Formation of personality and determination of life priorities of H. Clinton: strokes to a political portrait

Abstract

The aim of the article is to investigate the factors that influenced the development and formation of Hillary Clinton’s personality, which took place in the second half of the 20th century within American society, where patriarchal values prevailed. The scientific novelty lies in the attempt at a comprehensive historical-biographical analysis of Hillary Clinton’s formation as a political figure, which remains insufficiently explored in Ukrainian historiography. The article offers the author’s perspective on the phenomenon of the Clinton political partnership, defining Hillary Clinton’s role not only as the wife of a governor, and later the President of the United States, but as an independent political personality who expanded the boundaries of socially acceptable female participation in the political life of the United States. Conclusions. It has been established that the meeting of Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton permanently changed the lives of ambitious people and, without exaggeration, exerted a significant influence on the political life of the entire country. In our view, it was in the state of Arkansas that the young couple laid the foundation for their future and began to shape their unprecedented political partnership. It is proven that while B. Clinton was building a political career, H. Clinton became a prominent figure in the legal environment and among socio-political activists of Arkansas, forming a non-traditional image of a politician’s wife. It is stated that by the beginning of the 1990s the Clinton couple had gained a national reputation as rising stars of the Democratic Party. In 1992 the Governor of Arkansas B. Clinton made the decision to nominate his candidacy for President of the United States. His election campaign was far from smooth; the question of B. Clinton’s moral image was repeatedly raised. Even before his candidacy was officially confirmed, a major scandal occurred, connected with his personal life. Gennifer Flowers, who had lived in Arkansas for a long time, claimed that for twelve years she had intimate relations with Governor B. Clinton. This information could have ended not only his ambition to become President but also caused irreparable damage to his political future. In this context, the participation and role of Hillary Clinton in neutralising this scandal proved decisive. It is traced that during the two presidential terms of B. Clinton (1993–2001) H. Clinton was the first among First Ladies to hold, at the time of moving into the White House, an academic degree (earned through study rather than honorary conferment) and her own professional career, which she was forced to suspend. One of the physical manifestations of H. Clinton’s outstanding role as the President’s wife was that she moved the Office of the First Lady from the East Wing – where it had traditionally been located – to the West Wing of the White House, where the famous Oval Office of the President of the United States is situated, a precedent-setting move. In the White House H. Clinton assembled her own team of advisers and, according to analysts, was considered the most empowered First Lady in American history. The analysis allows several conclusions to be drawn. First, beginning from her years of schooling, college, university, and subsequent career, H. Clinton developed a set of competencies that characterise her personality – diligence, determination, perseverance, methodical approach, and resilience to political criticism. Second, serving for twelve years as First Lady of Arkansas and for eight years as First Lady of the United States, H. Clinton demonstrated that the ceremonial part of a governor’s or president’s spouse’s work can be combined with a strong role in public policy, and that the influence of the First Lady can be transformed into political capital for one’s own career and the promotion of one’s own ideas and programmes.