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136-413: [REDACTED] The Whitewater controversy , Whitewater scandal , Whitewatergate , or simply Whitewater , was an American political controversy during the 1990s. It began with an investigation into the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates, Jim and Susan McDougal , in the Whitewater Development Corporation. This failed business venture was incorporated in 1979 with

272-786: A 51 day siege . During the operation on April 19, 1993, the buildings caught fire and 75 of the residents died, including 24 children. The raid had originally been planned by the Bush administration; Clinton had played no role. White River (Arkansas) The source of the White River is in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas , in the Ozark–St. Francis National Forest southeast of Fayetteville . The river flows northwards from its source to loop through southwest Missouri before heading southeast through Arkansas to its mouth on

408-414: A Bachelor of Science in foreign service degree in 1968. Georgetown was the only university where Clinton applied. In 1964 and 1965, Clinton won elections for class president . From 1964 to 1967, he was an intern and then a clerk in the office of Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright . While in college, he became a brother of service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa . He

544-616: A Resolution Trust Corporation investigator who was looking into the failure of Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan , also owned by Jim and Susan McDougal. Lewis looked for connections between the savings and loan company and the Clintons, and on September 2, 1992, she submitted a criminal referral to the FBI naming Bill and Hillary Clinton as witnesses in the Madison Guaranty case. Little Rock U.S. Attorney Charles A. Banks and

680-499: A centrist Third Way philosophy of governance. His policy of fiscal conservatism helped to reduce deficits on budgetary matters. Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. The Congressional Budget Office reported budget surpluses of $ 69 billion in 1998, $ 126 billion in 1999, and $ 236 billion in 2000, during the last three years of Clinton's presidency. Over

816-488: A hydroelectric dam on the White River by the newly formed Ozark Power and Water Company. Completed in 1913 at a cost of $ 2.3 million, Powersite Dam near Forsyth, Missouri confined a section of the White River to create Lake Taneycomo . The project brought electricity to a rural area of the Ozark Mountains south of Springfield, Missouri with rural electrification programs in the 1940s expanding service to

952-543: A "Task List" which included a reference to monitoring Hubbell's cooperation with Starr. Hubbell was later recorded in prison saying to his wife, "I need to roll over one more time" regarding the Rose Law firm lawsuit. In his next court appearance, he pleaded the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination (see United States v. Hubbell ). In February 1997, Starr announced he would leave the investigation to pursue

1088-745: A "judicial adventure". The House Banking Committee began its hearings in late July 1994. The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee also began hearings on Whitewater in July 1994. These hearings intensified in May 1995, following the Republican's gain of control, when the Republican Banking Committee chairman Al D'Amato also became chair of the newly formed Special Whitewater Committee . The Whitewater committee's hearings were much more extensive than those held previously by

1224-518: A 52 percent to 48 percent margin. In 1976, Clinton ran for Arkansas attorney general . Defeating the secretary of state and the deputy attorney general in the Democratic primary, Clinton was elected with no opposition at all in the general election, as no Republican had run for the office. In 1978, Clinton entered the Arkansas gubernatorial primary. At just 31 years old, he was one of

1360-633: A cost of $ 65 million. It confines Table Rock Lake , the second largest on the White and a popular tourist destination as part of the Branson area . Beaver Dam near Eureka Springs, Arkansas was built between 1960 and 1966 for $ 46 million. It confines Beaver Lake , the most upstream dam and reservoir on the river. A total of eight dams impound the upper White River, six in Arkansas and two in Missouri. The White River National Wildlife Refuge lies along

1496-548: A cost to the government of $ 4 million. This in turn helped trigger the 1989 collapse of Madison Guaranty, which federal regulators then had to take over. Taking place in the midst of the nationwide savings and loan crisis , the failure of Madison Guaranty cost the United States $ 73 million. The Clintons lost between $ 37,000 and $ 69,000 on their Whitewater investment; this was less than the McDougals lost. The reasons for

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1632-475: A firm second-place finish. Winning the big prizes of Florida and Texas and many of the Southern primaries on Super Tuesday gave Clinton a sizable delegate lead. However, former California governor Jerry Brown was scoring victories and Clinton had yet to win a significant contest outside his native South. With no major Southern state remaining, Clinton targeted New York, which had many delegates. He scored

1768-588: A grand jury subpoena to the President and his wife for all documents relating to Madison Guaranty, with a deadline of 30 days. They were reported as missing by the Clintons. Almost two years later, the subpoenaed billing records of the Rose Law Firm were discovered in the Clintons' private residence in the White House, with fingerprints of Hillary Clinton, among others. In August 1994, Kenneth Starr

1904-1032: A grand jury concerning her investments in Whitewater. This was the first time in American history that a First Lady had been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. She testified that they never borrowed any money from the bank, and denied having caused anyone to borrow money on their behalf. Parallel to the Independent Counsel track, both houses of the United States Congress had been investigating Whitewater and holding hearings on it. The House Committee on Financial Services had been scheduled to begin hearings in late March 1994, but they were postponed after an unusually angry, written communication from Democratic Banking Committee chair Henry B. Gonzalez to Republican Jim Leach . Gonzalez called Leach "obstinate", "obdurate", "in willful disregard" of House etiquette, and "premeditatedly" plotting

2040-561: A jazz trio, The 3 Kings , with Randy Goodrum , who became a successful professional pianist. In 1961, Clinton became a member of the Hot Springs Chapter of the Order of DeMolay , a youth group affiliated with Freemasonry , but he never became a Freemason. He briefly considered dedicating his life to music, but as he noted in his autobiography My Life : Clinton began an interest in law at Hot Springs High, when he took up

2176-575: A law professor at the University of Arkansas . In 1974, he ran for the House of Representatives . Running in the conservative 3rd district against incumbent Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt , Clinton's campaign was bolstered by the anti-Republican and anti-incumbent mood resulting from the Watergate scandal . Hammerschmidt, who had received 77 percent of the vote in 1972, defeated Clinton by only

2312-694: A leading figure among the New Democrats , a group of Democrats who advocated welfare reform, smaller government, and other policies not supported by liberals. Formally organized as the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), the New Democrats argued that in light of President Ronald Reagan 's landslide victory in 1984 , the Democratic Party needed to adopt a more centrist political stance in order to succeed at

