sign in sign up
<<
Home , Garret Hobart, Hugh Rodham (born 1911), Hugh Rodham (born 1950), Lynn Lowe, Marc Mezvinsky, Whitewater controversy

Bill Clinton: The President whose tenure witnessed immense economic expansion

Bill Clinton who got elected as the 42nd President of the United States of America in 1992 and became the third youngest President in the history of America. who became the President in 1901 after the assassination of the then President, William McKinley remains the youngest President to occupy office at the age of 42 years. William Mckinley was the the 25th President of America elected in 1896 Presidential election. He was Republican. McKinley was born on 29 January 1843 in the city of Niles located in northeastern part of the state of Ohio. One of the important events during the time of President McKinley was the Spanish-American War of 1898. In this war America defeated Spain and gained the terrories of Puerto Rico (island in the northeastern Caribbean Sea), Guam (island in the north Pacific Ocean) and (an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean). McKinley won the first term of Presidency in 1896, during this election his Running Mate was Garret Augustus Hobart. Before named as the Vice Presidential candidate of McKinley, Garret Hobart was elected to the General Assembly as well as the Senate of state. He served as the Vice President of America between 4 March 1897 to 21 November 1899. He died on 21 November 1899. In 1900 elections, McKinley again wanted to have Hobart as his Running Mate but his death made him to choose (rather Republican Party chose) Theodore Roosevelt, the incumbent Governor of state as his Vice Presidential candidate. On 6 September 1901, President McKinley was assassinated by Leon Frank Czołgosz, an anarchist (anarchists believe in the abolition of state) in the city of Buffalo, New York state and he died on 14 September 1901. Hence, Theodore Roosevelt, being the Vice President of McKinley became the 26 the President of USA on same day. But, Theodore Roosevelt remains the second youngest 'elected' President at the age of 46 when he won the Presidential election in 1904 (in 1901 he didn't win the office of the President but acquired it as a virtue of Vice President of McKinley who died as a President in office). John F. Kennedy also known as JFK (Democratic Party) is the second youngest President of America to enter the office in 1962 at the age of 43. But, he is considered as the youngest President to be elected to office as unlike Theodore Roosevelt, JFK became the President by winning the election. John F. Kennedy was the candidate of Democratic Party in the 1960 Presidential election. His Running Mate was Lyndon B. Johnson, the Senator from . John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson ticket defeated the Republican rivals (Presidential candidate) and Junior (Vice Presidential candidate).

Bill Clinton or William Jefferson Blythe III was born on 19 August 1946 in Hope city of south central state of . Hope city is a birthplace of two Governors of Arkansas i.e. Bill Clinton (he served as Arkansas Governor from 9 January 1979 to 19 January 1981 and again from 11 January 1983 to 12 December 1992) and Michael Dale Huckabee (he was the Governor of Arkansas from 15 July 1996 to 9 January 2007. He belonged to the Republican Party). Bill Clinton's father's name was William Jefferson Blythe Junior and his mother's name was Verginia Dell Cassidy (Virginia Dell Blythe). William Jefferson Blythe Junior was born on 27 February 1918 in Sherman city in Texas state. He used to sell the heavy equipments. On 17 May 1946 when he was returning from (one of the biggest cities in USA located on the edge of lake Michigan in the Midwestern state of ) to Hope city in Arkansas in his Buick car met with an accident on US Highway 60 also known as the US Route 60 which connects the southwestern state of Arizona with the Atlantic state of Virginia. The accident took place on the outskirts of the city of Skiston in the state of Missouri. When a tyre of his care blew up he was thrown in a ditch or water channel and got drowned in a drainage. (Buick is a part of the General Motors, the largest manufcturer of automobiles in USA. Buick was named after David Buick the pioneer of automotive sector in America. He founded the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company in 1899 which became the Buick Motor Company on 19 May 1903 and from 1908 it is a part of General Motors). At the time of this accident Virginia Blythe was pregnant with the child of William Jefferson Blythe Junior and she gave birth to a baby boy three months after this tragic incident, and this boy was Bill Clinton.

After the birth of Bill Clinton his mother went to the New Orleans (it is a city in southern state of Louisiana in USA bounded by Arkansas on North, Texas to the West, Mississippi to the East and the Gulf of Mexico to the South) in order to pursue a course in nursing. Virginia Blythe (Clinton) was used to administer anesthesia. The nurses who are experts in administering anesthesia to patients before operation are called as nurse anesthetist. She was born on 6 June 1923 in Bodcaw town of Arkansas. After the death of William Jefferson Blythe Junior, Virginia got married with Roger Clinton Senior. He was a car salesman. William Jefferson Blythe III later on decided to adopt the surname Clinton, the surname of his stepfather. When Bill's mother had been to New Orleans for studying nursing course he was looked after by his maternal grandparents Eldridge and Edith Cassidy.

When we see the photos of Bill Clinton since his childhood, we realize that he was quite charming and handsome guy. He was also active in extra-curricular activities in his school and College days. Bill attended different schools in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Hot Springs is a resort town in the state of Arkansas.There are many natural hot springs in this town. Clinton used to play a medium- sized saxophone since his young days. The year 1963 played crucial role in attracting young Bill towards politics and making a career as politician. In this year he had an opportunity to meet John F. Kennedy, the then President of USA in . He was also influenced by the famous 'I Have a Dream' speech of Martin Luther King Junior (the famous Civil Rights Activist from USA, who was inspired by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and had visited India along-with with his wife Coretta Scott King in 1959). 'I Have a Dream' speech was delivered by Martin Luther King Junior on 28 August 1963 on the steps of Lincoln Memorial in DC.

