Bill Clinton

nd
42 President of the
United States of America
By: Marwan Hawari, Malay Shah, Kevin Gao

Years in Office and Political Party

January 20, 1993 - January 20, 2001 (2
terms)
Political Party: Democrat

Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy
Middle East - Clinton was deeply involved in
peace agreements between Israel and the
Palestinians. Secret mediations between him
and Prime Min. Rabin led to Oslo Accords in
1993.

Foreign Policy (cont.)

Somalia - After 19 soldiers were killed in the Battle of
Mogadishu, the mission quickly lost the support of the
American people.
Somalia was left in a state of anarchy after US pulled
out

Foreign Policy (cont.)

Bosnia and Herzegovina - declared independence from Yugoslavia
in 1992. Instigated Bosnia and the Serbs, who wanted Bosnia to
remain in the Yugoslav federation.
Clinton:
opposed Republican efforts to lift arms embargo
throughout 1994 - proposed bombing Serbian supply lines,
pressure other countries to take measures against Serbs, but later
he changed course and called for peaceful relations.
Dayton Agreement - reached peace agreement, ended Yugoslav
war with Bosnians and Serbians.

Genocide in Bosnia created by Yugoslav Wars

Foreign Policy (cont.)

Peoples Republic of China - 1995-1999 tense relations
with China. Clinton signed landmark treaty with PRC that
would lower many trade barriers between the two
countries, which would make exporting products to USA
easier.

Domestic Policy

Domestic Policy
Coming into his presidency, Clinton was faced with
economic problems from the economic bust 10 years
earlier.
Clinton's economic strategy focused on fiscal discipline;
investment in education, healthcare, and technology;
and opening foreign markets.
Clinton increased tax on the wealthy and cut
government spending.
Unemployment and poverty rates decreased and
reached all time lows.

Clinton encouraging investments into schools

Domestic Policy (cont.)

There was a large

welfare reform
movement during
Clintons presidency.
Clinton passed the
Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act in
1996.

Domestic Policy (cont.)

Clinton passed the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993.
He also passed Dont Ask Dont Tell to end a
ban on homosexuals in the military.
To reduce crime rates, Clinton issued the
1993 Brady Law.

Influential People

Influential People
Al Gore: Vice President. tried to run for
president in 2000. Wrote the book: An
inconvenient truth (also film), which made
people aware of the effects of global warming
on climate change.
Hillary Clinton: Spouse. A couple of her major
initiatives as first lady were the State Childrens
health care program and the Foster Care
independence Act

Supreme Court Cases

Clinton v. Jones (1997)

Established that the President has no immunity during
civil litigation lawsuits
Led to the Monica Lewinsky sexual scandals that
derailed Clintons Presidency during the second term

Clinton v. City of New York (1998)

Established that a President cannot perform
a line-item veto
Limited Presidential Authority to only either
passing a bill into law or outright vetoing the
entire bill

Important Documents

Important Documents

Repealed the Glass - Steagall Act, which limited the

affiliations of commercial banks with security firms.
Iraq Liberation Act - 1998: It is the policy of the United
States to support democratic movements within Iraq.

Important Documents

Taxpayer Relief Act - reduced several federal taxes,

provided tax exemptions for retirement accounts
and education-related savings.
Signed Commodity Futures Modernization Act 2000: Attempt to redefine the definition of a
commodity. Also allowed for the trading of single
stock futures (values/worths predicted in the
future).

Trends/ Changes

Trends/ Changes
Great period of Economic Growth (which averaged 4% per
year), characterized by record high surpluses and low poverty
and low unemployment rates (created 22 million more jobs).
In part because of the development of the internet and
microchip machines.
Decline of the Democratic Party 1991 - Congress was 62
percent Democratic in the House of Reps and 56 percent in
the Senate. By 2001, it was 48% in the House and 50% in the
Senate. Amount of Democratic owned State legislatures also
dropped in this 10-year period from 29 to 18 percent.

Trends/ Changes (cont.)

Shrinking of the political space - The dramatic

reduction in what the general public and political
elites expected of the political system. Marked by
broad public cynicism towards the government,
mistrust of the state, and bi-partisan conflicts with
very little compromises.

The End