2448-666: A moderate and as a member of the New Democrat wing of the Democratic Party, and he headed the moderate Democratic Leadership Council in 1990 and 1991. In the first primary contest, the Iowa Caucus , Clinton finished a distant third to Iowa senator Tom Harkin . During the campaign for the New Hampshire primary , reports surfaced that Clinton had engaged in an extramarital affair with Gennifer Flowers . Clinton fell far behind former Massachusetts senator Paul Tsongas in

2584-597: A mystery to this day." Starr also chose this occasion to completely exonerate President Clinton of any wrongdoing in the Travelgate and Filegate matters; Democrats on the committee immediately criticized Starr for withholding these findings, as well as the Whitewater one, until after the 1998 Congressional elections . The Clintons were never charged with any crime. Fifteen other people were convicted of more than 40 crimes, including Jim Guy Tucker, who resigned from office. In March 1992, during his presidential campaign,

2720-417: A police officer and a civilian, Rector shot himself in the head, leading to what his lawyers said was a state where he could still talk but did not understand the idea of death. According to both Arkansas state law and federal law, a seriously mentally impaired inmate cannot be executed. The courts disagreed with the allegation of grave mental impairment and allowed the execution. Clinton's return to Arkansas for

2856-589: A position at the Pepperdine University School of Law . However, he "flip flopped" in the face of "intense criticism" by conservatives and new evidence of sexual misconduct, diverted to some degree by the burgeoning Clinton–Lewinsky scandal . Starr's investigations in Arkansas were winding down, with his Little Rock grand jury about to expire. Hubbell, Jim Guy Tucker , and Susan McDougal had all refused to cooperate with Starr. Tucker and McDougal were later pardoned by President Clinton. When

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2992-572: A previous real estate investment with him in 1977. In the spring of 1978, McDougal proposed that the Clintons join him and his wife, Susan, in buying 230 acres (93 ha) of undeveloped land along the south bank of the White River near Flippin , Arkansas, in the Ozark Mountains . The goal was to subdivide the site into lots for vacation homes , intended for the many people coming south from Chicago and Detroit who were interested in low property taxes, fishing, rafting, and mountain scenery. The plan

3128-734: A promise he failed to keep. By election time, the economy was souring and Bush saw his approval rating plummet to just slightly over 40 percent. Finally, conservatives were previously united by anti-communism, but with the end of the Cold War, the party lacked a uniting issue. When Pat Buchanan and Pat Robertson addressed Christian themes at the Republican National Convention —with Bush criticizing Democrats for omitting God from their platform—many moderates were alienated. Clinton then pointed to his moderate, "New Democrat" record as governor of Arkansas, though some on

3264-638: A public figure. One was his visit as a Boys Nation senator to the White House to meet President John F. Kennedy . The other was watching Martin Luther King Jr. 's 1963 " I Have a Dream " speech on TV, which impressed him so much that he later memorized it. With the aid of scholarships, Clinton attended the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., receiving

3400-456: A report in September 2000, that stated "This office determined that the evidence was insufficient to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that either President or Mrs. Clinton knowingly participated in any criminal conduct." Nevertheless, Ray criticized the White House saying that delays in the production of evidence and "unmeritorious litigation" by the president's lawyers severely impeded

3536-485: A reporter for Richard Mellon Scaife 's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review , and later CEO of Newsmax , helped fuel much of this speculation with claims that Starr had not pursued this line of inquiry far enough. Starr received several criminal referrals from Congress but declined to prosecute. Susan Thomases and Webster Hubbell were alleged to have lied to Congress, and Harold M. Ickes was accused of misleading Congress. On January 26, 1996, Hillary Clinton testified before

3672-535: A resounding victory in New York City, shedding his image as a regional candidate. Having been transformed into the consensus candidate, he secured the Democratic Party nomination, finishing with a victory in Jerry Brown's home state of California. During the campaign, questions of conflict of interest regarding state business and the politically powerful Rose Law Firm , at which Hillary Rodham Clinton

3808-485: A special legislative session —the longest in Arkansas history. Many have considered this the greatest achievement of the Clinton governorship. He defeated four Republican candidates for governor: Lowe (1978), White (1982 and 1986), Jonesboro businessmen Woody Freeman (1984), and Sheffield Nelson of Little Rock (1990). Also in the 1980s, the Clintons' personal and business affairs included transactions that became

3944-491: A vindication" of the Clintons, stating in testimony before the Senate Whitewater Committee that "it was not our purpose to vindicate, castigate, exculpate." During Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential run, he was asked by New York Times reporters about the failure of the Whitewater development. The subsequent New York Times article, by reporter Jeff Gerth , appeared on March 8, 1992. Within hours of

4080-562: A wide variety of criminal offenses by the Clintons and others, including Webster Hubbell . These allegations led to the discovery that Hubbell, a friend and former Rose Law Firm partner of Hillary Clinton, had committed multiple frauds, mostly against his own firm. Hillary Clinton, instead of being complicit in Hubbell's crimes, had been among his victims. In December 1994, one week after Hubbell pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion, Associate White House Counsel, Jane C. Sherburne , created

4216-399: Is a member of Kappa Kappa Psi honorary band fraternity. Upon graduating from Georgetown in 1968, Clinton won a Rhodes Scholarship to University College, Oxford , where he initially read for a B.Phil. in philosophy, politics, and economics but transferred to a B.Litt. in politics and, ultimately, a B.Phil. in politics. Clinton did not expect to return for the second year because of

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4352-608: The White House for five days before turning them over to the Clinton family lawyer. White House counsel Nussbaum was accused of obstructing both the Justice Department investigation and National Park Service investigation into Foster's death by refusing to hand over documents found in Foster's briefcase. On February 25, 1994, presidential aides George Stephanopoulos and Harold M. Ickes attempted to interfere with

4488-492: The AIDS United Action five point plan. Clinton won the 1992 presidential election (370 electoral votes) against Republican incumbent George H. W. Bush (168 electoral votes) and billionaire populist Ross Perot (zero electoral votes), who ran as an independent on a platform that focused on domestic issues. Bush's steep decline in public approval was a significant part of Clinton's success. Clinton's victory in

4624-592: The Arkansas River , it carries nearly as much water—normally more than 20,000 cubic feet per second (570 m /s), and occasionally more than 100,000 cubic feet per second (2,800 m /s) during periods of flooding. In the 20th century, large sections of the White River were modified via dam construction to form a series of artificial reservoirs for the purpose of flood control, as well as hydroelectric power generation , water distribution and management, and recreation. The first of these encountered from