In 1964, Clinton took admission in Georgetown University in Washington DC. Georgetown University is a higher education institution which has the Colleges and Schools offering courses in Foreign Service, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Business, Languages and Linguistics among other things. One more prominent alumnus of Georgetown University is Ivan Duque Marquez, who is the current President of Colombia (South American country) who took the charge as President on 7 August 2018. Clinton attended the School of Foreign Service-SFS (Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service), George John Tenet, who served as the Director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA-the spy agency of USA) from 16 December 1996 to 11 July 2004 is also the alumnus of SRF. King Philip VI of Spain too had studied at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (the first woman Secretary of State of USA from 23 January 1997 to 20 January 2001 appointed by President Bill Clinton) and Charles Timothy Hagel (served as the Secretary of Defense in the administration of President Barack Obama from 27 February 2013 to 17 February 2015) had served as the faculty members of SFS. Clinton completed his Degree in international affairs in the year 1968.

Bill Clinton had worked as an intern for James William Fulbright, the Democrat Senator from the state of Arkansas. Fulbright had the distinction of serving as a Senator for 30 years from 1944 to 1974. Before becoming the Senator, he was elected as the Member of House of Representatives, the Lower House of the American Congress (Parliament is called as Congress in US). The Member of House of Representatives is called as 'Representative' or 'Congressman' and the Member of Senate, the Upper House of American Congress is called as the 'Senator'. J. William Fulbright was born on 9 April 1905 in Sumner city of Missouri State. He has the distinction of serving maximum years as the Chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 3 January 1959 to 31 December 1974. Fulbright had played instrumental role in starting the 'Fulbright Program', the International Exchange Programme of the American government. It is said that Fulbright suggested to the US government to sell the surplus US war related things or material and use that money for this International Exchange Programme, wherein Americans would be able to go to other countries for studying or doing research and also the students and scholars from other countries are offered scholarships for academic pursuits in USA. There are several types of programmes under this International Scholarship or Exchange Scheme of the American government. The then US President, Harry S. Truman signed the Bill on 1 August 1946 which resulted into the creation or inception of Fulbright Program. Fulbright was one of the staunch opponents and vocal critics of Vietnam War. He was the graduate student from the . This University has campus at Fayetteville city, Little Rock city (Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas located on the banks Arkansas river. The capital of Arkansas till 1821 was Arkansas Post) and one more campus of University of Arkansas is based in the city of Pine Bluff. Fulbright was student at the Fayetteville campus. He later on had served as a faculty for teaching law over there. Even Bill Clinton was law faculty at this university's law school.

In 1968, Bill Clinton had the privilege to get Rhodes Scholarship for studying in University of Oxford. This Scholarship was started in the year 1902 as per the Will of Cecil John Rhodes. Cecil Rhodes had played very important role in building and expanding the British Empire in South Africa and Zimbabwe (earlier Rhodesia). He was born on 5 July 1853 at Bishop's Stortfort in Hertfordshire county of England and died on 26 March 1902 at Muizenberg in Cape Colony i.e. Cape Province or Cape of Good Hope in present day South Africa. One of the goals of this scholarship was to enhance the understanding and unity basically among those nations where English language was spoken. But, at present it is applicable to all the countries world over. The students availing Rhodes Scholarship get the chance to study at University of Oxford in United Kingdom. University of Oxford is one of the oldest in the world and the oldest in United Kingdom established around 11th Century AD. It is very prestigious University known for the quality education worldwide. During his Oxford days Bill Clinton had taken part in protests opposing Vietnam War. He also studied at Yale Law School (United States) and got the degree of (also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence or J.D./JD). Yale Law School was established in 1824 and is considered as one of the top most law schools in US and the world. U.S. News & World Report, the media company in USA has been naming Yale Law School as top ranking law education institute in United States since last so many years. The Yale Law School is located in New Haven city of Connecticut. It is affiliated to the Yale University, the third oldest University in USA founded all the way back in 1701. It is very prestigious and one of the high ranking Universities in the world. Bill Clinton got JD Degree in 1973. In Yale Law School, he met Hillary Rodham, to whom he married later on. Bill and Hillary met at Yale in the year 1971.

Hillary Clinton (Hillary Diane Rodham) was born on 26 October 1947 in Chicago city of Illionois. Her father's name was Hugh Ellsworth Rodham. He was born on 2 April 1911 in the Scranton city of . He was of English and Welsh ancestry. It is said that his father was originally from Oxhill county in Durham in England and his mother was born in the American state of Pennsylvania to the couple of Welsh origin. He was involved in the business of textile. One can see that Hillary was a studious girl from the beginning. Hillary's mother's name was Dorothy Emma Rodham. She was born on 4 June 1919 in Chicago, Illionois. She was of Welsh, Scottish, English, French and Dutch ancestry. Dorothy and got married in 1942. As mentioned earlier, Hillary is a by training. She had attended the Yale Law School. Being the wife of Bill Clinton, she became First Lady of the United States when Clinton was inaugurated on 20 January 1993. She was the US First Lady from 1993 to 2001. It is said that Hillary was inclined towards Republican Party in her early days but the assassinations of Malcolm X- Malcolm Little (the prominent leader of Black Nationalism movement of African-Americans), Robert F. Kennedy (the younger brother of John F. Kennedy and Attorney General of America from 1961 to 1964) and Martin Luther King Junior (the leader of Civil Rights Movement of African -Americans who fought for the abolition of segregation in US) made her to change her mind and become the follower of Democratic Party. She served as the Senator from 2001 to 2009. She was appointed as the Secretary of State by President Barack Obama and held that post from 2009 to 2013. She had tried her luck to get the Presidential nomination of the Democratic Party in 2008 but lost it to Barack Obama. She was able to get the nomination of Democratic Party as the Presidential candidate in 2016 and made history as she became the first woman to get the Presidential Candidature of the mainstream Political Party in USA. During 2016 Presidential Elections she won the popular vote but lost the Presidency to of Republican Party as he could not garner sufficient Electoral College Votes. She we would have created history, if she had won these elections, as in that scenario she would have become the first Woman President of USA in its history and perhaps Bill Clinton once again would have entered the White House as 'First US Gentleman'.

