Middle School
Worksheets
Politics in the 90s - The Clinton Years
William Jefferson Blythe Clinton was President of the United States for most of the 1990s. He was first elected to the office in 1991 and served eight years. He had served as Arkansas's attorney general for two years and the state's governor for three terms before becoming the leader of the country. In 1980, his first term as Arkansas's governor also gained him the title of the nation's youngest governor. He was the nation's third-youngest president.
The eight years that Bill Clinton served as president were rocky. His campaigns were darkened with accusations of moral lapses and business wrongdoing in his home state. He and his running mate, Al Gore of Tennessee, had a real battle on their hands against the sitting president, George H. W. Bush, and Independent candidate Ross Perot. By winning the election with 43% of the vote, Clinton became the first president born after World War II.
President Clinton's wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, became a very visible addition to her husband's administration. Many First Ladies in the past tended to stay out of the limelight. That is not the path Mrs. Clinton chose. She became an essential spokesperson for many of the president's policies. She was particularly interested in attempting to change some of the old policies associated with health care in America.
During the first two years of the Clinton administration, he had a few successes and several defeats on changes he wanted to make.
Things got harder in 1994. A general election had seen the defeat of several of Clinton's fellow Democrats. The Republicans now had control of Congress. The voting public was not happy with his progress and showed it in their vote.
