 Jackie Gingrich Cushman and Kathy Gingrich Lubbers Collection of Newt Gingrich Materials
Collection DescriptionBiographical NoteFormer Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was born in Harrisburg, PA in 1943. The family relocated to Fort Benning in 1960, where Gingrich graduated from Baker High School. He received a B.A. in History from Emory and an M.A. and Ph.D. in European history from Tulane. Gingrich was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, representing Georgia's 6th Congressional district. He became a rising star of the neoconservative movement. He lobbied for fellow Republicans to take a more militant stance against Congressional Democrats, frequently describing the political opposition as "sick" or "traitors." As a Congressman, Gingrich prioritized bringing ethical reforms to the House. In 1983, he was among the voices that demanded the resignations of Congressmen Gerry Studds (D-MA) and Daniel Crane (R-IL) for conducting sexual relationships with underage congressional pages. In 1990, redistricting split the old 6th Congressional district between three adjoining districts. Gingrich sold his home and moved to Marietta, in the new 6th district, where he prevailed in a primary campaign against State Representative Herman Clark by less than one thousand votes. The 6th district was drawn to favor the GOP, so victory in the primary virtually assured his election. He would represent the new district until his resignation from Congress in 1999. Gingrich was a prominent figure in the GOP's Contract with America promise in 1994. The Contract was a series of campaign pledges to American voters designed to unify the Republican Party and provide an alternative to the Democratic Party's agenda. The Contract led to the Republicans retaking control of the House in the 1994 election for the first time in forty years. The Republican caucus elected Gingrich Speaker of the House to recognize his leadership in the campaign. Speaker Gingrich led the House in pushing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which reformed the U.S. welfare system; and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, the most substantial cut in the capital gains tax in American history. The Speaker's efforts to balance the federal budget eventually led to shutdowns of the federal government in both 1995 and 1996. Though the public image of the GOP, and Gingrich in particular, took a hit, the shutdowns led to a bipartisan effort with Congressional Democrats and the Clinton administration that balanced the budget by 1999. During the 1998 midterm elections, Gingrich counseled his colleagues to use President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinski in order to damage Democrats. The GOP went on to lose five seats in the House, setting the stage for a rebellion against the already unpopular Gingrich. The day after the election, Gingrich announced that he would be resigning from the Speakership and his seat in Congress. The former Speaker re-entered electoral politics briefly in 2012 when he announced his candidacy for President of the United States. Though he finished fourth in the Iowa Caucuses behind Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul, he went on to win primary races in South Carolina and Georgia and place second in the Florida primary. However, after finishing second in the Delaware primary, Gingrich's campaign was unable to continue due to mounting debts. He suspended his campaign in May of 2012 and endorsed Mitt Romney. Gingrich remained active during this post-congressional career. He worked with then-Senator Hillary Clinton in 2005 to introduce the 21st Century Health Information Act. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institution. Scope and ContentThis is a small collection of documents and memorabilia related to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Documents include news clippings and summaries; invitations, notes, and other correspondence; graphical materials such as photographs and posters; articles; and ephemera. The collection also includes a selection of plaques and other awards given to Speaker Gingrich over the course of his career and six VHS cassettes about conservative politics during the late 1990s. Organization and ArrangementThis collection is arranged in four series: Personal and Political Files, Audiovisual Materials, Oversize, and Objects. Documents in the Personal and Political Files series were retained in their original order. Administrative InformationConditions Governing AccessThis collection is open for use. Preferred citationJackie Gingrich Cushman and Kathy Gingrich Lubbers Collection of Newt Gingrich Materials. Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641. Copyright InformationBefore material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original. Finding Aid PublicationFinding Aid prepared by Robert Lay, 2018-11-15. Related Materials and Subjects | ||||||||||||||||||||