While teaching Law at the Law School of University of Arkansas till 1976 , Bill Clinton had tried to enter the House of Representatives in 1974. Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham got married on 11 October 1975. They have only daughter whose name is Chelsea, who was born on 27 February 1980. Chelsea has been educated at prominent educational institutions such as Stanfard University (Leland Stanford University is located at Stanford, a locality in Santa Clara County, where the world famous Silicon Valley is also located. Stanford University is popular throughout the world for imparting the quality education), University College or the College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, University of Oxford, UK, Columbia University or Columbia University in the city of New York (the oldest higher education institution in the state of New York and the fifth oldest higher education institute in USA) and New York University in (the New York University was established on 18 April 1831 in order to admit students on the basis of merit than their powerful social, economic and family background). is a successful career woman. She had worked for NBC News from 2011 to 2014. And she continues to contribute in the work of the established by her father, President Bill Clinton in 1997. The Clinton Foundation mainly carries out the humanitarian work. She is also a prolific writer and has authored books like 'It's Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired and Get Going!' (Children's book, published in 2015), 'She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World' (Children's book, published in 2017, it proved to be a bestseller), 'Start Now!: You Can Make a Difference' (Children's book, published in 2018), 'Don't Let Them Disappear:12 Endangered Species Across the Globe' (Children's book, published in 2019). She is also a co-author of books like 'Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why?' (Co-author, Devi Sridhar, published by the Oxford University Press in 2017) and ': Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience' (Co-auhored with her mother and published in 2019, by Simon & Shuster). Chelsea Clinton got married with Marc Mezvinsky on 31 July 2010. Marc Mezvinsky is Stanford and Oxford educated Investment Banker, his father Edward Maurice Mezvisky is a Jew and was Member of the American House of Representatives from 3 January 1973 to 3 January 1977.

In 1976 Bill Clinton got elected as the Attorney General of Arkansas state. Attorney General is very important post in USA. The Attorney General acts as the main law officer at state or national level. The major duty of Attorney General is to extend legal advice to the executive. Meanwhile, in 1974, Bill Clinton had fought the election of House of Representatives. His Republican rival was . He defeated Bill Clinton. John Paul Hammerschmidt served as the Member of House Representatives between 3January 1967 to 3 January 1993. One of the historical conincidents is Bill Clinton became US President in January 1993 and in the same month John Paul Hammerschmidt left the House of Representatives.

In 1978, Bill Clinton contested the election for the office of Governor of Arkansas as the candidate of Democratic Party. His main Republican opponent was Aylmer Lynn Lowe. Clinton defeated Lowe and take charge as the Arkansas Governor at the age of 32. Clinton became the youngest Governor at that point of time. In 1980, Bill Clinton again was the Democratic Party candidate in the Governor's Election of Arkansas state. His main Republican challenger in this election was Frank Durward White, he was earlier with Democratic Party but changed the sides during the gubernatorial election of Arkansas state in 1980. Clinton, it is said used to describe himself as the youngest ex- Governor in the lighter vein. Frank White seved only one term as the Governor of Arkansas from 19 January 1981 to 11 January 1983.

In 1982, Bill Clinton was again Democratic Party candidate during the gubernatorial election of Arkansas. The incumbent Governor, Frank Durward White, who had defeated Clinton in the elections of 1980 was the Republican candidate. This time history did not repeat itself, as Bill Clinton defeated Frank White comfortably. Clinton was polled 54.71% votes and White was able to garner 45.29% votes. The 1982 victory in gubernatorial election can be considered as the turning point in the political career of Bill Clinton as he went on to win the Arkansas Governor's election every time from this time onwards till he got elected as the President of the United States of America on the ticket of Democratic Party in the year 1992. Clinton served as the Governor of Arkansas from 1982 to 1992. He was the Chairperson of National Governors Association in 1986-87. As the Arkansas Governor, Clinton did fabulous work in the area of education by bringing positive changes. It is said that while active in Arkansas politics, Clinton had an affair with Gennifer Flowers, the singer, model and actress by profession. She was born on 24 January 1950 in Oklahoma City (It is also known as the City of Oklahoma City or OCK. It is a capital of Oklahoma State, a south central state in USA. This state has got the name from two Choctaw words i.e. 'Okla, and 'Humma' which means 'Red People'. Choctaw is a name of Native American tribe who were mainly found in the states of Alabama, , Mississippi and Louisiana in earlier days). When Clinton was busy in Presidential Campaign in 1992, Ms. Flower came forward and made her relationship with Clinton open, though earlier he had denied it later on he admitted of having affair with her. One more controversy around the Clintons was the . Bill and Hillary Clinton had invested in Whitewater Development Corporation, which intended to develop the properties on the banks of White River in Flippin city, Arkansas (The origin of White River is in Boston Mountains in North-Western Arkansas. These mountains are located in the states of Oklahoma and Arkansas. The White River is 1,162 kilometers long). It was a failed business attempt and Clintons came into trouble along-with their business associates, Jim McDougal and his wife Susan McDougal. Even though, Clintons were bothered by Whitewater Controversy, they were not charged with the crime or wrongdoing.

