Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947) is the junior United States Senator from New York, and a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election. She is married to Bill Clinton—the 42nd President of the United States—and was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

A native of Illinois, Hillary Rodham attracted national attention in 1969 when she delivered an address as the first student to speak at commencement exercises for Wellesley College. She began her career as a lawyer after graduating from Yale Law School in 1973. She moved to Arkansas in 1974 and married Bill Clinton in 1975, following a stint as a Congressional legal counsel. She was later named the first female partner at Rose Law Firm in 1979 and was listed as one of the one hundred most influential lawyers in America in 1988 and 1991. She was the First Lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992 and was active in a number of organizations concerned with the welfare of children as well as sitting on the board of Wal-Mart and several other corporate boards.

As First Lady of the United States, her major initiative, the Clinton health care plan, failed to gain approval by the U.S. Congress in 1994, but in 1997 she helped establish the State Children's Health Insurance Program and the Adoption and Safe Families Act. She became the only First Lady to be subpoenaed, testifying before a federal grand jury as a consequence of the Whitewater controversy in 1996. She was never charged with any wrongdoing in this or several other investigations during her husband's administration. The state of her marriage to Bill Clinton was the subject of considerable public discussion following the Lewinsky scandal in 1998.

After moving to New York, Clinton was elected as senator for New York State in 2000; this was the first time an American First Lady ran for public office and she is the first female senator from that state. In the Senate, she initially supported the George W. Bush administration on some foreign policy issues, which included voting for the Iraq War Resolution. She has subsequently opposed the administration on its conduct of the Iraq War and has opposed it on most domestic issues. She was re-elected by a wide margin in 2006. In the 2008 Democratic nomination race, Clinton became the first woman in U.S. history to win a statewide presidential party primary.

Early life and education

Early life

HillaryIn 1995, Hillary Clinton said her mother had named her after Sir Edmund Hillary, co-first-climber of Mount Everest, and that was the reason for the unusual "two L's" spelling. However, the Everest climb did not take place until 1953, more than five years after Clinton was born. In October 2006, a Clinton spokeswoman said she was not in fact named after the mountain climber, rather "It was a sweet family story her mother shared to inspire greatness in her daughter, to great results I might add." See Danny Hakim. "Hillary, Not as in the Mount Everest Guy", The New York Times, 2006-10-17. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.  and Hillary vs. Hillary. Snopes.com (2006-10-26). Retrieved on 2007-11-23. Diane Rodham was born at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago, Illinois,Edgewater Hospital 1929–2001. Edgewater Historical Society (Summer 2003). Retrieved on 2007-06-10. and was raised in a United Methodist family,Clinton, Hillary Rodham (2003). Living History. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-2224-5. , p. 7. first in Chicago, and then, from the age of three, in suburban Park Ridge, Illinois, which is also located in Cook County.Living History, p. 9. Her father, Hugh Ellsworth Rodham, was a son of Welsh and English immigrantsLiving History, p. 4. and operated a small but successful business in the textile industry.Living History, p. 8. Her mother, Dorothy Emma Howell, of English, Scottish, French Canadian, and Welsh descent,Living History, p. 2. Clinton also claims a possible Native American heritage for her mother. was a homemaker. She has two younger brothers, Hugh and Tony.

As a child, Hillary Rodham was involved in many activities at church and at her public school in Park Ridge. She participated in tennis and other sports and earned awards as a Brownie and Girl Scout.Hillary Clinton's Education. Hillary-Rodham-Clinton.org. Retrieved on 2006-08-22. She attended Maine East High School, where she participated in student council, the debating team and the National Honor Society. For her senior year she was redistricted to Maine South High School,Dr. Doug Kelly. Hillary Clinton's High School Yearbook. Retrieved on 2007-06-01. where she was a National Merit Finalist and graduated in 1965. Her parents encouraged her to pursue the career of her choice.Hillary Rodham Clinton. White House. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.

