James Earl Carter Jr. was born on October 1, 1924, into a farming family in Plains, Georgia. His father was a farmer and local business owner,
his mother a nurse, and there were three other children in the family.
When the young Carter, known as Jimmy, was four, the family moved to a community called Archery to operate a peanut
farm. The farm was a success, but even so, the
family home was not equipped with running
water or electricity.
Carter graduated from high school in 1941
and enrolled in college. His stay was cut short
when he received an appointment to the U.S.
Naval Academy in Maryland in 1942. There he
excelled in electronics and naval tactics. Carter
graduated near the top of his class in 1946 and
served in the U.S. Navy until 1953. He married
Rosalynn Smith (1927–) the year of his graduation, and the couple eventually had four children.
The Carter family moved to Norfolk,
Virginia, soon after the marriage. When Carter’s
father died in 1953, young Carter resigned his
commission and returned home to run the
peanut farm. With the help of his wife, he
turned it into a million-dollar business.
Enters politics
Carter was an active member in the Plains community, where he served
on the board of education, joined other civic organizations, and was a
deacon in his church. Carter’s commitment to his Baptist faith gave him
a liberal view on race, and amid the severe racial tensions of the 1950s
South, his was a voice of tolerance.
Carter ran for a seat in the Georgia state senate in 1962 as a
Democrat but lost in the primary. When he was able to prove his opponent had committed voter fraud, he easily won the general election. He
earned a reputation as an outspoken, effective legislator and was reelected to another two-year term in 1964.
Carter ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1966. Despite the loss, he
was convinced he could use politics as a tool to achieve good works.
Between 1966 and 1970, Carter traveled the state, studying problems
and making nearly eighteen hundred speeches. He won the governor’s
seat in 1970. In that position, he increased the number of African
American state employees by 40 percent and pushed through a law stating that the poor and the wealthy areas of Georgia must have equal educational funding.
While governor, Carter became more active in the Democratic
Party on a national level. In 1974, staff members of Republican president Richard Nixon (1913–1994; served 1969–74) broke into
Democratic campaign headquarters. This event became known as the
Watergate scandal, and it shook American politics to its core. It was
during this upheaval that Carter announced his plans to run for president. In the 1976 campaign, he won the Democratic Party nomination,
and on November 2, he defeated President Gerald R. Ford (1913–2006;
served 1974–77), who had taken over the presidency when Nixon resigned amidst the disgrace of the Watergate scandal.
A one-term president
Carter was known for his down-to-earth leadership style. He wore cardigan sweaters instead of business suits, and he walked in parades rather
than ride in a limousine. He was what he said he was: a regular man of
the people.
His was a difficult presidency, however. Unemployment and inflation
were high, and there was trouble with Iran. On November 4, 1979, militant Iranian students took over the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran,
and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The students were angry
with the Carter adminstration because it had allowed Iran’s deposed Shah
into the United States for medical treatment. America had supported the
Shah for years, but many Iranians resented him for his Western influences
and repressive practices. Carter could not get the hostages freed, and in
April 1980, eight U.S. Marines accidentally died when a rescue attempt
had to be aborted. The Iran hostage crisis was a nightmare for the president, and it would haunt him throughout his term.
Carter achieved some major feats while in office. In September
1977, he negotiated the Panama Canal Treaties, a controversial move
that gave control of the American-built canal to the Central American
nation of Panama in the year 2000. Until that time, control would be
shared between the United States and Panama. Many Americans and the
Republican Party believed this negotiation to be a bad move strategically. The Panama Canal is a neutral canal, meaning that ships from all
countries may use it for commerce. America had been in control of the
canal since its completion in 1903. Carter’s negotiations allowed
America the permanent right to defend its neutrality, but control was
given to Panama, an unstable country led by a brutal military dictator.
After signing the treaties, Carter visited Panama with his wife and twelve
senators. While there, the politicians urged Panama to soften its policies.
Ultimately, the treaties led to improved relations between Latin America
and Panama.
On September 17, 1978, Carter negotiated a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, two countries long embroiled in violent conflict.
This agreement is known as the Camp David Accords. He also continued normalizing diplomatic and trade relations with the People’s
Republic of China. Carter made great efforts to minimize the number of
nuclear arms produced by both the United States and the Soviet Union.
His efforts resulted in negotiations known as the SALT (Strategic Arms
Limitation Talks) II Treaty in 1979. Congress was reluctant to ratify the
treaty because it was feared the terms would weaken the United States.
When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in late 1979, Carter withdrew the treaty, and it was never ratified. Even so, the commitments outlined in SALT II were honored by both the United States and the Soviet
Union.
America’s economic situation was difficult for various reasons while
Carter was in office. That fact, coupled with the hostage situation, left
Carter at a disadvantage when it came time for reelection. The
Republican Party challenger, former California governor Ronald
Reagan (1911–2004; served 1981–89), defeated the former peanut
farmer by one of the largest margins in history. Carter kept his efforts focused on the release of the hostages, who finally were freed on January
20, 1981, the day of Reagan’s inauguration—literally minutes after
Reagan was sworn in as president. Former president Carter represented
the U.S. government in West Germany, where the hostages were welcomed at a military airbase and underwent medical tests.
Post-presidency
In the years immediately following his term in the Oval Office, historians considered Carter a decent man but one ill-equipped for leading the
nation. More recent analysis assesses Carter’s decisions and actions in a
more positive light. For example, though he was criticized for the way he
handled the Iran hostage crisis, he did manage to bring home all 52
Americans alive without breaking any laws.
Carter used his post-presidency to champion causes he believed in.
In 1981, Carter established the nonprofit Carter Center in Atlanta,
Georgia. The organization’s purpose is multifaceted and includes the
promotion of human rights and health care in Third World countries,
the monitoring of democratic elections overseas, and the maintenance of
immunization records for Atlanta children. Carter also aligned himself
with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that builds low-income housing around the world.
Carter maintained his role as a statesperson into the twenty-first century. In 2002, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, only the
third U.S. president to win the honor. The other two were Theodore
Roosevelt (1858–1919; served 1901–9) and Woodrow Wilson
(1856–1924; served 1913–21). Carter continues to dedicate his life to
humanitarian issues around the world and has published scores of books
on various topics.