As mentioned earlier, Bill Clinton got the nomination of Democratic Party in the Presidential election of 1992. His opponent was George H. W. Bush or George Herbert Walker Bush, the incumbent President of USA. Bush was the Vice President of USA from 20 January 1981 to 20 January 1989 during the Presidency of . Bush got elected as the US President in the election of 1988. Bush's close Democratic rival in the election of 1988 was Micheal Stanley Dukakis, the then Governor of New England state of Massachusetts. Bush got the 53.4% of popular vote and 426 Electoral votes while Dukakis could get 45.6% of popular votes and 111 Electoral votes. The US Constitution has made a provision of Electoral College for electing the President of USA. It consists of 538 Electors and in order to win the Presidency, the concerned candidate needs to acquire 270 Electoral Votes. George H. W. Bush was a Second World War veteran. He was having a better experience of national level politics than young Clinton as Bush was Vice President from 1981 to 1989. Bush was 22 years senior to Clinton age-wise. Bush's popularity had tremendously increased due to America's victory in First Gulf War (fought between 2 August 1990 to 28 February 1991). Many political observers were thinking that Bush Senior will coveniently win the second term of Presidency. But, to the surprise of most of the people, Bill Clinton, the young Democratic candidate defeated George H. W. Bush. Clinton was polled the 43% of popular votes and got 370 Electoral Votes on the contrary Bush got 37.4% of popular votes and 168 Electoral Votes. Bill Clinton was inaugurated on 20 January 1993 as the 42nd President of the United States of America. The Running Mate of Bill Clinton was Albert Arnold Gore Junior, popularly known as . He was born on 31 March 1948 in Washington DC (the capital of United States). Al Gore's father Albert Arnold Gore Senior was the Congressman or Representative from Tennessee (it is a southeastern state in USA. This state shares boundaries with eight states viz. Kentucky-to the north, Virginia-to the northeast, North Carolina-to the east, , Alabama and Mississippi-to the south, Arkansas-to the west and Missouri-to the northwest. Mississippi River is the western border of Tennessee and in eastern part of this state Appalachian mountains are found. Mississippi River is the second longest river in USA, Missouri River being the longest one. The length of the Missouri River from its source to mouth is 2,341 miles while that of Mississippi is 2,202 miles) in the period of 3 January 1939 to 3 January 1953 and Senator from Tennessee between 3 1953 to 3 January 1971. He was a Democrat from Tennessee. Al Gore Junior continued the political legacy of his father and became the Member of House of Representatives in 1977. He served as the Member of the House of Representatives from 3 January 1977 to 3 January 1985. He was Senator between the period of 3 January 1985 to 2 January 1993. Al Gore stares the Scot and Irish ancestry. His ancestors had come to the New World (America) in 17th century and settled in Virginia and after the American War of Independence (1775-1783) shifted to Tennessee. Al Gore was the Vice President of USA from 20 January 1993 to 20 January 2001 in both the terms of Bill Clinton's Presidency. In 2000 Presidential election, Al Gore was the candidate of Democratic Party against George W. Bush Junior of Republican Party. The 2000 Presidential election in USA remains one of the most controversial elections in recent history. Al Gore got more popular votes than George W. Bush Junior but was less of majority of Electoral Votes. George W. Bush Senior got 271 Electoral Votes while Al Gore got 266 Electoral Votes. Lots of controversy and counting and recounting of votes in Florida took place mainly on the demand of Al Gore as the margin of Bush victory in Florida was very less. By the time the counting of Florida to be completed Al Gore had got 250 Electoral Votes and George W. Bush Junior had carried the 246 Electoral Votes. In order to win the Presidential Election, the candidate needs to get 270 Electoral Votes. Florida State had the quota of 25 Electoral Votes, hence, the 25 Electoral Votes of Florida were going to decide the winner of the Election. The Florida votes had to be recounted as the margin of Bush lead over Gore was thin. Al Gore contested the matter in Florida Court and US Supreme Court. Ultimately, it was accepted that Bush had carried or won the Florida State by a margin of 537 votes and thereby got the 25 Electoral Votes of Florida, taking the tally of his Electoral Votes to 271, one more than the required 270 and 'Dubya' as Bush is called in inner-circle became the 43rd President of the United States of America. The 2000 Presidential Election brought back Republicans in control of the White House. Al Gore is known for giving priority to the environmental issues and global warming. He has written more than thirteen books mainly on the topics related to environment. He has also written quite a few articles which are published in leading newspapers. It was speculated that Gore may run against George W. Bush Junior in Presidential election of 2004 as a Democratic candidate, but he didn't do so. Some people were thinking that he might be the Running Mate of Barack Obama in 2008 and at least may join the Obama Administration in one or the other capacities, but this also did not happen. Al Gore got the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 along-with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Al Gore also wrote the Academy Award winning documentary, 'An Inconvenient Truth' based on the theme of Global Warming.

After taking over as the President, Clinton started facing the hurdles created by conservatives, mainly Republicans from the Capitol Hill (Capitol Hill is one of the residential areas in capital Washington DC. Here, the buildings of American Congress- reffered as Capitol Hill, Supreme Court of USA, the Library of Congress and other important government buildings are located). During the election campaign, Clinton had declared that he would bring an end to the discrimination done against Gays and Lesbians in the armed forces of America. But, his efforts in this regard as the President of USA came under criticism from the conservatives. It was also criticised by General Collin Powell. (Colin Luther Powell, had taken part in Vietnam War- he was in Vietnam during 1962-63, he was also associated with Gulf War- 1990-91 and Iraq War also called as the Second Gulf War- it was a long drawn war going on between 2003 to 2001. Powell is of African American descent. His parents had migrated to USA from Jamaica and were of African and Scottish ancestry. He was the Four Star General of US Army. He served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the senior-most and highest-ranking military officer of the armed forces of America. He acts as the main Military Advisor to the President, National Security Council [it was incepted during the time of President Harry S. Truman and acts as the principal advising and assisting body to the US President about national security and foreign policy related matters and acts as a coordinator on behalf of the President with other Departments about these affairs], Homeland Security Council [It advises the President about the issues related to the internal security i.e. homeland security] and Secretary of Defense [Head of the Defense Department, in most of the countries this post correspondents to the Defense Minister. The Headquarters of US Defense Department are located in the Pentagon building in Arlington county of Virginia across the Potomac River, directly across the District of Columbia]).

