Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New American Politics
Ronald M. PETERS, Jr. and Cindy Simon Rosenthal
Abstract
When the Democrats retook control of the United States House of Representatives in January 2007 after twelve years in the wilderness, Nancy Pelosi became the first woman speaker in American history. This book provides a comprehensive account of how Pelosi became speaker and what this tells us about Congress in the 21st century. It considers the key issues that Pelosi’s rise presents for American politics, highlights the core themes that have shaped, and continue to shape, her remarkable career, and discusses the challenges that women face in the male-dominated world of American politics, parti ... More
When the Democrats retook control of the United States House of Representatives in January 2007 after twelve years in the wilderness, Nancy Pelosi became the first woman speaker in American history. This book provides a comprehensive account of how Pelosi became speaker and what this tells us about Congress in the 21st century. It considers the key issues that Pelosi’s rise presents for American politics, highlights the core themes that have shaped, and continue to shape, her remarkable career, and discusses the challenges that women face in the male-dominated world of American politics, particularly at its highest levels. The book also sheds light on Pelosi’s political background: first as the scion of a powerful Baltimore political family whose power base lay in East Coast urban ethnic politics, and later as a successful politician in what is probably the most liberal city in the country, San Francisco. The book traces how she built her base within the House Democratic Caucus and ultimately consolidated enough power to win the Speakership. It shows how twelve years out of power allowed her to fashion a new image for House Democrats, and it concludes with an analysis of her institutional leadership style.
Keywords:
Nancy Pelosi,
House of Representatives,
American politics,
Democrats,
speaker,
politician,
Baltimore,
San Francisco
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2010 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780195383737 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195383737.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Ronald M. PETERS, Jr., author
University of Oklahoma
Cindy Simon Rosenthal, author
University of Oklahoma
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