4760-667: The Bill Clinton administration , such as Travelgate , Filegate , and the circumstances surrounding Vince Foster's death , that were also investigated by the Whitewater Independent Counsel. But Whitewater proper refers only to the matters stemming from the Whitewater Development Corporation and subsequent developments. Bill Clinton had known Arkansas businessman and political figure Jim McDougal since 1968, and had made

4896-731: The Democratic Party , he previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992. Clinton, whose policies reflected a centrist " Third Way " political philosophy , became known as a New Democrat . Clinton was born and raised in Arkansas . He graduated from Georgetown University in 1968, and later from Yale Law School , where he met his future wife, Hillary Rodham . After graduating from law school, Clinton returned to Arkansas and won election as state attorney general, followed by two non-consecutive tenures as Arkansas governor . As governor, he overhauled

5032-937: The George McGovern campaign for the 1972 United States presidential election in order to move in with her in California. The couple continued living together in New Haven when they returned to law school. Clinton eventually moved to Texas with Rodham in 1972 to take a job leading McGovern's effort there. He spent considerable time in Dallas , at the campaign's local headquarters on Lemmon Avenue, where he had an office. Clinton worked with future two-term mayor of Dallas Ron Kirk , future governor of Texas Ann Richards , and then unknown television director and filmmaker Steven Spielberg . After graduating from Yale Law School , Clinton returned to Arkansas and became

5168-612: The House Judiciary Committee in connection with the Impeachment of Bill Clinton over charges related to the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal . Starr said that in late 1997, he had considered preparing an impeachment report regarding the fraudulent $ 300,000 loan to Susan McDougall and the question of whether the President had testified truthfully regarding the loan. Starr said that he held back the charges because he

5304-536: The Madison Guaranty investigation. Stephanopoulos and Ickes had a conference call with Roger Altman in which they protested the hiring of Jay Stephens, who was heading the investigation. On the call Stephanopoulos asked if Stephens could be removed. In April 1994 after Webster Hubbell resigned from his position as Associate Attorney General and was facing fraud charges, there was the potential that he might cooperate with Ken Starr's investigation. During

5440-661: The Mississippi River . On entering the Mississippi River Valley region near Batesville, Arkansas , the river becomes navigable to shallow-draft vessels, and its speed decreases considerably. The final 10 miles (16 km) serves as the last segment of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System ; this part of the channel is deeper than the rest of the river. Despite being much shorter than

5576-809: The North American Free Trade Agreement and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act but failed to pass his plan for national health care reform . Starting in the mid-1990s, he began an ideological evolution as he became much more conservative in his domestic policy, advocating for and signing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act , the State Children's Health Insurance Program and financial deregulation measures. He appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer to

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5712-658: The Oslo I Accord and Camp David Summit to advance the Israeli–Palestinian peace process , and assisted the Northern Ireland peace process . Clinton won re-election in the 1996 election , defeating Republican nominee Bob Dole and Reform Party nominee Perot. His second term was dominated by the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal , which began in 1995, when he had a sexual relationship with the then 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky . In January 1998, news of

5848-595: The Senate , where he was acquitted on both charges. During the last three years of Clinton's presidency, the Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus—the first such surplus since 1969. Clinton left office in 2001 with the joint-highest approval rating of any U.S. president. His presidency ranks among the middle to upper tier in historical rankings of U.S. presidents . However, his personal conduct and misconduct allegations have made him

5984-538: The Starr Report , concerning offenses alleged to have been committed by President Clinton, as part of the Lewinsky scandal. The report mentioned Whitewater only in passing; Clinton friend and advisor, Vernon Jordan , Clinton aide Bruce Lindsey , and Clinton chief of staff Mack McLarty had helped Webster Hubbell financially by getting him "no-show" consulting contracts while he was under pressure to cooperate with

6120-772: The U.S. Supreme Court . In foreign policy, Clinton ordered U.S. military intervention in the Bosnian and Kosovo wars , eventually signing the Dayton Peace agreement . He also called for the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe and many former Warsaw Pact members joined NATO during his presidency. Clinton's foreign policy in the Middle East saw him sign the Iraq Liberation Act which gave aid to groups against Saddam Hussein . He also participated in

6256-612: The Vietnam War . Aller's 1971 suicide had an influential impact on Clinton. British writer and feminist Sara Maitland said of Clinton, "I remember Bill and Frank Aller taking me to a pub in Walton Street in the summer term of 1969 and talking to me about the Vietnam War. I knew nothing about it, and when Frank began to describe the napalming of civilians I began to cry. Bill said that feeling bad wasn't good enough. That

6392-423: The cattle futures controversy ; it was broadcast live on several networks. In it, she claimed that the Clintons had a passive role in the Whitewater venture and had committed no wrongdoing, but admitted that her explanations had been vague. She said that she no longer opposed appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the matter. Afterwards, she won media praise for the manner in which she conducted herself during

6528-472: The death of Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster in July 1993, chief White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum removed documents, some of them concerning the Whitewater Development Corporation, from Foster's office and gave them to Maggie Williams , Chief of Staff to the First Lady. According to The New York Times , Williams placed the documents in a safe in the Clinton residence on the third floor of

6664-621: The "Boy Governor". He worked on educational reform and directed the maintenance of Arkansas's roads, with wife Hillary leading a successful committee on urban health care reform. However, his term included an unpopular motor vehicle tax and citizens' anger over the escape of Cuban refugees (from the Mariel boatlift ) detained in Fort Chaffee in 1980. Monroe Schwarzlose, of Kingsland in Cleveland County , polled 31 percent of

6800-447: The 1992 election had several unique characteristics. Voters felt that economic conditions were worse than they actually were, which harmed Bush. A rare event was the presence of a strong third-party candidate. Liberals launched a backlash against 12 years of a conservative White House. The chief factor was Clinton's uniting his party, and winning over a number of heterogeneous groups. Clinton's " third way " of moderate liberalism built up

6936-517: The Arkansas grand jury did conclude its work in May 1998, after 30 months in panel, it came up with only a contempt indictment against Susan McDougal. Although she refused to testify under oath regarding the Clintons' involvement in Whitewater, Susan McDougal did make the case in the media that the Clintons had been truthful in their account of the loan, and had cast doubt on her former husband's motives for cooperating with Starr. She also claimed that James McDougal felt abandoned by Clinton, and told her "he