Some of the measures proposed by President Clinton like campaign finance reforms bill and package related to energise economy were filibustered by the Republicans in Senate (Filibuster is the legislative tactics used by the Minority Senators. It is nothing but talking on the concerned issue for very long hours deliberately, delaying the parliamentary procedure in the process and compel the majority to withdraw the concerned bill completely or to grant the concessions demanded while passing it. In 1957 Senator Strom Thurmond from South Carolina spoke for more than 24 hours in order to oppose the Civil Rights Bill. It is considered as the longest filibuster by individual Senator in the Senate history of USA. Thurmond seved as the Senator for nearly half a century from 1954 to 2003. He was born on 5 December 1902 and died 26 June 2003. In order to deal with the method of filibuster emplyoed mainly by minority members the majority uses the tactics of cloture i.e. closure, it is a motion to bring an end to endless debate and call for vote. Cloture needs three-fifth majority to pass. Sometimes, continuous all day and night sessions i.e. round-the-clock sessions are held as a parliamentary tool to tackle the filibuster. The House of Representatives does not allow the unlimited time for talking. While using the tactics of filibuster, the Senators keep on talking irrelevant things for hours together. Some people call the filibuster, 'The Soul of the Senate'). Bill Clinton during his first term faced lots of hurdles in respect with the medical or health related reforms he intended to bring. One of the important legislations signed by the President Clinton in his first tenure was The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), which has the provision of twelve work weeks unpaid leave for certain category of employees for medical or family purposes. It can be taken any time in twelve months i.e. an year. Clinton signed the The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 or OBRA-93 on 10 August 1993. This Act is also known as Deficit Reduction Act of 1993 or Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993. This Act had the provisions of tax cuts for fifteen million low income families, tax cuts for ninety per cent small businesses and raising tax on the wealthiest tax-payers in USA among other things. On 30 November 1993, Clinton signed the the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act also called as the Brady Act or Brady Bill. The long title of this Act is 'An Act to provide for a waiting period before the purchase of a handgun, and for the establishment of a national instant criminal background check system to be contacted by firearms dealers before the transfer of any firearm'. This Act was named after James Brady, who got wounded when John Warnock Hinckley Junior, an insane or mentally disturbed man fired at President Reagan in an attempt to assassinate him. As a result of the wound Brady developed certain life-long disabilities. This failed assanination attempt was made on 30 March 1981. James Scott Brady was the White House Press Secretary and Assistant of President Ronald Reagan. In 2000, in the honour of Brady, the White House Press Briefing Room was named as the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. Brady died on 4 August 2014. The Brady Act made the checking of criminal record or background education, employment history and other necessary details by the law enforcing federal agencies mandatory before the sell of firearms to a particular person.

On 1 January 1994, President Clinton signed one of the important international trade related legislations called the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This was a tripartite trade agreement between three major North American countries viz. Canada, United States of America and Mexico. One can say that process of signing such type of agreement had strted indirectly when Ronald Reagan had mooted the idea of having such type of free trade zone during the campaign of Presidential election of 1980. On 28 September 1988, the then US President Ronald Reagan signed the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement into law. When George H. W. Bush took over as the 41st President of USA the process of converting two party Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement into three party North American Free Trade Agreement began. The then Mexican President, Carlos Salinas de Gortari (the Mexican economist who served as the President of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. He has acquired the Master's Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University and Ph.D. from John F. Kennedy School of Government or Harvard Kennedy School-HKS of Harvard University. His Doctorol Dissertation had been published by the San Diego: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California in 1982, in book form and the title of the same is 'Political Participation, Public Investment and Support for the System: A Comparative Study of Rural Communities in Mexico') and the then Prime Minister of Canada, Martin Brian Mulroney (the Prime Minister of Canada from 17 September 1984 to 25 June 1993) along-with George H. W. Bush, the then US President took lead in formulating the NAFTA. The NAFTA was initiated in the teal sense of the term in 1992 and it was passed by US House of Representative on 17 November 1993 and US Senate on 20 November 1993. President Clinton signed it on 1 January 1994 as mentioned earlier. It is said that President Donald Trump intends to renegotiate the NAFTA. According to the Gallup poll of February 2018 the 48% Americans support NAFTA while 46% of them are opposed to it.

On 13 September 1994, President Clinton signed 'The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994'. The long title of this Act is 'An Act to Control and Prevent Crime', it is also known as the 'The Crime Bill' or 'The Clinton Crime Bill'. It is considered as very comprehensive Criminal Law which brought in range of issues into the purview of crime. Among other things, the law asked for new 100,000 police officers, made provision of $ 9.7 Billions for prisons and $ 6.1 Billions for crime prevention programmes. This Act broadened the scope of death penalties. Senator is credited for writing this Bill (Joe Biden was the 47th Vice President of USA in the administration of President Barack Obama from 20 January 2009 to 20 January 2017. Joe Biden is the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party during the Presidential Election of 2020. In American political or electoral system the presumptive nominee means, the concerned person is going to be a Party's Nominee as the Candidate during Presidential Candidate but not formally elected by Party's Nomination Convention yet).

