Mitch McConnell

==Early life and education (1942–1967)==
McConnell was born on February 20, 1942, to Julia Odene "Dean" ({{nee}} Shockley; 1919–1993) and Addison Mitchell "A.M." McConnell II (1917–1990).<ref name="memoir">{{Cite book |title=The Long Game: a Memoir |last=McConnell |first=Mitch |publisher=Sentinel |year=2016 |isbn=9780399564123 |location=New York, NY |chapter=Chapter One: A fighting spirit |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cO3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 |page=9 |quote=She'd been known her whole life not by her first name, Julia, which she loved, but by her middle name, Odene, which she detested. So in Birmingham she began to call herself Dean, and with no thought of ever returning to Wadley&nbsp;... James McConnell, from County Down, Ireland, who came to this country as a young boy in the 1760s, went on to fight for the colonies in the American Revolution. |access-date=January 27, 2020 |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805230632/https://books.google.com/books?id=9cO3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 |url-status=live }}</ref> McConnell was born in [[Sheffield, Alabama]], and grew up in nearby [[Athens, Alabama]], where his grandfather, Robert Hayes McConnell Sr., and his great uncle, Addison Mitchell McConnell, owned McConnell Funeral Home.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X0ogAAAAIBAJ&pg=4678,2857069 |title=Fact of the Week |newspaper=[[The Tuscaloosa News]] |date=July 16, 2000 |access-date=November 19, 2013 |archive-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823094702/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X0ogAAAAIBAJ&pg=4678%2C2857069%3Fhl%3Den-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen |url-status=live }}</ref> He is of [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scots-Irish]] and [[English Americans|English]] descent. His ancestor James McConnell fought on the American side in the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref name="memoir"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.enewscourier.com/news/athens-native-sen-mitch-mcconnell-looking-forward-to-busy-opening/article_88ec6c10-8e12-11e4-b57f-5703eb0317e6.html|title=Athens native Sen. Mitch McConnell looking forward to busy opening session|last=Middleton|first=Karen |date=December 28, 2014|work=The News Courier|access-date=January 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707151050/https://www.enewscourier.com/news/athens-native-sen-mitch-mcconnell-looking-forward-to-busy-opening/article_88ec6c10-8e12-11e4-b57f-5703eb0317e6.html|archive-date=July 7, 2019|url-status=live |quote=McConnell said that his original American ancestor emigrated from County Down, Ireland, to North Carolina. }} [https://archive.org/details/AthensNativeSen.MitchMcConnellLookingForwardToBusyOpeningSessionNewsEnewscourier.com Alt URL]</ref>