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7072-483: The Clinton Administration as "an American presidency [that] misused its power, circumvented the limits on its authority and attempted to manipulate the truth". The first lady came in for much stronger criticism, as she was "the central figure" in all aspects of the alleged wrongdoings. The Democratic minority on the Committee called these findings "a legislative travesty", "a witch hunt", and "a political game". On November 19, 1998, Independent Counsel Starr testified before

7208-486: The Clintons acknowledged that on their 1984 and 1985 tax returns, they had claimed improper tax deductions for interest payments made by the Whitewater Development Company. Due to the age of the mistake, the Clintons were not obligated to make good the error, but Bill Clinton announced that they would nonetheless do so. Deputy White House counsel Vince Foster looked into this matter, but did not take any action before his death. On December 28, 1993, almost two years after

7344-416: The Clintons for additional funds for interest payments on the loan and other expenses; the Clintons later claimed to have no knowledge of how these contributions were used. When Bill Clinton failed to win re-election in 1980, Jim McDougal lost his job as the governor's economic aide and decided to go into banking. He acquired the Bank of Kingston in 1980 and the Woodruff Savings & Loan in 1982, renaming them

7480-572: The Clintons. A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation resulted in convictions against the McDougals for their role in the Whitewater project. Jim Guy Tucker , Bill Clinton's successor as governor, was convicted of fraud and sentenced to four years of probation for his role in the matter. Susan McDougal served 18 months in prison for contempt of court for refusing to answer questions relating to Whitewater. Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton were ever prosecuted, after three separate inquiries found insufficient evidence linking them with

7616-519: The Democrats, running for 300 hours over 60 sessions across 13 months, and taking over 10,000 pages of testimony and 35,000 pages of depositions from almost 250 people. The hearings' testimony and senatorial lines of investigation mostly followed partisan lines, with Republicans investigating the President and the Democrats defending him. The Senate Special Whitewater Committee issued an 800-page majority report on June 18, 1996, which only hinted at one possible improper action by President Clinton, but spoke of

7752-419: The FBI determined that the referral lacked merit, but Lewis continued to pursue the case. From 1992 to 1994, Lewis issued several additional referrals against the Clintons and repeatedly called the U.S. Attorney's Office in Little Rock and the Justice Department regarding the case. Her referrals eventually became public knowledge, and she testified before the Senate Whitewater Committee in 1995. David Hale ,

7888-584: The House of Representatives in the fall of 1997, alleging that there was "substantial and credible evidence" that Bill Clinton had committed perjury regarding Hale's allegations. Hale pleaded guilty in the Whitewater case to two felonies and served 21 months of a 28-month sentence. Attorney Theodore B. Olson , who with several associates launched the plan that later became known as the "Arkansas Project", wrote several essays for The American Spectator , accusing Clinton and many of his associates of wrongdoing. The first of those pieces appeared in February 1994, alleging

8024-725: The Madison Bank & Trust and the Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan , respectively. In spring 1985, McDougal held a fundraiser at Madison Guaranty's office in Little Rock that paid off Clinton's 1984 gubernatorial campaign debt of $ 50,000. McDougal raised $ 35,000; $ 12,000 of that was in Madison Guaranty cashier's checks. In 1985, Jim McDougal invested in a local construction project called Castle Grande . The 1,000 acres (400 ha), located south of Little Rock , were priced at about $ 1.75 million, more than McDougal could afford on his own. According to then current law, McDougal could borrow only $ 600,000 from his own savings and loan , Madison Guaranty. Therefore, McDougal involved others to raise

8160-455: The New Hampshire polls. Following Super Bowl XXVI , Clinton and his wife Hillary went on 60 Minutes to rebuff the charges. Their television appearance was a calculated risk, but Clinton regained several delegates. He finished second to Tsongas in the New Hampshire primary , but after trailing badly in the polls and coming within single digits of winning, the media viewed it as a victory. News outlets labeled him "The Comeback Kid" for earning

8296-406: The Vietnam War, would understand and appreciate his position. After Oxford, Clinton attended Yale Law School and earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1973. In 1971, he met his future wife, Hillary Rodham, in the Yale Law Library ; she was a class year ahead of him. They began dating and were soon inseparable. After only about a month, Clinton postponed his summer plans to be a coordinator for

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8432-413: The Whitewater case to two felonies and served 21 months of a 28-month sentence. Writers from Salon have complained that the full, 168-page report had not been made public, a complaint still being reiterated by Salon as of 2001. State prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Hale in early July 1996, charging that Hale had misrepresented the solvency of his insurance company, National Savings Life , to

8568-429: The Whitewater investigations turned the public against the Office of the Independent Counsel ; even Kenneth Starr was opposed to it. The Independent Counsel law was allowed to expire in 1999. Bill Clinton [REDACTED] William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe ; born August 19, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of

8704-446: The Whitewater investigations. Indeed, it was on this basis that Starr took on the Lewinsky investigation, under the umbrella of the Whitewater Independent Counsel mandate. There was much acrimony from the most fervent critics of the Clintons, after the release of the Starr report on the Foster matter and after Starr's departure and return to the case. The death of Foster had been the source of many conspiracy theories. Christopher Ruddy ,

8840-421: The additional funds. Among these was Seth Ward, a Madison official, who helped funnel the additional $ 1.15 million required. To avoid potential investigations, the money was moved back and forth among several other investors and intermediaries. Hillary Clinton, then an attorney at Rose Law Firm (which is based in Little Rock) provided legal services to Castle Grande. In 1986, federal regulators realized that all of

8976-452: The affair made tabloid headlines. This scandal escalated throughout the year, culminating in December when Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives , becoming the first U.S. president to be impeached since Andrew Johnson . The two impeachment articles that the House passed were centered around perjury and Clinton using the powers of the presidency to commit obstruction of justice. In 1999, Clinton's impeachment trial began in

9112-419: The authority of the Flood Control Act of 1938 . Bull Shoals Dam near Mountain Home, Arkansas was constructed from 1947 to 1951 at a cost of $ 86 million and is the 5th largest concrete dam in the United States. It confines Bull Shoals Lake , the largest of the lakes on the White River and the most downstream. The next to be constructed was Table Rock Dam near Branson, Missouri , completed in 1958 at

