john
edwards
John Edwards was born in Seneca, South Carolina and raised in Robbins,
North Carolina, a small town in the Piedmont. There John learned
the values of hard work and perseverance from his father, Wallace,
who worked in the textile mills for 36 years, and from his mother,
Bobbie, who ran a shop and worked at the post office. Working alongside
his father at the mill, John developed his strong belief that all
Americans deserve an equal opportunity to succeed and be heard.
A proud product of public schools, John became the first person
in his family to attend college. He worked his way through North
Carolina State University where he graduated with high honors in
1974, and then earned a law degree with honors in 1977 from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
For the next 20 years, John dedicated his career to representing
families and children hurt by the negligence of others. Standing
up against the powerful insurance industry and their armies of
lawyers, John helped these families through the darkest moments
of their lives to overcome tremendous challenges. His passionate
advocacy for people like the folks who worked in the mill with
his father earned him respect and recognition across the country.
In 1998, John took this commitment into politics to give a voice
in the United States Senate to the people he had represented throughout
his career. He ran for the Senate and won, defeating an incumbent
Senator.
In Congress, Senator Edwards quickly emerged as a champion for
the issues that make a difference to American families: quality
health care, better schools, protecting civil liberties, preserving
the environment, saving Social Security and Medicare, and reforming
the ways campaigns are financed.
As a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator
Edwards has worked tirelessly for a strong national defense and
to strengthen the security of our homeland. He has authored key
pieces of legislation on cyber, bio, and port security.
Senator Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, whom he met when both
were law students at Chapel Hill, were married in 1977. They have
had four children, including: their eldest daughter, Catharine,
a student at Princeton University; five-year-old Emma Claire,
and a three-year-old son, Jack. Their first child, Wade, died
in 1996.
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