Hillary Clinton, the wife of the 42nd President, Bill Clinton, served as the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She went serve as U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator from New York.
Early Life
Hillary Rodham was born on October 26, 1947, in Chicago. Illinois. She grew up in Park Ridge, a suburb of Chicago. She was a good student and an active child, participating in activities ranging from softball to Girl Scouts.
After graduating high school, Hillary attended Wellesley College. She was selected by her classmates to give the school’s first student address at a commencement ceremony. She said, “The challenge now is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible.” Hillary went on to attend Yale Law School, where she met Bill Clinton.
Marriage to Bill Clinton
Hillary and Bill married on October 11, 1975, in a small ceremony in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The couple would go on to have one child, Chelsea, who was born in 1980.
After earning her law degree, Hillary worked for the Children’s Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She also joined the impeachment inquiry staff advising the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives during President Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal. Despite a wealth of career opportunities for her in Washington, D.C., Hillary decided to “follow her heart” and move to Arkansas with Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton was first elected Governor of Arkansas in 1978. Hillary would go on to serve as Arkansas’s First Lady for 12 years. During her tenure, she chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and served on the boards of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Legal Services, and the Children’s Defense Fund.
First Lady of the United States
When Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, Hillary became First Lady. She was the first to hold a postgraduate degree and have her own professional career upon entering the White House.
Hillary Clinton was one of her husband’s most influential advisors, which earned her both praise and criticism. She was the first presidential wife to have an office in the West Wing, in addition to the traditional first lady offices in the East Wing.
As First Lady, Hillary continued to focus on issues related to women, children, and families. Hillary advocated for health care reform and played a significant role in the creation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the Foster Care Independence Act.
Political Career
After leaving the White House, Hillary Clinton pursued her own political aspirations. In 2000, she was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to represent the State of New York in the Senate. Hillary was reelected in 2006.
In 2008, Hillary unsuccessfully ran for President against Barak Obama. She went on to serve as his Secretary of State. In July 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first woman to earn a major political party’s nomination for president. She ultimately lost the election to Donald Trump, after winning the popular election but failing to secure enough electoral college votes. She continues to play a role in U.S. politics through Onward Together, a political action organization.
