Newt Gingrich: From Educator to Speaker and Beyond
Newt Gingrich, born Newton Leroy McPherson on June 17, 1943, is an American politician, historian, and author who served as the 50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. His career has been marked by significant achievements, controversies, and a lasting impact on American politics.
Early Life and Education
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Kathleen "Kit" Daugherty and Newton Searles McPherson, Gingrich's parents married in September 1942. After his parents divorced, his mother remarried Robert Gingrich, who adopted him. Raised in Hummelstown and on military bases, Gingrich graduated from Baker High School in Columbus, Georgia, in 1961.
Gingrich's interest in politics began in his teens. He pursued higher education, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Emory University in Atlanta in 1965. He continued his studies at Tulane University, earning an M.A. in 1968 and a Ph.D. in Modern European History in 1971. His doctoral dissertation focused on education policy in the Belgian Congo, though he preferred politics to academics.
Academic Career
From 1970 to 1978, Gingrich taught history and geography at West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia) in Carrollton. According to Mel Steeley, a history professor who helped bring Gingrich to the school, Gingrich was "very much a person of intellect" who was always thinking about something. Jim Gay, another colleague, noted Gingrich's ambition and his eagerness to advance his ideas. While teaching at West Georgia College, Gingrich made his first steps into politics.
Early Political Career
Gingrich's political aspirations became clear early in his career. He told his Tulane thesis advisor that he wanted a teaching job in Georgia to launch his political career.
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In 1974, at the age of 31, Gingrich made his first bid for Congress, running as a Republican candidate in Georgia's 6th congressional district. He lost to the Democratic incumbent, Jack Flynt, but his strong showing surprised political analysts. He ran against Flynt again in 1976, but with Jimmy Carter as the Democratic candidate in the presidential election, Gingrich again lost. In 1978, Flynt decided to retire, and Gingrich won his third bid for Congress at age 35, becoming the highest-ranking elected Republican in the state.
Rise in the House of Representatives
Upon entering the House of Representatives in November 1978, Gingrich quickly became known for his confrontational manner and conservative policies. He joined the Public Works Committee and the House Administration Committee, targeting Democrats on ethical issues. In 1983, he launched the Conservative Opportunity Society (COS), a caucus of young conservative House Republicans.
Gingrich gained national prominence in 1987 when he attacked Speaker of the House Jim Wright for questionable financial dealings, which led to Wright's resignation in 1989. That same year, Gingrich was narrowly elected House minority whip.
"Contract with America" and Speaker of the House
Aided by President Bill Clinton's unpopularity, the Republican Party gained control of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections. Gingrich was seen as the architect of the victory, especially noted for helping draft the "Contract with America," a document outlining legislation to be enacted by the House within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress. The proposals included tax cuts, a permanent line-item veto, and a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.
In December 1994, Gingrich was chosen by the majority Republicans as House speaker, assuming the office the following month. The House passed all parts of the "Contract with America" with one exception. As Speaker, Gingrich sought to increasingly tie Christian conservatism to the Republican Party.
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Controversies and Ethics Investigations
Shortly after becoming speaker, Gingrich's popularity began to decline. In late 1995, he was widely blamed for partial government shutdowns after refusing to compromise with President Clinton on the federal budget. He also faced a series of ethics investigations.
In 1995, he returned a $4.5 million book advance after the House ethics committee questioned its appropriateness. The following year, an investigative subcommittee found that Gingrich had failed to seek legal advice concerning tax-exempt donations used to fund a college course he taught from 1993 to 1995, and that he had inaccurately denied the involvement of GOPAC, a political action committee that he once headed, in the course’s development.
In January 1997, the House of Representatives voted to accept the ethics committee’s recommendation that Gingrich be reprimanded for providing false information to the committee and that he pay $300,000. Amid the controversies, Gingrich became the first speaker in the House’s history to be given a formal reprimand for ethics violations. He was narrowly reelected to the position in early 1997.
Impeachment of Bill Clinton and Resignation
In January 1998, reports surfaced alleging that President Clinton had lied before a federal grand jury concerning his involvement in an extramarital affair. Gingrich backed a bid to impeach and remove the president from office. However, many voters concluded that the House had overreached, and the Republicans lost seats in the 1998 midterm elections.
Faced with dwindling support, Gingrich stepped down as speaker of the House in November 1998, and in January 1999, he resigned his seat in Congress.
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Post-Congressional Career
After leaving Congress, Gingrich remained involved in politics, serving as a consultant and as a television commentator on the Fox News Channel. In 2007, he founded American Solutions for Winning the Future, a public policy organization.
In September 2013, he began cohosting the political debate show Crossfire on CNN, but the show was canceled the following year. He remained at CNN as a commentator until 2015, when he rejoined Fox News.
2012 Presidential Campaign
Amid speculation that he would run for president in 2012, Fox terminated his contract in May 2011. Shortly thereafter, Gingrich announced his candidacy.
Despite early challenges, strong performances in televised debates helped him regain his stride. In early contests, he won in South Carolina and Georgia and finished second in several other states. However, by late March, his campaign acknowledged that he would be unable to win enough delegates to secure the nomination. In early May, he suspended his campaign and endorsed Mitt Romney.
Author and Commentator
Gingrich is a prolific author, contributing articles to numerous publications and penning such books as Lessons Learned the Hard Way (1998), Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America (2005), Rediscovering God in America (2006), To Save America: Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine (2010), Understanding Trump (2017), Trump vs. China: Facing America’s Greatest Threat (2019), and Trump and the American Future: Solving the Great Problems of Our Time (2020). He also cowrote international thrillers and alternative history series on the Civil War and World War II.
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