Raised in a politically conservative household,Brock, David (2006). The Seduction of Hillary Rodham (excerpt from the book). Retrieved on 2007-02-05. Her father was an outspoken Republican, while her mother kept quiet but was "basically a Democrat." See Living History, p. 11. at age thirteen she helped canvass South Side Chicago following the very close 1960 U.S. presidential election, finding evidence of electoral fraud against Republican candidate Richard Nixon,Gerth, Jeff; Don Van Natta, Jr. (2007). Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-01742-6. , p. 19. and volunteered for Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in the U.S. presidential election of 1964.Middendorf, J. William (2006). Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater's Presidential Campaign And the Origins of the Conservative Movement. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-04573-1.  p. 266. Her early political development was shaped most strongly by her energizing high school history teacher, who got her to read Goldwater's classic The Conscience of a ConservativeTroy, Gil (2006). Hillary Rodham Clinton: Polarizing First Lady. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-1488-5.  p. 15. and who was, like her father, a fervent anti-communist, and by her Methodist youth minister, like her mother concerned with issues of social justice; with the minister she saw and met civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. in Chicago in 1962.Gerth, Van Natta Jr., Her Way, pp. 18–21. The teacher, Paul Carlson, and the minister, Donald Jones, came into conflict with each in Park Ridge; Clinton would later see that "as an early indication of the cultural, political and religious fault lines that developed across America in the [next] forty years." Living History, p. 23.

College

In 1965, Rodham enrolled in Wellesley College, where she majored in political science.Hillary Rodham Clinton (1992-05-29). Hillary Rodham Clinton Remarks to Wellesley College Class of 1992. Wellesley College. Retrieved on 2007-06-01. She served as president of the Rockefeller Republican-orientedMilton, Joyce (1999). The First Partner: Hillary Rodham Clinton. William Morris. ISBN 0-688-15501-4.  pp. 27–28. Wellesley Young Republicans organization during her freshman yearLiving History, p. 31.Wellesley College Republicans: History and Purpose (2007-05-16). Retrieved on 2007-06-02. Gives organization's prior name. and with them supported the elections of John Lindsay and Edward Brooke.Brock, David (1996). The Seduction of Hillary Rodham. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 0-684-83451-0.  pp. 12–13. However, due to her evolving views regarding the American Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, she stepped down from that position; she characterized her own nature as that of "a mind conservative and a heart liberal."Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, p. 50. Bernstein states she believed this combination was possible and that no equation better describes the adult Hillary Clinton. Active in campus affairs, she sought to work for change within the system, rather than take then-popular radical actions against it.Charles Kenney. "Hillary: The Wellesley Years: The woman who will live in the White House was a sharp-witted activist in the class of '69" (fee required), The Boston Globe, 1993-01-12. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.  In her junior year, Rodham was affected by the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., and became a supporter of the anti-war presidential nomination campaign of Democrat Eugene McCarthy.Living History, p. 32. Rodham organized a two-day student strike and worked with Wellesley's black students for moderate changes, such as recruiting more black students and faculty.Leibovich, Mark. "In Turmoil of ’68, Clinton Found a New Voice", The New York Times, 2007-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-09-06. (English)  In early 1968 she was elected president of the Wellesley College Government Association and served through early 1969; she was instrumental in keeping Wellesley from being embroiled by the student disruptions common to other colleges at the time. A number of her fellow students thought at the time she might someday become the first woman President of the United States. She attended the "Wellesley in Washington" summer program at the urging of Professor Alan Schechter, who assigned Rodham to intern at the House Republican Conference so she could better understand her changing political views. Rodham was invited by Representative Charles Goodell, a moderate New York Republican, to help Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s late-entry campaign for the Republican nomination. Rodham attended the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami, where she decided to leave the Republican Party for good; she was upset over how Richard Nixon's campaign had portrayed Rockefeller and what Rodham perceived as the "veiled" racist messages of the convention.

