In 1993, William J. Clinton began his eight year stint as forty-second president of the United States. A key figure of change in the Democratic Party, Clinton's political and personal actions ensured his lasting status as an important if controversial leader at a critical moment in recent American history. In Bill Clinton: Building a Bridge to the New Millennium, David H. Bennett traces Clinton's life and career from childhood through his two terms in the White House. From childhood to college, state government to the executive branch, Bennett provides a concise and readable biography that places Clinton's achievements, problems, and legacy in historical context.

Situating the former president in the trajectory of 20th century liberalism, Bennett draws on Clinton's life to illuminate the political landscape of America in the 1990s and the role of the U.S. in the global context of the post-Cold War world. Combining keen scholarship with accessible prose, this will be an essential resource for students and all those interested in understanding the recent history of the U.S.

Autorentext

David H. Bennett is Meredith Professor of History in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He is the author of Demagogues in the Depression: American Radicals and the Union Party, 1932-1936 and The Party of Fear: The American Far Right from Nativism to the Militia Movement.

Inhalt

Prologue: Inauguration 1993

Chapter 1 The Boy from Hope Becomes "The Man from Hope"

Chapter 2 To the White House

Chapter 3 Building the Bridge: Clinton's Domestic Agenda

Chapter 4 Foreign Challenges in a Post-Cold War Environment

Chapter 5 The Politics of Scandal and the Impeachment Crisis

Chapter 6 After the White House

Epilogue: On the Question of Presidential Greatness

Documents

Bibliography

Index