William Jefferson Clinton, now known as Bill Clinton, was born on August 19, 1946. He spent the first six years of his life in Hope, Arkansas. William Jefferson Blythe, Clinton's father, died in an auto accident three months before his mother, Virginia Cassidy Blythe, gave birth to him. Clinton was raised in his grandmother, Edith Cassidy's home. His mother was often away from home taking nursing classes in New Orleans. It was at this time when Clinton's grandmother taught him to read at a very early age (American President 1).
In 1950, Bill's mother married Roger Clinton. Roger was a car dealer and an abusive alcoholic. Bill Clinton attended public schools in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The whole family then moved to Hope, Arkansas, about an hour away from Hot Springs. When Bill was 15, his mother divorced Roger Clinton, only to remarry him quickly after. As a teenage boy, Clinton was obsessed with politics. He won student elections in high school, and later at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Clinton graduated from Yale Law School and moved back to his home state of Arkansas. Soon after moving back to Arkansas, he started teaching law at the University of Arkansas (Dumas 1).
Clinton met his future wife, Hillary Rodham, when he moved back to Arkansas. The two of them got married in 1975. Not long after
Bibliography: Gerhardt, Michael J. "The Impeachment and Acquittal of William Jefferson Clinton." The Clinton Scandal and the Future of American Government. Ed. Mark J. Rozell and Clyde Wilcox. Washington,D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2000. 142-148. "American President: Biography of President Bill Clinton." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Ed. Russell L. Riley. 2008. University of Virginia. 21 Feb. 2008 <http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/clinton/essays/biography/print>. "Bill Clinton." MSN Encarta. Ed. Ernest C. Dumas. 2007. 1 Mar. 2008 <http://encarta.msn.com/text_761564341__0/Bill_Clinton.html>.