Gingrich started teaching at West Georgia College on his last year at Tulane University, where he was pursuing his doctorate. He was the history professor there until 1978, when he left for Congress following his success at winning the Georgia House seat at the third attempt, after losses in 1974 and 1976.
The young and charismatic firebrand reveled in Washington, and quickly impressed the party leadership with his energy and ideas. He co-founded the Congressional Conservative Opportunity Society, Aviation and Space Caucus, and Military Reform Caucus (MRC) during his first few years in the Congress and was one of the main personalities in the eventual resignation of Democrat Jim Wright in 1988 following allegations of campaign finance improprieties.
Gingrich was elected as the Minority Whip for the Republicans in 1989, and began to prepare for an assault on the Democrats four decade rule of the House. Aided by Larry Hunter and a few fellow conservative Republican, Gingrich introduced a campaign manifesto for the 1994 Congressional Elections, Contract With America, which was based on former President Ronald Reagan’s 1985 State of The Union address.
The Republicans did spectacularly, winning both the Senate and the House of Representatives, for the first time in forty years, and Gingrich was widely credited with the stunning performance. Deservedly, he was elected as the Speaker of the House in the same year and became the public face of the Republicans in their tussle with the Democratic administration led by President Bill Clinton.
After a fiery start that featured several Congressional filibusters, Gingrich started to lose control of the Republicans in the House following poor showings in two consecutive Congressional Elections (1996 and 1998). Matters were not helped when he was fined $300,000 by the House for ethics violations in 1997. In 1998, Gingrich resigned from his position of Speaker, and subsequently as the House Representative of Georgia.
After leaving Washington, Gingrich returned to his first love, history, and authored 18 semi-fictional books in the past 13 years. In his spare time, he founded several bipartisan organizations, such as the Center for Health Transformation and American Solutions for Winning the Future, which dealt with issues that affected the average Americans. Gingrich is also a member of a number of conservative think tanks, most notably, the Hoover Institution and American Enterprise Institute.
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