9248-425: The basis of the Whitewater controversy investigation, which later dogged his presidential administration. After extensive investigation over several years, no indictments were made against the Clintons related to the years in Arkansas. According to some sources, Clinton was a death penalty opponent in his early years, but he eventually switched positions. However he might have felt previously, by 1992, Clinton

9384-492: The beginning, Susan McDougal charged that Starr had offered her "global immunity" from other charges if she would cooperate with the Whitewater investigation. McDougal told the jury that refusing to answer questions about the Clintons and Whitewater wasn't easy for her, or her family. "It's been a long road, a very long road...and it was not an easy decision to make", McDougal told the court. McDougal refused to answer any questions while under oath , leading to her being imprisoned by

9520-444: The cause of world peace", having "a powerful collaborator in his wife", and for winning "general applause for his achievement of resolving the gridlock that prevented an agreed budget". During the Vietnam War, Clinton received educational draft deferments while he was in England in 1968 and 1969. While at Oxford, he participated in Vietnam War protests and organized a Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam event in October 1969. He

9656-428: The challenge to argue the defense of the ancient Roman senator Catiline in a mock trial in his Latin class. After a vigorous defense that made use of his "budding rhetorical and political skills", he told the Latin teacher Elizabeth Buck it "made him realize that someday he would study law". Clinton has identified two influential moments in his life, both occurring in 1963, that contributed to his decision to become

9792-616: The controversial execution of Ricky Ray Rector , would go forward as scheduled. During his time as governor in the 1980s, Arkansas was the center of a drug smuggling operation through Mena Airport . CIA agent Barry Seal allegedly imported three to five billion dollars worth of cocaine through the airport, and the operation was linked to the Iran–Contra affair . Clinton was accused of knowing about this operation, although nothing could be proven against him. Journalist Sam Smith tied him to various questionable business dealings. Clinton

9928-506: The criminal conduct of others related to the land deal. The matter was handled by the Whitewater Independent Counsel , Republican Kenneth Starr . The last of these inquiries came from the final Independent Counsel, Robert Ray (who replaced Starr) in 2000. Susan McDougal was granted a pardon by President Clinton before he left office. The term "Whitewater" is sometimes used to include other controversies from

10064-512: The draft and avoid serving in uniform. He issued a notarized statement during the 1992 presidential campaign: During the 1992 campaign, it was revealed that Clinton's uncle had attempted to secure him a position in the Navy Reserve , which would have prevented him from being deployed to Vietnam. This effort was unsuccessful and Clinton said in 1992 that he had been unaware of it until then. Although legal, Clinton's actions with respect to

10200-501: The draft and deciding whether to serve in the military were criticized during his first presidential campaign by conservatives and some Vietnam veterans, some of whom charged that he had used Fulbright's influence to avoid military service. Clinton's 1992 campaign manager, James Carville , successfully argued that Clinton's letter in which he declined to join the ROTC should be made public, insisting that voters, many of whom had also opposed

10336-461: The draft and received a high number (311), meaning that those whose birthdays had been drawn as numbers   1 to 310 would be drafted before him, making it unlikely he would be called up. (In fact, the highest number drafted was 195.) Colonel Eugene Holmes, the Army officer who had been involved with Clinton's ROTC application, suspected that Clinton attempted to manipulate the situation to avoid

10472-430: The draft and so he switched programs; this type of activity was common among other Rhodes Scholars from his cohort. He had received an offer to study at Yale Law School , and so he left early to return to the United States and did not receive a degree from Oxford. During his time at Oxford, Clinton befriended fellow American Rhodes Scholar Frank Aller. In 1969, Aller received a draft letter that mandated deployment to

10608-418: The eight years of the Clinton administration, the abortion rate declined by 18 percent. On February 15, 1993, Clinton made his first address to the nation, announcing his plan to raise taxes to close a budget deficit . Two days later, in a nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress , Clinton unveiled his economic plan. The plan focused on reducing the deficit rather than on cutting taxes for

10744-461: The election ended twelve years of Republican rule of the White House and twenty of the previous twenty-four years. The election gave Democrats full control of the United States Congress , the first time one party controlled both the executive and legislative branches since Democrats held the 96th United States Congress during the presidency of Jimmy Carter . According to Seymour Martin Lipset ,

10880-529: The end of his presidency, the Clintons moved to 15 Old House Lane in Chappaqua, New York , in order to quell political worries about his wife's residency for election as a U.S. Senator from New York. "Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." Inaugural address, January 20, 1993. After his presidential transition , Clinton

11016-452: The error, including the additional two-year delay. The Whitewater files in question, publicly released in August 1995, cast some doubt on the Clintons' assertions in the matter, as they showed that the couple was aware that the interest payments in question were paid by the Whitewater corporation, and not them personally. Kenneth Starr's successor as Independent Counsel, Robert Ray , released

11152-502: The execution was framed in an article for The New York Times as a possible political move to counter "soft on crime" accusations. Bush's approval ratings were around 80 percent during the Gulf War , and he was described as unbeatable. When Bush compromised with Democrats to try to lower federal deficits, he reneged on his promise not to raise taxes , which hurt his approval rating. Clinton repeatedly condemned Bush for making

11288-469: The failure of Madison Guaranty had questioned Hale about his dealings with Jim and Susan McDougal, including the $ 300,000 loan. According to the agents' official memorandum of that interview, Hale described in some detail his dealings with Jim Guy Tucker (then an attorney in private practice, later Bill Clinton's lieutenant governor ), both McDougals, and several others, but never mentioned Governor Bill Clinton. Clinton denied that he pressured Hale to approve

11424-444: The funds for the real estate venture had come from Madison Guaranty; regulators called Castle Grande a sham. In July of that year, McDougal resigned from Madison Guaranty. Ward fell under investigation along with the lawyer who helped him draft the agreement. Castle Grande earned $ 2 million in commissions and fees for McDougal's business associates, as well as an unknown amount in legal fees for Rose Law Firm, but in 1989, it collapsed, at

11560-422: The headwaters is Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas, followed by Table Rock Lake and Lake Taneycomo in southern Missouri, and finally Bull Shoals Lake as the river loops southward into northern Arkansas. Downstream of Bull Shoals Dam , the White River returns to its natural riparian state as it heads southeast through the eastern Ozark-St. Francis National Forest. In 1910, Congress authorized construction of