Clinton Administration gave importance to having the websites of different Departments including the White House and getting connected with the people through information technology. Clinton used to give emphasis on dealing with the epidemic of HIV/AIDS during his tenure. He was the critic of the people who used to discriminate the people with HIV/AIDS infection. Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on 21 September 1996. The long title of this Act was 'An Act to define and protect the institution of marriage', it said that as far as federal government is concerned the marriage would mean the marriage between a man and a woman. It simultaneously gave liberty to the states to reject the marriages of same sex recognized in other state. President Clinton displayed sympathy towards the gays and lesbians, at least his certain statements on this issue on some occasions prove so. He tried to control the problem of illegal immigration into America by signing the 'Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996' on 30 September 1996.

The 1996 Presidential election contest took place between Bill Clinton (Democratic Party) and (Republican Party). The Running Mate of Clinton was Al Gore and that of Bob Dole was , who had served as the Housing Secretary in the Administration of President George H. W. Bush Senior. During this election Clinton got the 49 per cent of popular vote and 379 Electoral Votes while Bob Dole received 41 per cent of popular vote and 159 Electoral Votes. Political observers feel, one of the important reasons for Clinton's victory in the election was the booming economy.

In 1998, the federal budget was balanced. It is said that the purchasing power of the people was increasing and the unemployment level had dropped tremendously during the Clinton years.

One of the important initiatives during the second tenure of Clinton was 'The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)' . It is considered as very important health care measure during the Clinton Presidency. Some other noteworthy acts/legislations signed by President Clinton after getting re-elected include 'The Adoption and Safe Family Act (signed on 19 November 1997), 'The Foster Care Act' (signed on 14 December 1999) and 'The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act' (it was signed on 12 November 1999 and dealt with the banking and insurance sector. The long title of this Act was 'An Act to enhance competition in the financial services industry by providing a prudential framework for the affiliation of banks, securities firms, and other financial service providers, and for other purposes'. This Act replaced the Glass-Steagall Act of 1932 of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Era. The Glass-Steagall Act got its name from the Democratic Party Senator Carter Glass from Virginia, who was also the President pro tempore of the from 11 July 1941 to 3 January 1945 and Henry Bascom Steagall, the Democratic Party Congressman or Representative from the state of Alabama. Steagall was the Member of US House of Representatives from 4 March 1915 to 22 November 1943. Glass and Steagall were the sposors of this Bill/Act).

As far as International Affairs are concerned Bill Clinton tried to intervene and deal with quite a few important issues. One of the important decisions of President Clinton in respect with foreign policy arena was the withdrawal of American troops from Somalia, the east African country. The political trouble had begun in Somalia since1991 and during the time of President George H. W. Bush American forces were sent to Somalia in order to help that civil war-ridden country. The Battle of Mogadishu was witnessed on 3 and 4 October 1993. In this battle Americans lost 19 soldiers and 73 soldiers were wounded. As a result of it most of the American soldiers were taken back from Somalia. Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia. (Somalian pirates are said to be very active off the coast of Somalia mainly in the waters of Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel (near the Horn of Africa) and Somali Sea. These pirates said to procure modern weapons like AK-47, AKM, Type 56, RPK, PKM and RPG-7 guns and other weaponry through Hawala Dealers).

Dayton Accords reached on 1 November 1995, in Wright- Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton city of Ohio State and officially signed on 14 December 1995 brought an end to the Bosnian War going on in Balkan Peninsula between 6 April 1992 to 14 December 1995.

Clinton's role and involvement in the Ireland led to the signing of famous Good Friday Agreement, also known as Belfast Agreement (Belfast is a capital of Northern Island) between the Government of United Kingdom, the Government of Ireland and the parties from Northern Ireland. As per this agreement it was accepted that most of the people from Northern Ireland wanted to remain with United Kingdom. At the same time it acknowledged the fact that a section of population from Northern Ireland and island of Ireland wish to see the reunification of Ireland. This Agreement is considered as one of the important milestones in the Peace Process of Ireland.

As the effort to reduce tensions with Iran, Bill Clinton's Administration agreed to pay the amount of $ 131.8 Millions as a compensation in return for withdrawal of case filed by Iran against USA for shooting down its Iran Air Flight 655 passenger plane on 3 July 1988 by the US Navy Missile.The Iranian Aiircraft in concern was Airbus 300 (this plane was manufctured by the Airbus SE, the European multinational aircraft manufacturing company. It is the major business rival of Boeing, the American multinational corporation which manufactures airplanes, rockets, satellites, missiles and many other equipments. The Boieng Headquarters are located in the city of Chicago in Illinois State of USA). The plane was totally destroyed and all the 290 passengers died when hit by the missile. American stand on this shooting was that the US Navy mistook this plane for Iranian Fighter Plane and when the USS Vincennes (CG-49), the Guided Missile Cruiser of US Navy did not get any response from the Air Flight 655, despite repeated attempts to communicate with it the missile was fired.

One can say that the final showdown between the United States and Osama-bin-Laden began during the second term of President Clinton which later on resulted into hunting and killing of this dreaded terrorist by US Navy seals in 2011 in Abottabad city of Pakistan. It can be said that by the mid 1990s the US establishment was realising the security threat posed by Osama- bin-Laden and his al-Qeada terrorist outfit. al-Qeada was involved in bombing the US Embassies in the cities of Daar-e-Sallam (Capital of East African country, Tanzania till 1974. At present the capital of Tanzania is Dodomo city) and Nairobi (Capital of East African country, Kenya). In these bombings around 225 people died. In response to it President Clinton ordered to attack al- Qeada locations and kill Osama-bin-Laden. The American forces fired cruise missiles on various places in Sudan and Afghanistan in order to target Osama-bin-Laden and his terrorists. It is historical conincident that the mission of killing dreaded terrorist Osama-bin-Laden started during the time of Democrat President Bill was completed during the tenure another Democrat President, Barack Obama in 2011 and former US First Lady and wife of Bill Clinton was the Secretary of State when Osama-bin-Laden was killed in Abottabad, Pakistan by US Navy Seals.