Rodham returned to Wellesley, and wrote her senior thesis about the tactics of radical community organizer Saul Alinsky under Professor Schechter (which, years later while she was First Lady, was suppressed at the request of the White House and became the subject of speculation as to its contents).Dedman, Bill (2007-03-02). Reading Hillary Rodham's hidden thesis. MSNBC.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-02. In 1969, Rodham graduated with departmental honors in political science. Stemming from the demands of some students,Living History, pp. 38–39. she became the first student in Wellesley College history to deliver their commencement address.Rodham, Hillary D. (1969-05-31). Wellesley College 1969 Student Commencement Speech. Wellesley College. Retrieved on 2006-08-22. Her speech received a standing ovation lasting seven minutes."Brooke Speech Challenged by Graduate", Fitchburg Sentinel, 1969-06-02. "Brooke Speech Draws Reply", Nevada State Journal, 1969-06-02.  She was featured in an article published in Life magazine, due to the response to a part of her speech that criticized Senator Edward Brooke, who had spoken before her at the commencement; she also appeared on Irv Kupcinet's nationally-syndicated television talk show as well as in Illinois and New England newspapers.Bernstein, Carl (2007). A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-3754-0766-9. , p. 70. That summer, she worked her way across Alaska, washing dishes in Mount McKinley National Park and sliming salmon in a fish processing cannery in Valdez (which fired her and shut down overnight when she complained about unhealthy conditions).Living History, pp. 42–43. Clinton would later write, and repeat on the Late Show with David Letterman, that sliming fish was the best preparation she would ever have for living in Washington.Morris, Roger (1996). Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America. Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-2804-8. , p. 139.

Law school

Rodham then entered Yale Law School, where she served on the Board of Editors of the Yale Review of Law and Social Action.Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (1947–). The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Retrieved on 2007-04-08. During her second year, she worked at the Yale Child Study Center,Gerth, Van Natta Jr., Her Way, pp. 42–43. learning about new research on early childhood brain development and working as a research assistant on the seminal work, Beyond the Best Interests of the Child (1973).Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, p. 75.The authors of Beyond the Best Interests of the Child were Center director Al Solnit, Yale Law professor Joe Goldstein, and Anna Freud. She also took on cases of child abuse at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and volunteered at New Haven Legal Services to provide free advice for the poor. In the summer of 1970, she was awarded a grant to work at Marian Wright Edelman's Washington Research Project, where she was assigned to Senator Walter Mondale's Subcommittee on Migratory Labor, researching migrant workers' problems in housing, sanitation, health and education;Morris, Partners in Power, pp. 142–143.Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, pp. 71–74. Edelman would become a significant mentor to her.

In the late spring of 1971, she began dating Bill Clinton, who was also a law student at Yale. That summer, she interned on child custody casesGerth and Van Natta Jr., Her Way, p. 46. at the Oakland, California, law firm of Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein,Living History, pp. 54–55.Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, pp. 82–83. which was well-known for its support of constitutional rights, civil liberties, and radical causes; two of its four partners were current or former communist party members.Josh Gerstein. "Hillary Clinton's Radical Summer", The New York Sun, 2007-11-26. Retrieved on 2007-11-29. It is unclear exactly which cases Rodham worked on at the Treuhaft firm; see Josh Gerstein. "Hillary Clinton's Radical Summer", The New York Sun, 2007-11-26. Retrieved on 2007-11-29. . Anti-Clinton writers such as Barbara Olson would later charge Hillary Clinton with never repudiating Treuhaft's ideology, and for retaining social and political ties with his wife and fellow communist Jessica Mitford. See Barbara Olson (1999). Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Regnery Publishing. ISBN 0-89526-197-9.  pp. 56–57. Research by The New York Sun in 2007 revealed that Mitford and Hillary Clinton were not close, and had a falling out over a 1980 Arkansas prisoner case. See Josh Gerstein. "Hillary Clinton's Left Hook", The New York Sun, 2007-11-27. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.  Clinton canceled his original summer plans in order to live with her in an apartment in Berkeley, California,Josh Gerstein. "The Clintons' Berkeley Summer of Love", The New York Sun, 2007-11-26. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.  later writing, "I told her I'd have the rest of my life for my work and my ambition, but I loved her and I wanted to see if it could work out for us." The romance did develop, and the couple continued living together in New Haven when they returned to law school. The following summer, Rodham and Clinton campaigned in Texas for unsuccessful 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern.Gerth and Van Natta Jr., Her Way, p. 48–49.Living History, pp. 58–60. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale in 1973, having spent an extra year there in order to be with Clinton.Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, p. 89. Clinton first proposed marriage to her following graduation, but she declined at the time. She began a year of post-graduate study on children and medicine at the Yale Child Study Center. Her first scholarly article, "Children Under the Law", was published in the Harvard Educational Review in late 1973.Rodham, Hillary (1973). "Children Under the Law". Harvard Educational Review 43: 487–514.  Discussing the new children's rights movement, it stated that "child citizens" were "powerless individuals"Troy, Polarizing First Lady, p. 21. and argued that children should not be considered equally incompetent from birth to attaining legal age, but rather courts should presume competence except when there is evidence otherwise, on a case-by-case basis.Tamar Lewin. "Legal Scholars See Distortion In Attacks on Hillary Clinton", The New York Times, 1992-08-24. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.  The article became frequently cited in the field.This Google search result produces several hundred hits. Many are citations of "Children Under the Law" in other scholarly articles or books. There are many general media references and Wikipedia echoes as well.

