant racism that was an accepted part of life at the time. Bill Clinton saw the respect that his grandparents gave to African Americans as a normal way to treat all people, even though it was a very unusual way of thinking. Clinton was one of the few white boys of his small town that would play with black children. These early experiences must have played a part in his later thinking, where he was called the first black American president (because of his empathy towards all people, regardless of skin color).

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