Bill Clinton Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Bill Clinton - Research Paper Example Because she was a widow, Virginia Dell Cassidy studied nursing in New Orleans to fend for her and her son, immediately after her son William was born. She left the baby in her parents’ home in Hope, Arkansas. Her parents, Eldridge and Edith Cassidy, had a grocery store in Hope which gave credit to blacks and whites alike, even if the town was still heavily segregated. Because of this, Clinton’s grandparents heavily influenced him in his political career, especially on the matters of civil rights and racism. Edith was also a private nurse in Hope. As a beautiful young widow, Virginia Cassidy went out with a number of men but finally settled for Roger Clinton, Sr. Clinton, Sr. was the owner of the Buick dealership store in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Shortly after the marriage, the family moved to Arkansas. It was a good marriage at first, and Clinton, Sr. was a good father for young Bill. However, Clinton, Sr. was an alcoholic and abused his mother a lot. When Bill was ten, Virginia became pregnant with Roger, Jr., and young Bill remarked that that pregnancy was the couple’s attempt to salvage their marriage. Bill loved his younger brother and enjoyed being an older brother. However, when he was fourteen, his mother divorced and remarried Roger Clinton, Sr. This proves that the Clinton-Cassidy marriage was on for the long haul and William Jefferson Blythe III legally changed his name to William Jefferson Clinton as a gesture of love for his stepfather (Clinton, 2004). He was an active school leader and an A student. He was always on the top three of his elementary and high school classes. He was also a musician. He attended St. John’s Catholic Elementary School and Hot Springs High School in Hot Springs, Arkansas and it was there that he decided to have a career in politics even if he loved music and biology (he contemplated being a musician and a doctor but knew he would be great as a public servant). This decision was rooted on two important events in