Marriage and family, law career and First Lady of Arkansas

Three decisions

During her post-graduate study, Rodham served as staff attorney for Edelman's newly founded Children's Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts,Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, pp. 91–92. and as a consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children."Adults Urge Children's Rights", The Arizona Sentinel, 1974-10-04.  During 1974 she was a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in Washington, D.C., advising the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal.Living History, pp. 65–69.Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, pp. 94–96, 101–103. Under the guidance of Chief Counsel John Doar and senior member Bernard Nussbaum, Rodham helped research procedures of impeachment and the historical grounds and standards for impeachment. The committee's work culminated in the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974.

By then, Rodham was viewed as someone with a bright political future; Democratic political organizer and consultant Betsey Wright had moved from Texas to Washington the previous year to help guide her career;Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, p. 62. Wright thought Rodham had the potential to one day become a senator or president.Maraniss, David (1995). First In His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-87109-9.  p. 277. Meanwhile, Clinton had repeatedly asked her to marry him, and she had continued to demur.Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, pp. 90, 120. However, helped by her having passed the Arkansas bar exam but having failed the District of Columbia bar exam,Living History, p. 64. According to Carl Bernstein's 2007 biography, two-thirds (551 of 817) of the takers of the D.C. exam had passed, and Rodham did not tell even close friends of the failure until revealing it thirty years later in her autobiography. See A Woman in Charge, p. 92. Rodham came to a key decision. As she later wrote, "I chose to follow my heart instead of my head."Living History, p. 69. Excerpted at Hillary Rodham Clinton. "Hillary Unbound", Time, 2003-06-08. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.  She thus followed Bill Clinton to Arkansas, rather than staying in Washington where career prospects were best. Clinton was at the time teaching law and running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in his home state. In August 1974, she moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, and became one of two female faculty members in the School of Law at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville,Living History, p. 70. where Bill Clinton also taught. She still harbored doubts about marriage, concerned that her separate identity would be lost and her accomplishments would be viewed in the light of someone else's accomplishments.Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, pp. 62, 90, 117.

Early Arkansas years

The couple bought a house in Fayetteville in the summer of 1975, and she finally agreed to marry him.Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, p. 120. Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton were married on October 11, 1975, in a Methodist ceremony in their living room.Living History, p. 75. She kept her name as Hillary Rodham, later writing that she had done so to keep their professional lives separate and avoid seeming conflicts of interest, although it upset both their mothers.Living History, pp. 91–92. Bill Clinton had lost the Congressional race in 1974, but in November 1976 was elected Arkansas Attorney General. This required the couple to move to the state capital of Little Rock.Living History, p. 78. Rodham joined the venerable Rose Law Firm, a bastion of Arkansan political and economic influence,Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, p. 128. The firm was actually called Rose, Nash, Williamson, Carroll, Clay & Giroir at the time; it simplified its name to Rose Law Firm in 1980. in February 1977,Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, p. 130. specializing in patent infringement and intellectual property law, while also working pro bono in child advocacy; she rarely performed litigation work in court.Bernstein, A Woman in Charge, pp. 131–132.

Rodham maintained her interest in children's law and family policy, publishing the scholarly articles "Children's Policies: Abandonment and Neglect" in 1977Rodham, Hillary (June 1977). "Children's Policies: Abandonment and Neglect". Yale Law Journal 68 (7): 1522–1531.