{{Stack|float=left|[[File:Mitch McConnell in 1960 Crimson.jpg|thumb|upright|left|McConnell in [[duPont Manual High School]]'s 1960 yearbook]]}}
{{Mitch McConnell series}}
In 1944, at the age of two, McConnell's upper left leg was paralyzed by a [[polio]] attack.<ref name="memoir" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/06/27/no-the-government-did-not-pay-for-gop-leader-mitch-mcconnells-polio-care-charity-did/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 27, 2017 |title=No, the government did not pay for Mitch McConnell's polio care. Charity did |first=Kristine |last=Phillips |access-date=July 4, 2017 |archive-date=July 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706085227/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/06/27/no-the-government-did-not-pay-for-gop-leader-mitch-mcconnells-polio-care-charity-did/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He received treatment at the [[Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation]]. The treatment potentially saved him from being disabled for the rest of his life.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mitch-mcconnell-on-trump-and-divisiveness-in-politics/|title=Mitch McConnell on Trump and divisiveness in politics|work=[[CBS News]]|date=May 29, 2016|access-date=June 19, 2017|archive-date=August 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804012947/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mitch-mcconnell-on-trump-and-divisiveness-in-politics/|url-status=live}}</ref> McConnell said his family "almost went broke" because of costs related to his illness.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/wjqwe5/mitch-mcconnell-1990-campaign-ad-supported-affordable-healthcare-for-all |publisher=vice.com |date=June 26, 2017 |first=Jesse |last=Hicks |access-date=July 4, 2017 |title=In 1990, Mitch McConnell Supported Affordable Healthcare for All |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612113117/https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/wjqwe5/mitch-mcconnell-1990-campaign-ad-supported-affordable-healthcare-for-all |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1950, when he was eight, McConnell moved with his family from Athens to [[Augusta, Georgia]], where his father, who was in the [[United States Army|Army]], was stationed at [[Fort Gordon]].<ref name="memoir2">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cO3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA15 |page=15 |chapter=Chapter Two: From Baseball to Politics |title=The Long Game: a Memoir |first=Mitch |last=McConnell |isbn=9780399564123 |year=2016 |publisher=Penguin |access-date=January 27, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806063105/https://books.google.com/books?id=9cO3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA15 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1956, his family moved to [[Louisville, Kentucky]], where he attended [[duPont Manual High School]].<ref name="memoir2"/> McConnell was elected student council president at his high school during his junior year.<ref name="memoir2"/> He graduated [[Omicron Delta Kappa]] from the [[University of Louisville]] with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in [[political science]] in 1964 with honors.<ref name="SenBio">{{cite web|url=https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Biography|title=Biography – About – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell|date=January 3, 1985|website=Mitch McConnell; Republican Leader. U.S. Senator for Kentucky|publisher=mcconnell.senate.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227061947/http://mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Biography|archive-date=December 27, 2009 |url-status=live|access-date=February 24, 2013}}</ref> He was president of the Student Council of the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the [[Phi Kappa Tau]] fraternity.<ref name="memoir3">{{cite book |title=The Long Game: a Memoir |first=Mitch |last=McConnell |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cO3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |page=26 |chapter=Chapter Three: Seeing greatness. |isbn=9780399564123 |year=2016 |publisher=Penguin |access-date=January 27, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806015634/https://books.google.com/books?id=9cO3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |url-status=live }}</ref>

McConnell attended the 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]], where [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] gave the "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Steinhauer |first1=Jennifer |title=Mitch McConnell's Commitment to Civil Rights Sets Him Apart |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/us/politics/mitch-mcconnell-republicans-civil-rights.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=March 5, 2020 |date=July 10, 2015 |archive-date=August 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821055123/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/us/politics/mitch-mcconnell-republicans-civil-rights.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1964, at the age of 22, he attended civil rights rallies,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113181/mitch-mcconnell-civil-rights-crusader-regrets|title=How Mitch McConnell Enabled Barack Obama|author=Chotiner, Isaac|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|date=May 15, 2013|access-date=September 18, 2020|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712021416/https://newrepublic.com/article/113181/mitch-mcconnell-civil-rights-crusader-regrets|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[intern]]ed with Senator [[John Sherman Cooper]]. He has said his time with Cooper inspired him to run for the Senate later in life.<ref name=Stretch>{{cite news|last1=Martin|first1=Jonathan|title=Mitch McConnell Is Headed Down the Stretch|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/magazine/mitch-mcconell-kentucky-senate.html|access-date=September 24, 2014|work=[[The New York Times Magazine]]|date=August 27, 2014|archive-date=May 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511015913/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/magazine/mitch-mcconell-kentucky-senate.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Homans-2019">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/magazine/mcconnell-senate-trump.html |title=Mitch McConnell Got Everything He Wanted. But at What Cost? |last=Homans |first=Charles |date=January 22, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 23, 2019 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809193955/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/magazine/mcconnell-senate-trump.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1967, McConnell graduated from the [[University of Kentucky College of Law]], where he was president of the Student Bar Association.<ref name="memoir3"/><ref name="almanac">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/almanac/2008/people/ky/kys1.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904133709/http://www.nationaljournal.com/almanac/2008/people/ky/kys1.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 4, 2012 |title=National Journal Almanac 2008 |work=Nationaljournal.com |access-date=February 24, 2013}}</ref>