No woman in American politics has reached the heights of San Francisco Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful House Speaker in at least half a century. Her story is different than any other. When Sam Rayburn, the longest serving House Speaker, turned 37 years old, he had already been Texas House Speaker and elected to the U.S. Congress four times. When Nancy Pelosi turned 37, she was at home with children aged 12, 10, 9,8 and 6. This course will explore Pelosi’s extraordinary rise, and how she overcame the barriers woman face in American politics.
Week 1: Pelosi as Pioneer
When Nancy Pelosi was born, March 28, 1940, there were exactly eight women serving in the U.S. House. It would take another four decades for that number to reach 20. Hers is a story unlike any other in American politics. No women in Congress had come close to attaining such power in an institution dominated by men. Of the 12,000 Americans who have served in Congress throughout the nation’s history, fewer than 400 have been women. This class will examine the barriers facing women in Congress, and the obstacles Pelosi overcame.
Week 2: From Baltimore’s Little Italy to San Francisco’s Woman in Congress
Had Nancy Patricia D’Alessandro remained in Baltimore, where her father was mayor and her family an icon in Little Italy, her political ascension might be less surprising. However, Nancy married Paul Pelosi, a student at Georgetown, gave birth to five children in six years, and moved to San Francisco’s Presidio Terrace, where her family’s influence held little sway. This class will examine the roots of Pelosi’s political acumen, from the tight-knit Baltimore neighborhood of her childhood, to the tempestuous city that sent her to Congress.
Week 3: The Congresswoman’s rise to leadership
The first time Pelosi walked onto the House floor she already knew 200 members by first name. Battling AIDS was her top priority, but it was her denunciation of China following the Tiananmen Square massacre that propelled her to national prominence. When circumstances provided an opening in leadership, Pelosi was ready. This class will examine Pelosi’s rise from a Congressional freshman to the House’s highest post.
Week 4: Madam Speaker I
After making history as the first woman Speaker, Pelosi vowed to make progress. She unified Democrats by convincing liberals she was one of them, conservatives that she was a pragmatist, and anyone who stood in her way that she was not afraid to dole out punishments. Pelosi battled President Bush, who she declared unfit to be commander and Chief, pushed Obamacare through a divided Congress, and established herself as a force to be reckoned with. This class will focus on Pelosi’s first years as Speaker, cut short by devastating midterm Democratic losses.
Week 5: Madam Speaker II
Pelosi’s return to the Speakership was marked by rising opposition from young liberals, who considered her an outdated institutionalist. Then she took on President Trump. Pelosi’s disciplined, buttoned-down resistance to the erratic, off-the-cuff President earned her new-found affection from Democrats from coast to coast. As Trump, who had little understanding of Washington, attempted to assert his agenda by the force of his will, Pelosi used her institutional prowess to thwart him. This class will examine Pelosi’s return to power, and her epic clash with President Trump.
Pelosi’s legacy
Pelosi is likely serving her final term in Congress. What will Washington look like without her? What did she accomplish? Will a Biden-Pelosi relationship have success in a divided Washington. Did she truly shatter the “marble ceiling’’ as she calls it? This class will explore Pelosi’ legacy, and the political landscape shaped by her career.
