The Presidency of William Jefferson Clinton

The Clinton Administration Essential Question: How should historians judge the impact, effectiveness, and legacy of the Clinton administration?

Clinton’s Early Years Bill Clinton meets President John F. Kennedy as a 16 year-old delegate of Boy’s Nation on June 6, 1963

Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham at Yale Law School, January 1972 Bill Clinton runs for Student Council President at Georgetown University Education Georgetown University, Oxford University, Yale Law School Early interest in politics Attorney general of Arkansas at 30 years of age Nation’s youngest governor at 32 years of age (Arkansas)

Bill Clinton taking the Oath of Office as the Governor of Arkansas on January 9, 1979

1992 Presidential Election Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1992  Pushed for middle-class tax cuts and a national health-care system  Relied on his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a top lawyer  Clinton presented himself as the protector of the middle class  Clinton won 370 electoral votes to Bush’s 168, although Clinton won less than 50 percent of the popular vote. Clinton 1992 Campaign Ad

1992 Election Results

Road to the Whitehouse During the campaign, Clinton was accused of sexual harassment by Paula Jones Clinton was also accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Gennifer Flowers Despite the scandals involving these women, Clinton was elected.

Ask Yourself… The personal lives of many famous people are prone to public scrutiny. Do you think it is fair that Bill Clinton was forced to address questions about his personal relationships when running for office? Would these scandals have impacted your decision to vote for Bill Clinton? Why?

Clinton’s Domestic Issues 1) Budget Deficit  Campaigned on promise to reduce taxes for the middle class  However, Clinton raised taxes.  Critics complained that the tax increase would hurt the economy but this did not happen. 2) Health Care  Health care costs were rising and tens of millions of Americans had little or no health insurance.  Hillary Clinton headed a special task force which proposed a government-sponsored program of health care.  The plan was defeated after months of debate.

Clinton’s Domestic Issues Cont. 3) Developed NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)  Eliminated tariffs between the US, Canada & Mexico  Meant to stimulate the economy by encouraging increased free trade

NAFTA Positives:  Increased trade  Increased agricultural production  Jobs created Negatives  Poor working conditions  Loss of jobs in the US

Other Domestic Challenges 4) Internet  emerged as a major means of communication and commerce  People “telecommute” (do their jobs from home)  People were concerned about inappropriate material on the Internet  The White House tried to pass a law to limit sexually explicit material, but the Supreme Court ruled that it violated the right to freedom of speech

Other Domestic Challenges 5) Terrorism  Terrorists used a truck filled with explosives to blow up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people in  Timothy McVeigh, an army veteran, was convicted for planning the bombing

The bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 killed168 and injured approximately 700. Timothy McVeigh

American Terrorism In response to the bombing, Congress passed the Anti- Terrorism Act in 1996 The Act was in many way similar to the Patriot Act that was signed following the 9/11 attacks Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death and was executed in 2001

Foreign Policy Challenges 1) Haiti – 1991  Clinton pledged the use of American troops to lead a UN mission to remove a military dictator.  The presence of UN forces helped bring about a generally peaceful change in government.

Foreign Policy Challenges 2) Oslo Accords – 1993  2 nd U.S. attempt for peace in the Middle East  Clinton hosted the signing of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.  Agreed to self-rule for Palestinians in return for the Palestinians recognizing Israel’s right to exist  Violence broke out and final peace settlement not reached  Jordan became the 2 nd Arab state to recognize Israel

Foreign Policy Challenges 3) Somalia – 1993  Bush had sent troops to help the UN distribute food to victims of the civil war.  UN forces also worked to end the fighting.  After 19 Americans died, the mission lost public support and Clinton withdrew the remaining soldiers in March 1994  Stopped U.S. from sending help to Rwanda.

Foreign Policy Challenges 4) Rwanda – 1994 In April 1994 genocide erupted due to a conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups Between 500,000 to 1 million people, mainly Tutsi, were killed over 100 days Almost 2 million Hutus fled Rwanda for refugee camps in neighboring countries  Clinton ordered airdrops of food & supplies for refugees UN & US faced criticism for not responding  Clinton admitted, “I blew it.”

