Field Trip Paper

Field Trip Project: William J. Clinton President Library

A. Mills Bryant

Harding University

The destination for the field trip is a very conceivable and inexpensive trip for the students and school districts involved. The field trip chosen is the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. The pertinent facts of Clinton’s life are important to the prior knowledge of visiting the destination.

William J. Clinton, whom the library was named after, was the 42nd President of the United States. He served in the Presidential office from 1992-1998. He was named for many accomplishments throughout his presidency, and was considered a positive president with high approval ratings despite the overall ending of his career early due to a sex scandal that concerned a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky.

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. He was inclined in High School to adopt the name of his step father, Clinton, after losing his biological father to an automobile accident. Clinton attended Georgetown University, Oxford, and Yale and completed his law degree in 1973. He was eventually elected to be the Arkansas Attorney General. This was after her marriage to Hillary Rodham, who he met while he was in school at Yale. He was eventually elected to his presidency and then was able to do meaningful and productive work while in office which included “pursued a moderate but progressive domestic agenda. During his tenure, the welfare system was reformed, the sale of handguns was restricted, environmental regulations were strengthened, and a massive federal budget deficit was turned into a surplus. On the international scene, the Clinton Administration expanded international trade, intervened militarily to end “ethnic cleansing” in Bosnia, launched peace and trade initiatives in Africa and the Middle East, and promoted a framework for peace aimed at ending the strife in Northern Ireland.” (William J. Clinton Biography)

The catalyst to his impeachment which is still a major lingering issue for some former Clinton supporters and a large portions of Americans today, was the sexual scandal that included his relationship with a young White House intern resulted in the President’s impeachment by the House of Representatives. A trial in the Senate found the President not guilty of the charges brought against him. President Clinton apologized for his conduct and vowed to keep working as hard as he could for the American people. As a result, Bill Clinton left office with historically high approval ratings for the job he had done as the 42nd President of the United States.” (William J. Clinton Biography)

Clinton has dedicated lots of his time post-Presidency to leading different civic and philanthropic movements and groups. These things have proven his care and want to provide a better America and an opportunity for Americans to flourish in society. “The staff and volunteers of the William J. Clinton Foundation focus on programs of community service, drug acquisition for HIV/AIDS treatment, and fighting childhood obesity in the United States. The Clinton Global Initiative garners the expertise of leaders from around the world in addressing global issues of health care, education, clean energy and environment, job training, and entrepreneurship in under-developed countries.” (William J. Clinton Biography)

The specifications for Clinton Library are a very pertinent part of the field trip in consideration. The specifications are as follows… It is situated on 17 acres (69,000 m2) of land located next to the Arkansas River and Interstate 30 and was designed by architectural firm Polshek Partnership, LLP with exhibition design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates. The main building cantilevers over the Arkansas River, echoing Clinton's campaign promise of "building a bridge to the 21st century". With a 68,698-square-foot (6,382.3 m2) floor plan, the library itself is the largest presidential library in terms of physical area, although the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has the greatest space overall, due to its addition of the 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) Air Force One Pavilion in 2005. The archives are the largest as well, containing 2 million photographs, 80 million pages of documents, 21 million e-mail messages, and 79,000 artifacts from the Clinton presidency. The Clinton Library is also the most expensive, with all funding coming from 112,000 private donations. (Clinton Presidential Center)

When visiting the museum you are apt to see different displays that are part of a current display, as well as replicas and memorabilia of the Clinton’s presidential term. The Clinton Library is a great field trip destination due to its rich history and context of American government.

References

Clinton Presidential Center. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 18, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Presidential_Center.

William J. Clinton Biography. (n.d.). In ClintonLibrary.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2018. https://www.clintonlibrary.gov/clintons/william-j-clinton-biography/