In 1999, President Clinton approved the participation of US forces in the action intimated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) against the Serbian military units who were supposed to be involved in the ethnic cleansing or genocide of the Albanians in Kosovo in Balkan Peninsula of Eastern Europe. The NATO planes bombarded Yugoslavia including its capital Belgrade. Slobodan Milosevic, the then President of Yugoslavia was tried internationally at the Hague (Netherlands) for the crime against humanity. He died in custody in 2006 before the trial was completed.

Clinton was of the view that Saddam Hussain of Iraq was involved in making the chemical and biological weapons. Hence, the bombings of certain Iraqi locations was ordered between 16 December to 19 December 1998. This US Military Action against Iraq is known as the 'Operation Desert Fox'.

In November 2000, Bill Clinton became the first US President to visit Vietnam after Vietnam War (this was one of the long drawn wars of 20th century fought between 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975).

Chinese economy got real boost when Bill Clinton signed US- China Relations Act of 2000 on 10 October 2000. This Law awarded the status of Permenant Normal Trade Relations to China, this staus was earlier called as the Most Favoured Nation in the parlance of trade. It not only benefitted Chinese economy immensely but cleared the decks for the Chinese entry into World Trade Organization (WTO) on 11 December 2001. Twenty years on and today in 2020, the US and China are locked in one of the worst trade wars. Americans under the leadership of President Donald Trump strongly feel that China has deliberately released the Corona virus and caused the COVID-19 Pandemic in order to disrupt the western economies and especially the US economy.

One of the concrete efforts was made in 1993 in order to broker a peace between the Israeli government and Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) under the leadership of President Bill Clinton. He invited Yitzak Rabin, the then Prime Minister of Israel and Yasser Arafat, the Chief of PLO to America in order to have negotiations. On 13 September 1993, in the presence of former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush, Yitzak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and President Bill Clinton, the Israelis and Palestinians signed the historic Oslo Accords in Washington DC. On the side of Israel, the then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres put his signature on the agreement while PLO's Foreign Minister, Mahmoud Abbas signed the accord. Both Yitzak Rabin and Yasser Arafat came on the lawns of White House along-with President Bill Clinton and shook hands. Perhaps, it was the first hand-shake between the high profile Israeli person and his equally significant Palestinian counterpart after the creation of Israel in May 1948. Signing of Oslo Accords was indeed a noteworthy and positive development for bringing the peace in Middle-East. This event brought an end to the First Intifada (Here the word Intifada means an uprising of Pelestinians against Isreali occupation. Actually, the word Intifada is an Arabic word which means tremor or shivering) which had started on 9 December 1987. For making concrete efforts to bring an end to the problems existing between the state of Israel and PLO, Yitzak Rabin and Yasser Arafat were given the Nobel Peace Prize of the year 1994. Yitzak Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a right wing Israeli extremist on 4 November 1995 in Tel Aviv, the then capital of Israel. Unfortunately, the Oslo Accords did not result into bringing enduring peace in Israel or Middle-East. Clinton again, brought Ehud Barak, the then Prime Minister of Israel and Yasser Arafat together for a summit at Camp David (it is a Presidential Retreat located in Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick county of Maryland state. It is officially known as the Naval Support Facility Thurmont. It's construction was completed in 1938 and was called as Hi- Catcoctin at that time. It's name was changed to Shangri-La, when the then President Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it into Presidential Retreat. The present name Camp David was given during the time of President Dwight Eisenhower in the honour of his father and grandson) in July 2000, but unfortunately these talks also resulted in a failure. Thus, even though Clinton made sincere efforts to broker a peace deal between Israel and PLO, his initiative did not fructify. At last the violence resurfaced in Israel when Second Intifada broke out on 28 September 2000 which was going on till 8 February 2005. It is said that current US President Donald Trump also attaches importance to this issue and intends to see it resolved.

One of the salient features of Clinton era was the appointment of women and persons belonging to minority communities to important positions. He appointed (rather nominated as the nomination of the President had to be confirmed by the Senate then only the appointments become final) Janet Wood Reno as the Attorney General of USA on 11 February 1993. She became the first female Attorney General of USA and served between the period of 11 March 1993 to 20 January 2001. was born on 21 July 1938 in city of Florida State. She died on 7 November 2016 due to Parkinson's disease in Miami, Florida. On her death both President Barack Obama and President Bill Clinton remembered her and her contribution to the judicial system and the country. Bill Clinton appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and she took oath on 10 August 1993 and still continues to serve. She was born on 15 March 1933 in Brooklyn, the most populous borough of New York City. She attended the Cornell University, Ithaca, New York state, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts state and Columbia University, New York City, New York state. Bill Clinton appointed Stephen Gerald Breyer as the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States on 3 August 1994 and still he is serving the Supreme Court. He was born on 15 August 1938 in San Francisco, California. He had studied at Stanford University, Stanford, California, Magdalen College, University of Oxford, UK and Harvrd University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Justice Stephen Gerald Breyer is a Jew by faith. Donna Edna Shalala was appointed as the US Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was holding this post almost throughout the Clinton Presidency from 22 January 1993 to 20 January 2001. She was also the President of Clinton Foundation from 6 March 2015 to 25 April 2017. Clinton Foundation was formed in 1997 as William J. Clinton Foundation and in the period 2013 to 2015 was also known as the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation. The Clinton Foundation is involved in humanitarian and health related work and has contributed in the areas like HIV/AIDS awareness and providing anti-malaria drugs to the poor, especially from Africa among other things. Donna Edna Shalala was born on 14 February 1941 in Cleveland city of Ohio State. Her parents were of Labanese (Arabs from Lebanon) descent. One more appointment of Bill Clinton from minority community was the appointment of Minnie Joycelyn Elders as the Surgeon General of the United States of America. The Surgeon General acts as the main advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Public Health and Scientific Issues. Minnie Joycelyn Elders whose maiden name was Minnie Lee Jones was born on 13 August 1933 in Schaal , Howard County, Arkansas. She was the Surgeon General of the United States from 8 September 1993 to 31 December 1994.

