Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton was born in Hope, Arkansas, in 1946 and rose through education, law, and state politics. A Rhodes Scholar and Yale Law graduate, he served as Arkansas attorney general and governor before seeking the presidency as a “New Democrat.” In 1992, he defeated President George H.W. Bush and independent Ross Perot by promising economic renewal, welfare reform, middle-class opportunity, and a politics beyond old ideological divisions.

Clinton’s first term included both setbacks and major policy shifts. His health care reform effort failed, and Republicans won control of Congress in 1994. Clinton then moved toward triangulation, working with Republicans on welfare reform, deficit reduction, crime legislation, and trade. The North American Free Trade Agreement took effect during his presidency, reflecting confidence in globalization but also generating criticism over labor and manufacturing effects.

The economy became Clinton’s strongest political asset. The United States experienced low unemployment, technological growth, rising markets, and budget surpluses by the end of the decade. His administration also expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit and supported AmeriCorps. Foreign policy included intervention in the Balkans, NATO expansion, peace efforts in Northern Ireland and the Middle East, and military strikes against terrorist targets.

Clinton left office in 2001, succeeded by George W. Bush. His two terms had presided over one of the longest peacetime economic expansions in American history.