11696-407: The investigation's progress, leading to a total cost of nearly $ 60 million. Ray's report effectively closed the Whitewater investigation. Bill and Hillary Clinton never visited the actual Whitewater property. In May 1985, Jim McDougal sold the remaining lots of the failed Whitewater Development Corporation to local realtor, Chris Wade. By 1993, there were a few occupied houses on the site, but most of

11832-413: The judge for civil contempt of court for the maximum 18 months, including eight months in isolation. Starr's subsequent indictment of McDougal for criminal contempt of court charges resulted in a jury hung 7–5, in favor of acquittal. President Clinton later pardoned her, shortly before leaving office (see list of people pardoned by Bill Clinton ). In September 1998, Independent Counsel Starr released

11968-412: The latter's death. In Hot Springs, Clinton attended St. John's Catholic Elementary School, Ramble Elementary School, and the segregated Hot Springs High School , where he was an active student leader, avid reader, and musician. Clinton was in the chorus and played the tenor saxophone , winning first chair in the state band's saxophone section. While in high school, Clinton performed for two years in

12104-540: The loan to Susan McDougal. By this time, Hale had already pleaded guilty to two felonies and secured a reduction in his sentence in exchange for his testimony against Bill Clinton. Charges were made by Clinton supporters that Hale had received numerous cash payments from representatives of the so-called Arkansas Project , a $ 2.4 million campaign established to assist in Hale's defense strategy, and to investigate Clinton and his associates between 1993 and 1997. These charges were

12240-547: The lower part of the river. The tributaries of the White River include Cache River , Bayou des Arc , Little Red River , Black River , North Fork River , Crooked Creek , Buffalo River , Kings River , James River , and Roaring River . Fishing for trout is popular in the upper portions of the river from the Beaver Lake tailwaters in northwestern Arkansas, through its course through southwest Missouri (including all of Lake Taneycomo), and back down through Arkansas to

12376-523: The middle class, which had been high on his campaign agenda. Clinton's advisers pressured him to raise taxes, based on the theory that a smaller federal budget deficit would reduce bond interest rates. President Clinton's attorney general Janet Reno authorized the FBI's use of armored vehicles to deploy tear gas into the buildings of the Branch Davidian community near Waco, Texas, in hopes of ending

12512-487: The more liberal side of the party remained suspicious. Many Democrats who had supported Ronald Reagan and Bush in previous elections switched their support to Clinton. Clinton and his running mate, Al Gore , toured the country during the final weeks of the campaign, shoring up support and pledging a "new beginning". On March 26, 1992, during a Democratic fund raiser of the presidential campaign, Robert Rafsky confronted then Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas and asked what he

12648-436: The nation's fiscal health and put the nation on a firm footing abroad amid globalization and the development of anti-American terrorist organizations. During his presidency, Clinton advocated for a wide variety of legislation and programs , most of which were enacted into law or implemented by the executive branch. His policies, particularly the North American Free Trade Agreement and welfare reform , have been attributed to

12784-611: The national level. Clinton delivered the Democratic response to Reagan's 1985 State of the Union Address and served as chair of the National Governors Association from 1986 to 1987, bringing him to an audience beyond Arkansas. In the early 1980s, Clinton made reform of the Arkansas education system a top priority of his gubernatorial administration. The Arkansas Education Standards Committee

12920-485: The officer in charge of the program that he opposed the war, but did not think it was honorable to use ROTC, National Guard, or Reserve service to avoid serving in Vietnam. He further stated that because he opposed the war, he would not volunteer to serve in uniform, but would subject himself to the draft, and would serve if selected only as a way "to maintain my political viability within the system". Clinton registered for

13056-483: The original announcement, the Clintons did make a reimbursement payment, for $ 4,900, to the Internal Revenue Service . This was done just before Justice Department investigators started seeking the Clintons' Whitewater files. The payment was made without filing an amended return (possibly because the three-year period for amended return filing had passed), but did include full interest on the amount of

13192-506: The potential candidacy of Hillary for governor, initially favored—but ultimately vetoed—by the First Lady). For the nomination, Clinton endorsed Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis . He gave the nationally televised opening night address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention , but his speech, which was 33 minutes long and twice the length it was expected to be, was criticized for being too long. Clinton presented himself both as

13328-482: The press conference; Time called her "open, candid, but above all unflappable...the real message was her attitude and her poise. The confiding tone and relaxed body language ...immediately drew approving reviews". By that time there was growing backlash from Democrats and other members of the political left against the press' investigations of Whitewater. The New York Times was criticized by Gene Lyons of Harper's Magazine , who felt its reporters were exaggerating

13464-434: The properties were still for sale. One owner, tired of the many reporters who visited the site, hung a sign saying "Go Home, Idiots". By 2007, there were about 12 houses in the subdivision, with the last lot up for sale by son, Chris Wade Jr., for $ 25,000. In Flippin, Arkansas, Jim McDougal's savings and loan bank had been replaced by a variety of small businesses, most recently a barbershop. The length, expense, and results of

13600-406: The purpose of developing vacation properties on land along the White River near Flippin, Arkansas . A March 1992 New York Times article published during the 1992 U.S. presidential campaign reported that the Clintons, then governor and first lady of Arkansas , had invested and lost money in the Whitewater Development Corporation. The article stimulated the interest of L. Jean Lewis ,

13736-477: The same reason. Clinton had repeatedly promised to encourage gays in the military service, despite what he knew to be the strong opposition of the military leadership. He tried anyway, and was publicly opposed by the top generals, and forced by Congress to a compromise position of " Don't ask, don't tell " whereby gays could serve if and only if they kept it secret. He devised a $ 16-billion stimulus package primarily to aid inner-city programs desired by liberals, but it

13872-561: The significance and possible impropriety of what they were uncovering. At Clinton's request, Attorney General Janet Reno appointed a special prosecutor , Robert B. Fiske , to investigate the legality of the Whitewater transactions in 1994. Two allegations surfaced: 1) that Clinton had exerted pressure on an Arkansas businessman, David Hale, to make a loan that would benefit himself and the owners of Madison Guaranty ; 2) that an Arkansas bank had concealed transactions involving Clinton's gubernatorial campaign in 1990. In May 1994, Fiske issued

