Visiting the Clinton Presidential Library & Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas

Eric and I returned to Little Rock to visit President Clinton's Museum and Library.  The Government Shutdown in October 2013 closed the Presidential Library and Museum, museums, National Parks and Monuments. Though disappointed, we made tentative plans for a future visit.

William J. Clinton Presidential
Library

This modernist glass & painted

aluminum building represents

the optimism of the Clinton

Presidency.

The building has received multiple awards for Energy and Environmental Design and Green Building Initiative.  

Photos from President Clinton's

earliest years.

The man we know as William

Jefferson Clinton was born

William Blythe.

His father, William Blythe, died three months before he was born.  Years later, Bill's mother, Virginia, married Roger Clinton and Bill's half brother, Roger Clinton, Jr. was born.

As a teenager, Bill legally 

changed his last name 

to Clinton.

Hillary Rodham was born &

raised near Park Ridge,

 Illinois.

Bill & Hillary met at Yale

University in 1970.

The young couple continued to date as they attended law school.

Bill Clinton ran for Congress

in 1974 & lost.

Bill & Hillary were married

in 1975.

Chelsea was born in 1980.

Bill Clinton served as Governor

of Arkansas 1979 - 1981 &

 1983 - 1992.

Bill Clinton ran against George H.W. Bush in 1992 and won the presidency.  He served two terms, leaving office in 2001.  

A full scale replica of the

Oval Office during the

Clinton years.

The Cabinet Room

I sat in the President's Chair

during the tour.

Our tour guide, Hank, invites

us to explore the major

events that occurred during

President Clinton's eight

years in the White House.

The Clintons received many
gifts from Americans.

Just a few of the gifts received

from foreign leaders during

the Clinton years

The Clintons hosted State
Dinners.

The table settings are
complex..

President Clinton worked

hard to turn a struggling

economy around.

More than 22 million new jobs were added from 1992 to 2000.  Unemployment fell from 7% in 1993 to 4% in 2000.  The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 allows millions of Americans to take time off from work after the birth of a child or to care for an ill family member.  The Deficit Reduction Act of 1993 and the 1997 Balanced Budget Act were part of the Clinton Administrations's efforts to stop deficit spending.  Thee Clinton Administration was able to shift $360 billion dollars of the budget surplus to pay down the National Debt.  

Strict Anti Crime Bills were passed
during the Clinton years & over
100,000 police were added to
police departments across the US.

As First Lady, Hillary Clinton

 worked on Health Care Reform,

 which was defeated.

 The Children's Health Insurance

 Program provides insurance

 to many in need.

The First Lady advocated for adoption of older children; hosted conferences on children's health and development; initiatives to encourage parents to read to the youngest children and an initiative to ensure older women get needed mammograms.

Foreign Affairs was an important
part of the Clinton Presidency.







The unsuccessful intervention in Somalia, initiated by the George H.W. Bush Administration, taught President Clinton the value of caution.  The Israeli-Palestinian Agreement was signed on September 13, 1993 on the  South Lawn of the White House.  Working with other NATO countries, the US used air power to help end conflict on the Balkan Peninsula.  President Clinton presided over the Dayton Peace Talks, resulting in the end of the Bosnian/Serbian Conflict on November 21, 1995.  The United States and Russia reached an signed the START II Treaty on September 26, 1997, resulting in the deactivation of over 1,700 nuclear warheads, 300 launchers and 425 land and submarine based missiles in the former Soviet Union.

I remember that the Clinton Administration was carefully scrutinized.  The Whitewater Investigation started in 1994 to look into Arkansas real estate dealings before Bill Clinton became president.  Over the years, it looked into the firing of White House travel office employees; the White House's acquisition of FBI files.  The investigation then moved to President Clinton's relationship with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.

The President was Impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998 for lying to investigators regarding his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.  The trial was held in the Senate and President Clinton was acquitted on February 12, 1999.

President Clinton was popular with many Americans during his carefully investigated presidency. After leaving the White House, he started The Clinton Global Initiative.  The organization relies on creativity and collaboration to target its resources to those in need.

The Foundation works with partners to bring clean drinking water sanitation systems to communities in need;  improve health care and educational opportunities in third world nations.  One program has worked to make micro-lending more available in impoverished countries.

After her work as First Lady, Hillary Clinton served as the U.S, Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009.  She ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008 and lost to Illinois Senator Barack Obama.  Mrs. Clinton served as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2013.  She is now running for the Democratic nomination against Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.