Foreign Policy Challenges 5) Bosnian War –  Result of the breakup of Yugoslavia  split into Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and Herzegovina made up of:  Bosnian Orthodox Serbs (wanted Bosnia to remain part of Yugoslavia & are supported by Serbian gov’t)  Bosnian Muslims and Catholic Croats (wanted independence for Bosnia & Herzegovina)

Foreign Policy Challenges  Bosnian Serbs & the Serbian gov’t started ethnic cleansing of the Muslim population in Bosnia & the Albanian population in Kosovo  Ethnic cleansing = removal of an ethnic group from a geographic area  Force them to move by murdering members of the group to scare them away or by deporting them  Intent is to create a territory inhabited by people that are all the same in ethnicity, religion, culture, and history  Genocide = murder to completely kill off the group  Ethnic cleansing = murder only to the point of making the group leave the territory

Foreign Policy Challenges US convinced NATO allies to take military action Clinton arranged peace talks in Dayton, Ohio  signed a peace plan called the Dayton Accords In 1996 = 60,000 NATO troops (with 20,000 Americans) entered Bosnia to enforce the peace plan In 1998 = war in Kosovo broke out  2 major ethnic groups: Serbs & Albanians  Albanians wanted to keep Kosovo separate from Serbia  Slobodan Milosevic, leader of Serbia, used violence against Albanian civilians to keep Kosovo in Serbia In March 1999, NATO began bombing Serbia  Convinced Serbia to pull troops out of Kosovo

Re-election In 1996 Clinton defeated Bob Dole of Kansas. The only Democrat to win reelection to a 2nd term of office as president since FDR

What events led to scandal and impeachment proceedings during the Clinton presidency? 1) Whitewater real estate deal  Kenneth Starr led an investigation into a failed real estate investment the Clintons were involved in during the 1970s.  Clintons accused of improper campaign contributions, political and financial favors, hiding files which they claim to have lost  Other participants were found guilty of fraud 2) Paula Jones sexual harassment case  In 1997, Jones sued Clinton for sexual harassment  Lawsuit occurred around the same time as the Lewinsky investigation  Clinton settled out of court for $850,000

What events led to scandal and impeachment proceedings during the Clinton presidency? 3) Monica Lewinsky case  During the grand jury investigation, Clinton was accused of lying under oath about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky  Clinton continued to deny the relationship until evidence of the relationship was brought to light  Many demanded he be punished for committing perjury

Impeachment On December 18, 1998, the U.S. Congress voted to impeach the President. The House approved two articles of impeachment but the Senate did not have the 2/3 majority needed to convict Clinton

Ask Yourself…. Was President Clinton wrong for lying about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky? How did Clinton’s actions impact the image of the Presidency? Do you think the U.S. Senate should have voted to impeach the President?

P6 HW: Evaluate the Clinton Administration Considering all you have learned about Clinton, his domestic policies, and his foreign policies, do you think he was a good President or a bad one? Why? Also consider this – Did Clinton make the right decision when he: Allowed the US to take part in NAFTA? Passed the Anti-Terrorism act in 1996? Sent troops to be part of the UN forces as humanitarian aid to Rwanda & Bosnia? Lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky?

Successes of the Clinton Presidency 1) The Family Medical Leave Act was passed  up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid family leave for births or family illness) 2) Interest rates reduced on loans  more people could affordably borrow money to buy homes and cars 3) Welfare programs reformed  recipients would not receive assistance for more than 2 years  required people to work to receive benefits

Successes of the Clinton Presidency 4) AmeriCorps created  Similar to Peace Corps but in the US  Work in low-income housing, teaching children to read, cleaning up environment 5) Brady Bill  Required a waiting period to buy handguns  Required background checks

Successes of the Clinton Presidency 6) By raising income taxes and taxes on fuel, Clinton was able to overcome the national debt and create a budget surplus

Foreign Policy Challenges 5) Bosnian War – 1992  Civil War within Bosnia and Herzegovina between different groups  Violence raged between the new countries formed from the breakup of Yugoslavia.  Clinton helped broker the Dayton Accords to end the fighting in Bosnia in 1995  He urged NATO to act against Serbia.  The Serb army was forcing ethnic Albanians from the Serbian region of Kosovo.