14008-547: The source of criminal allegations against the Clintons, claimed in November 1993 that Bill Clinton had pressured him into providing an illegal $ 300,000 loan to Susan McDougal, the Clintons' partner in the Whitewater land deal. The allegations were regarded as questionable because Hale had not mentioned Clinton in reference to this loan during the original FBI investigation of Madison Guaranty in 1989; only after coming under indictment himself in 1993, did Hale make allegations against

14144-416: The state insurance commission. The prosecutors also alleged in court papers that Hale had made those misrepresentations to conceal the fact that he had looted the insurance company. Hale said that any infraction was a technicality and that no one had lost any money. In March 1999, Hale was convicted of the first charge, with the jury recommending a 21-day jail sentence. Starr drafted an impeachment referral to

14280-515: The state's education system and served as chairman of the National Governors Association . Clinton was elected president in the 1992 election , defeating the incumbent Republican Party president George H. W. Bush and the independent businessman Ross Perot . He became the first president to be born in the Baby Boomer generation. Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. He signed into law

14416-778: The subject of substantial scrutiny. Since leaving office, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the Clinton Foundation to address international causes such as the prevention of HIV/AIDS and global warming. In 2009, he was named the United Nations special envoy to Haiti . After the 2010 Haiti earthquake , Clinton founded the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund with George W. Bush and Barack Obama . He has remained active in Democratic Party politics, campaigning for his wife's 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns . Clinton

14552-420: The surrounding region. Recreation on Taneycomo drew tourism to Rockaway Beach and Branson . The Ozark Power and Electric Company operated independently until 1927 when it merged with Empire District Electric Company in 1927, who own and operate Powersite to this day. Beaver Lake , Bull Shoals Lake , and Table Rock Lake are man-made lakes or reservoirs created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under

14688-495: The time that Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan was dissolved. The report concluded that McDougal, who had set up the deal, was the managing partner, and Bill Clinton was a passive investor in the venture; the Associated Press characterized it as "generally support[ing] the Clintons' description of their involvement in Whitewater". However, Charles Patterson, the attorney who supervised the report, "refused ... to call it

14824-467: The time there was pressure for Hubbell to cooperate, Clinton's chief of staff Mack McLarty , Clinton aide Bruce Lindsey , and Clinton friend Vernon Jordan arranged for Hubbell to be paid from consulting contracts. They did so with the approval of the first lady and President Clinton. In the Starr Report , Starr said "the jobs and money paid to Mr. Hubbell by friends and contributors to the President had raised serious questions about whether such assistance

14960-503: The topic of a separate investigation by former Department of Justice investigator, Michael E. Shaheen Jr. Shaheen filed his report in July 1999 to Starr, who stated that the allegations that Hale had been paid in hopes of influencing his testimony were "unsubstantiated or, in some cases, untrue". No further charges were brought against Hale or the Arkansas Project outlet, The American Spectator , though Hale later pled guilty in

15096-649: The unequal capital contributions by the Clintons and McDougals are unknown but the President's critics cited the discrepancy as evidence that then-Governor Clinton was to contribute to the project in other ways. The White House and the President's supporters claimed that they were exonerated by the Pillsbury Report. This was a $ 3 million study done for the Resolution Trust Corporation by the Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro law firm at

15232-517: The vote against Clinton in the Democratic gubernatorial primary of 1980. Some suggested Schwarzlose's unexpected voter turnout foreshadowed Clinton's defeat by Republican challenger Frank D. White in the general election that year. As Clinton once joked, he was the youngest ex-governor in the nation's history. After leaving office in January 1981, Clinton joined friend Bruce Lindsey 's Little Rock law firm of Wright, Lindsey and Jennings. In 1982, he

15368-611: The years of the recorded surplus, the gross national debt rose each year. At the end of the fiscal year (September 30) for each of the years a surplus was recorded, the U.S. Treasury reported a gross debt of $ 5.413 trillion in 1997, $ 5.526 trillion in 1998, $ 5.656 trillion in 1999, and $ 5.674 trillion in 2000. Over the same period, the Office of Management and Budget reported an end of year (December 31) gross debt of $ 5.369 trillion in 1997, $ 5.478 trillion in 1998, $ 5.606 in 1999, and $ 5.629 trillion in 2000. At

15504-415: The youngest gubernatorial candidates in the state's history. Clinton was elected governor of Arkansas in 1978 , having defeated the Republican candidate Lynn Lowe , a farmer from Texarkana . Clinton was only 32 years old when he took office, the youngest governor in the country at the time and the second youngest governor in the history of Arkansas. Due to his youthful appearance, Clinton was often called

15640-401: Was inaugurated as the 42nd president of the United States on January 20, 1993. Clinton was physically exhausted at the time, and had an inexperienced staff. His high levels of public support dropped in the first few weeks, as he made a series of mistakes. His first choice for attorney general had not paid her taxes on babysitters and was forced to withdraw. The second appointee also withdrew for

15776-473: Was a partner, arose. Clinton argued the questions were moot because all transactions with the state had been deducted before determining Hillary's firm pay. Further concern arose when Bill Clinton announced that, with Hillary, voters would be getting two presidents "for the price of one". Clinton was still the governor of Arkansas while campaigning for U.S. president, and he returned to his home state to see that Ricky Ray Rector would be executed. After killing

15912-611: Was accused of serious sexual misconduct in Arkansas, including allegations of using the Arkansas State Police to gain access to women ( Troopergate affair ). The killing of Don Henry and Kevin Ives in 1987 started various conspiracy theories that accused Clinton and the Arkansas state authorities of covering up the crime. In 1987, the media speculated that Clinton would enter the presidential race. Clinton decided to remain as Arkansas governor (following consideration for

16048-460: Was also accused by Gennifer Flowers to have used cocaine as governor and his half-brother Roger was sentenced to prison in 1985 for possession and smuggling of cocaine, but was later pardoned by his brother after serving his sentence. During his time in Arkansas, there were also other scandals such as the Whitewater controversy involving the Clintons' real estate dealings, and Bill Clinton

16184-596: Was appointed by a three-judge panel to continue the Whitewater investigation, replacing Robert B. Fiske , who had been specially appointed by US attorney general Janet Reno , prior to the re-enactment of the Independent Counsel law. Fiske was replaced because he had been chosen and appointed by Janet Reno, Clinton's attorney general, creating the appearance of a conflict of interest . The key witness against President Clinton in Starr's Whitewater investigation,

