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Second Lady of the United States | |
| Predecessor | Elise du Pont |
| Successor | Myrianthi Pappas |
| Vice President | Bill Clinton |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas' 1st Congressional District | |
| Predecessor | Blanche Lincoln |
| Successor | French Hill |
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First Lady of Arkansas | |
| Born | October 26th, 1947 Chicago, Illinois |
| Spouse | Bill Clinton |
| Political Party | Democratic |
| Religion | Protestant |
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (née Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politican who previously served as Second Lady of the United States from 2013 to 2020, First Lady of Arkansas, and as a Representative from Arkansas' 1st Congressional district from 1999 to 2011.
Early Life and Education[]
Early Life[]
Hillary Diane Rodham was born on October 26, 1947, at Edgewater Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised in a United Methodist family who first lived in Chicago. When she was three years old, her family moved to the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge. Her father, Hugh Rodham, was of English and Welsh descent, and managed a small but successful textile business, which he had founded. Her mother, Dorothy Howell, was a homemaker of Dutch, English, French Canadian (from Quebec), Scottish and Welsh descent. Clinton has two younger brothers, Hugh and Tony. As a child, Rodham was a favorite student among her teachers at the public schools she attended in Park Ridge. She participated in swimming and softball and earned numerous badges as a Brownie and a Girl Scout. She has often told the story of being inspired by U.S. efforts during the Space Race and sending a letter to NASA around 1961 asking what she could do to become an astronaut, only to be informed that women were not being accepted into the program. She attended Maine East High School, where she participated in the student council and school newspaper and was selected for the National Honor Society. She was elected class vice president for her junior year but then lost the election for class president for her senior year against two boys, one of whom told her that "you are really stupid if you think a girl can be elected president". For her senior year, she and other students were transferred to the then-new Maine South High School. There she was a National Merit Finalist and was voted "most likely to succeed." She graduated in 1965 in the top five percent of her class.
Education[]
In 1965, Rodham enrolled at Wellesley College, where she majored in political science. During her first year, she was president of the Wellesley Young Republicans. As the leader of this "Rockefeller Republican"-oriented group, she supported the elections of moderate Republicans John Lindsay to mayor of New York City and Massachusetts attorney general Edward Brooke to the United States Senate. She later stepped down from this position. In 2003 Clinton would write that her views concerning the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War were changing in her early college years. In a letter to her youth minister at that time, she described herself as "a mind conservative and a heart liberal".In contrast to the factions in the 1960s that advocated radical actions against the political system, she sought to work for change within it.
Representative from Arkansas[]
Official Representative photo of Hillary Clinton
Election to the House of Representatives (1998)[]
With her husband winning election in 1996 and with incumbent Representative Blanche Lincoln retiring, Clinton would announce her run for the House of Representatives. Due to the popularity of her husband, she would win her election in Arkansas' first Congressional district with 64% of the vote. She would lose re-election to Republican French Hill in the 2010 Congressional elections.
Committee Assignments[]
During her first years in the 106th Congress, Clinton would serve on the Appropriations Committee, working in the Homeland Security sub-committee. During her time in Congress, she would also serve on the Foreign Affairs and Budget Committees.
Legislative Accomplishments[]
During her service on the budget committee, Clinton was responsible for negotiating the budget for the fiscal years of 2006 and 2007. She also co-sponsored the Russian sanction bills following the Russian invasion into Georgia and criticized President Gravel for apparent lack of actions taken against Russia.
As part of the foreign affairs committee Clinton was also successful in negotiating a fair trade deal with the European Union that had regulations to protect American workers.
Second Lady of the United States[]
Following her husband's election on the Reich-Clinton ticket in 2012, Clinton would become the Second Lady of the United States on January 20th, 2013. A position she held from January 20th, 2013 until her husband's resignation from the position on March 18th, 2020.