Bill Clinton can be considered as the controversy's child when it came to his affairs. He landed in a great trouble over his affair with , an intern with the White House. President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on 19 December 1998 on the charges of lying and keeping secret his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Bill Clinton is the second US President to be impeached. Earlier, , the 17th US President was impeached on 2-3 March 1868 by the House of Representatives on the charges of 'High crimes and misdemeanors'. But, the Senate acquitted him of charges. Senate acquitted President Clinton of the charges and his tenure was saved. Kenneth Winston Starr, the Vernon, Texas born Independent Counsel investigated President Bill Clinton in various charges including that of Monica Lewinsky case. Donald Trump, the current US President has become the third President to be impeached by the House of Representatives on 18 December 2019 on the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and he was acquitted by Senate on 5 February 2020. Three other women viz. Juanita Broaddrick, and Kathleen Willey did accuse Clinton of sexual advances and harassment.

In the closing years of Bill Clinton's Presidency, his wife Hillary Clinton got elected as the Member of Senate in 2000. In post Presidency years Clinton has remained fairly active in public life. He is involved in the work of Clinton Foundation among other things. He devoted lots time for writing and giving speeches after White House years. Clinton's Autobiography titled 'My Life' was published in 2004 Knopf Publishing Group (part of Random House). It became the 'Bestseller'. Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have earned Millions of Dollars through writing and paid speeches. Clinton's services and good offices have been utilised by the United Nations Organization and US Government on various occasions in order to resolve various crisis and problems. Clinton remains one of the highly infulencial persons in Democratic Party. He actively campaigned for his wife Hillary Clinton during the Senate Elections as well as during the Presidential Elections of 2016 when she was the Democratic Party candidate against Donald Trump of Republican Party. Bill Clinton also campaigned for Barack Obama during the Presidential Elections. He has undergone heart and lung surgeries in 2000s but has remained mostly physically active and fit. At 6.2 " he is considered as one of the tallest Presidents in the US History. He has been conferred with Honourary Degrees by many leading Universities and Colleges. He is also the Honourary Fellow of University College of University of Oxford. In quite a few states of USA his statues have been installed. One can find his statue in Kosovo as well. In 2013 Bill Clinton was honoured with the Award of 'The Presidential Medal of Freedom', it is one the two highest Civilian Awards given in the United States another being the 'Congressional Gold Medal'). It is awarded in recognition of meritorious service to the nation in the field of security or national interest, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private initiatives or endeavours.

When Haiti experienced one of the worst earthquakes in 2010 Bill Clinton was involved in helping this Latin American country along- with former President George W. Bush. In order to aid the reconstruction of Haiti's economy after this tragic natural disaster Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund was created on 16 January 2010. Earlier in 1994, Clinton had helped to restore the rule of democratically elected President, Jean Bertrand Aristide in Haiti.

Bill Clinton was quite popular with the African-Americans. American novelist and 1993 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature 1had famously called Bill Clinton as the 'First Black President'. According to her his sex life was given more focus than his other achievements as the President of the United States.

Clinton years i.e. the period between 1993 to 2001 witnessed strong economic growth. His economic policies were described as the 'Clintonomics'. It is said that during his times US economy was witnessing the growth rate of 4% per annum, it was around 2.8% during the times of Reagan and Bush Senior and as many as 22.5 million jobs were created during Clinton era. Public debt also declined during this time. Overall unemployment rate was 4.0% in November 2000, it was 6.9,% in 1993 when Clinton took over. The unemployment rate among the African-Americans was 14.2 % in 1992 and it came down to 7.3% by October 2000. The numbers of unemployment among Hispanics were 11.8% in October 1992 and 5.0% in October 2000. Clinton years witnessed the lowest inflation rate since the time of President John F. Kennedy. The homeownership rate was highest at 67.7% by 2000.

Talking about the phenomenal economic growth experienced by the American economy under Clinton Presidency, Alan Greenspan, the American economist, who had served as the Chair of the Federal Reserve from 11 August 1987 to 31 January 2006 had said on 4 January 2000, "My colleagues and I have been very appreciative of your [President Clinton's] support of the Fed over the years, and your commitment to fiscal discipline has been instrumental in achieving what in a few weeks will be the longest economic expansion in the nation's history."

The following observation of Goldman Sachs, the leading American Investment Bank and Financial Service Company, Headquartered in New York City registered in March 1998 also speaks volumes about the economic accomplishment of President Bill Clinton and his Clintonomics, One of the reasons Goldman Sachs cites for the "best economy ever" is that "on the policy side, trade, fiscal, and monetary policies have been excellent, working in ways that have facilitated growth without inflation. The Clinton Administration has worked to liberalize trade and has used any revenue windfalls to reduce the federal budget deficit."

— Goldman Sachs, March 1998

It remains the truth that Bill Clinton successfully handled the challenges thrown by Republicans in Congress, waded the trouble waters of corruption and sexual harassment charges and won the second consecutive term in 1996. In recent history of USA he remains the President who presided over the longest economic exapansion. Bill Clinton's visit to India between 19 to 25 March 2000 played very important role in revitalising the relations between India and USA.

Asst. Prof. Subhash G. Shinde

Vice Principal and HoD, History

VPM's Joshi-Bedekar College, Thane