16320-470: Was banker David Hale who alleged in November 1992 that Clinton, while governor of Arkansas, pressured him to provide an illegal $ 300,000 loan to Susan McDougal, the partner of the Clintons in the Whitewater deal. Attorney Randy Coleman's defense strategy was to present Hale as the victim of high-powered politicians who forced him to give away all of the money. This characterization was undermined by testimony from November 1989, wherein FBI agents investigating

16456-617: Was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, at Julia Chester Hospital in Hope, Arkansas . He is the son of William Jefferson Blythe Jr. , a traveling salesman who died in an automobile accident three months before his birth, and Virginia Dell Cassidy (later Virginia Kelley). Blythe had initially survived the crash, but drowned in a drainage ditch. His parents had married on September 4, 1943, but this union later proved to be bigamous, as Blythe

16592-555: Was chaired by Clinton's wife Hillary, who was also an attorney as well as the chair of the Legal Services Corporation . The committee transformed Arkansas's education system. Proposed reforms included more spending for schools (supported by a sales-tax increase), better opportunities for gifted children, vocational education, higher teachers' salaries, more course variety, and compulsory teacher competency exams. The reforms passed in September 1983 after Clinton called

16728-526: Was defeated by a Republican filibuster in the Senate. His popularity at the 100 day mark of his term was the lowest of any president at that point. Public opinion did support one liberal program, and Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 , which required large employers to allow employees to take unpaid leave for pregnancy or a serious medical condition. This action had bipartisan support, and

16864-587: Was designed to influence Mr. Hubbell’s testimony about Madison-related matters". As a result of the exposé in The New York Times , the Justice Department opened an investigation into the failed Whitewater deal. Media pressure continued to build, and on April 22, 1994, Hillary Clinton gave an unusual press conference under a portrait of Abraham Lincoln in the State Dining Room of the White House, to address questions on both Whitewater and

17000-408: Was elected governor a second time and kept the office for ten years. Effective with the 1986 election, Arkansas had changed its gubernatorial term of office from two to four years. During his term, he helped transform Arkansas's economy and improved the state's educational system. For senior citizens , he removed the sales tax from medications and increased the home property-tax exemption. He became

17136-486: Was going to do about AIDS , to which Clinton replied, "I feel your pain". The televised exchange led to AIDS becoming an issue in the 1992 presidential election. On April 4, then candidate Clinton met with members of ACT UP and other leading AIDS advocates to discuss his AIDS agenda and agreed to make a major AIDS policy speech, to have people with HIV speak to the Democratic Convention , and to sign onto

17272-406: Was going to pay back the Clintons". She said to the press, again not under oath, that her husband had told her that Republican activist and Little Rock lawyer, Sheffield Nelson , was willing to "pay him some money" for talking to The New York Times about Bill Clinton, and in 1992, he told her that one of Clinton's political enemies was paying him to tell The New York Times about Whitewater. From

17408-400: Was incorporated on June 18, 1979. By the time the Whitewater lots were surveyed and available for sale at the end of 1979, interest rates had climbed to near 20%. Prospective buyers could no longer afford to buy vacation homes. Rather than take a loss on the venture, the four decided to build a model home and wait for better economic conditions. Following the land purchase, Jim McDougal asked

17544-577: Was insisting that Democrats "should no longer feel guilty about protecting the innocent". During Clinton's final term as governor, Arkansas performed its first executions since 1964 (the death penalty had been reinstated in 1976). As Governor, he oversaw the first four executions carried out by the state of Arkansas since the death penalty was reinstated there in 1976: one by electric chair and three by lethal injection . To draw attention to his stance on capital punishment, Clinton flew home to Arkansas mid-campaign in 1992, in order to affirm in person that

17680-495: Was not sure that the two major witnesses had told the truth, but that the investigation was still ongoing. Regarding the reappearance of Hillary Clinton's Rose Law Firm billing records in the White House residential section, Starr said the investigation had found no explanation for the disappearance or the reappearance. "After a thorough investigation, we have found no explanation how the billing records got where they were or why they were not discovered and produced earlier. It remains

17816-467: Was not until Clinton turned 15 that he formally adopted the surname Clinton as a gesture toward him. Clinton has described his stepfather as a gambler and an alcoholic who regularly abused his mother and half-brother, Roger Clinton Jr. The physical abuse only ceased after a then-14-year-old Bill challenged his stepfather to "stand and face" him, though the verbal/emotional abuse continued. Bill would eventually forgive Roger Sr. for his abusive actions near

17952-584: Was planning to attend law school in the U.S. and knew he might lose his deferment. Clinton tried unsuccessfully to obtain positions in the National Guard and the Air Force officer candidate school , and he then made arrangements to join the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program at the University of Arkansas . He subsequently decided not to join the ROTC, saying in a letter to

18088-596: Was popular with the public. Two days after taking office, on January 22, 1993—the 20th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade —Clinton reversed restrictions on domestic and international family planning programs that had been imposed by Reagan and Bush. Clinton said abortion should be kept "safe, legal, and rare"—a slogan that had been suggested by political scientist Samuel L. Popkin and first used by Clinton in December 1991, while campaigning. During

18224-780: Was still married to his fourth wife. Virginia traveled to New Orleans to study nursing soon after Bill was born, leaving him in Hope with her parents Eldridge and Edith Cassidy, who owned and ran a small grocery store. At a time when the southern United States was racially segregated , Clinton's grandparents sold goods on credit to people of all races. In 1950, Bill's mother returned from nursing school and married Roger Clinton Sr. , who co-owned an automobile dealership in Hot Springs, Arkansas , with his brother and Earl T. Ricks . The family moved to Hot Springs in 1950. Although he immediately assumed use of his stepfather's surname, it

18360-546: Was the first time I encountered the idea that liberal sensitivities weren't enough and you had to do something about such things". Clinton was a member of the Oxford University Basketball Club and also played for Oxford University's rugby union team. While Clinton was president in 1994, he received an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree and a fellowship from the University of Oxford , specifically for being "a doughty and tireless champion of

18496-427: Was to hold the property for a few years and then sell the lots at a profit. The four borrowed $ 203,000 to buy the land and subsequently transferred ownership of it to the newly created Whitewater Development Corporation, in which all four participants had equal shares. Susan McDougal chose the name "Whitewater Estates" and their sales pitch was, "One weekend here and you'll never want to live anywhere else." The business

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