J. Michael Martinez is professor of political science and public administration courses at Kennesaw State University.
Description
Chapter 1: Joseph Marion Hernandez: First Hispanic to Serve in Congress (1820s) Chapter 2: Hiram Rhodes Revels: First Black Man to Serve in Congress (1870) Chapter 3: Charles Curtis: First Native American to Serve in Congress (1890s-1930s) Chapter 4: Jeannette Rankin: First Woman to Serve in Congress (1910s, 1940s) Chapter 5: Oscar DePriest: First Black Man to Serve in Congress in the Twentieth Century (1920s-1930s) Chapter 6: Hattie Caraway: First Woman Elected to Serve a Full Term in the United States Senate (1930s-1940s) Chapter 7: Margaret Chase Smith: First Woman Elected to Both Chambers of Congress (1940s-1970s) Chapter 8: Daniel Inouye: Highest-Ranking Asian American to Serve in Congress (1950s-2010s) Chapter 9: Shirley Chisholm: The First Black Woman Elected to Congress (1960s-1980s) Chapter 10: Barbara Jordan: First Black Woman Elected to Congress from the South (1970s) Chapter 11: Gerry E. Studds: First Openly Gay Member of Congress (1970s-1990s) Chapter 12: Carol Moseley Braun: First Black Woman to Serve in the United States Senate (1990s) Chapter 13: Nancy Pelosi: First Woman to Serve as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (2000s, 2010s, 2020s) Chapter 14: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: First Hispanic Woman to Serve in Congress (1980s-2010s) Chapter 15: Hillary Clinton: First Woman in Congress to Become a Major Party Presidential Nominee (2010s) Chapter 16: Tammy Duckworth: First Disabled Person to Serve in Congress (2010s-2020s) Chapter 17: Catherine Cortez Masto: First Latina to Serve in the United States Senate (2010s-2020s) Chapter 18: Pramila Jayapal: First Indian-American Woman to Serve in Congress (2010s-2020s) Chapter 19: Stephanie Murphy: First Vietnamese Woman to Serve in Congress (2010s-2020s) Chapter 20: Ilhan Omar: First Somali-American Elected to Congress (2010s-2020)
Reviews
Mike Martinez's Congressional Pathfinders is an excellent book for anyone who wants to learn more about the remarkable "firsts" in the United States Congress. This volume is full of context and history about the ways unlikely people made their way--and their mark--in Congress. I would recommend this book to students and researchers, but also to anyone who has an interest in Congressional history. This is an excellent addition to Martinez's trilogy on Congressional history.--J. Benjamin Taylor, Kennesaw State University