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James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924Template:SpndDecember 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter served from 1971 to 1975 as the 76th governor of Georgia and from 1963 to 1967 in the Georgia State Senate. He was the longest-lived president in U.S. history and the first to reach the age of 100.
Born in Plains, Georgia, Carter graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946 and joined the submarine service before returning to his family's peanut farm. He was active in the civil rights movement, then served as state senator and governor before running for president in 1976. He secured the Democratic nomination as a dark horse little known outside his home state before narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford in the general election.
As president, Carter pardoned all Vietnam draft evaders and negotiated major foreign policy agreements, including the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, and the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, and he established diplomatic relations with China. He created a national energy policy that included conservation, price control, and new technology. He signed bills that created the Departments of Energy and Education. The later years of his presidency were marked by several foreign policy crises, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (leading to the end of détente and the 1980 Olympics boycott) and the fallout of the Iranian Revolution (including the Iran hostage crisis and 1979 oil crisis). Carter sought reelection in 1980, defeating a primary challenge by Senator Ted Kennedy, but lost the election to Republican nominee Ronald Reagan.
Polls of historians and political scientists have ranked Carter's presidency below average. His post-presidency—the longest in U.S. history—is viewed more favorably. After Carter's presidential term ended, he established the Carter Center to promote human rights, earning him the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. He traveled extensively to conduct peace negotiations, monitor elections, and end neglected tropical diseases, becoming a major contributor to the eradication of dracunculiasis. Carter was a key figure in the nonprofit housing organization Habitat for Humanity. He also wrote political memoirs and other books, commentary on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and poetry.
Early lifeEdit
James Earl Carter Jr. was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, at the Wise Sanitarium, where his mother worked as a registered nurse.Template:Sfn Carter was the first U.S. president born in a hospital.Template:Sfn He was the eldest child of Bessie Lillian Gordy and James Earl Carter Sr., and a descendant of English immigrant Thomas Carter, who settled in the Colony of Virginia in 1635.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In Georgia, numerous generations of Carters worked as cotton farmers.Template:Sfn Carter's father was a successful local businessman who ran a general store and was an investor in farmland;Template:Sfn he had served as a reserve second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps during World War I.Template:Sfn
During Carter's infancy, his family moved several times, settling on a dirt road in nearby Archery, which was almost entirely populated by impoverished Black families.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn His family eventually had three more children, Gloria, Ruth, and Billy.Template:Sfn Carter had a good relationship with his parents, even though his mother was often absent during his childhood since she worked long hours. Although his father was staunchly pro-segregation, he allowed Jimmy to befriend the Black farmhands' children.Template:Sfn Carter was an enterprising teenager who was given his own acre of Earl's farmland, where he grew and sold peanuts.Template:Sfn Carter also rented out a section of tenant housing he had purchased.Template:Sfn
EducationEdit
Carter attended Plains High School from 1937 to 1941, graduating from the 11th grade; the school did not have a 12th grade.Template:Sfn By that time, Archery and Plains had been impoverished by the Great Depression, but the family benefited from New Deal farming subsidies, and Carter's father became a community leader.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Carter was a diligent student with a fondness for reading.Template:Sfn According to a popular anecdote, he was passed over for valedictorian after he and his friends skipped school to venture downtown in a hot rod (although it is not clear he would otherwise have been valedictorian).Template:Sfnm Carter played on the Plains High School basketball team and joined Future Farmers of America, which helped him develop a lifelong interest in woodworking.Template:Sfn
Carter had long dreamed of attending the United States Naval Academy.Template:Sfn In 1941, he started undergraduate coursework in engineering at Georgia Southwestern College in nearby Americus, Georgia.Template:Sfn The next year, Carter transferred to the Georgia School of Technology (now Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, where civil rights icon Blake Van Leer was president.Template:Sfn While at Georgia Tech, Carter took part in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.Template:Sfn Van Leer encouraged Carter to join the Naval Academy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1943, he received an appointment to the Naval Academy from U.S. Representative Stephen Pace, and Carter graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1946.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He was a good student, but was seen as reserved and quiet, in contrast to the academy's culture of aggressive hazing of freshmen.Template:Sfn While at the academy, Carter fell in love with Rosalynn Smith, a friend of his sister Ruth.Template:Sfn The two wed shortly after his graduation in 1946, and were married until her death on November 19, 2023.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Carter was a sprint football player for the Navy Midshipmen and a standout freshman cross country runner.Template:Sfn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He graduated 60th out of 821 midshipmen in the class of 1947Template:Efn with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as an ensign.Template:Sfn
Edit
From 1946 to 1953, the Carters lived in Virginia, Hawaii, Connecticut, New York, and California, during his deployments in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets.Template:Sfn In 1948, he began officer training for submarine duty and served aboard Template:USS.Template:Sfn Carter was promoted to lieutenant junior grade in 1949. His service aboard Pomfret included a simulated war patrol to the western Pacific and Chinese coast from January to March of that year.Template:Sfn In 1951, Carter was assigned to the diesel/electric Template:USS, qualified for command, and served in several positions, including executive officer.Template:Sfn
In 1952, Carter began an association with the Navy's fledgling nuclear submarine program, led by then-Captain Hyman G. Rickover.Template:Sfn Rickover had high standards, and Carter later said that, next to his parents, Rickover had the greatest influence on his life.Template:Sfn Carter was sent to the Naval Reactors Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C., for three-month temporary duty, while Rosalynn moved with their children to Schenectady, New York.Template:Sfn
On December 12, 1952, an accident with the experimental NRX reactor at Atomic Energy of Canada's Chalk River Laboratories caused a partial meltdown.Template:Sfn Carter was ordered to Chalk River to lead a U.S. maintenance crew to assist in the shutdown of the reactor.Template:Sfn The painstaking process required each team member to don protective gear and be lowered individually into the reactor for 90 seconds at a time, limiting their exposure to radioactivity while they disassembled the crippled reactor.Template:Sfn During and after his presidency, Carter said that his experience at Chalk River had shaped his views on atomic energy and led him to cease the development of a neutron bomb.Template:Sfn
In March 1953, Carter began a six-month nuclear power plant operation course at Union College in Schenectady.Template:Sfn His intent was to eventually work aboard Template:USS, which was intended to be the second U.S. nuclear submarine.Template:Sfn His plans changed when his father died of pancreatic cancer in July, two months before construction of Seawolf began, and Carter obtained a release from active duty so he could take over the family peanut business.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Deciding to leave Schenectady proved difficult, as Rosalynn had grown comfortable with their life there.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn She later said that returning to small-town life in Plains seemed "a monumental step backward".Template:Sfn Carter left active duty on October 9, 1953.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He served in the inactive Navy Reserve until 1961 and left with the rank of lieutenant.Template:Sfn Carter's awards include the American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, China Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal.Template:Sfn As a submarine officer, he also earned the "dolphin" badge.Template:Sfn
FarmingEdit
After debt settlements and division of his father's estate, Jimmy inherited comparatively little.Template:Sfn For a year, he, Rosalynn, and their three sons lived in public housing in Plains.Template:Efn Carter set out to expand the family's peanut-growing business.Template:Sfn Transitioning from the Navy to farming was difficult as his first-year harvest failed due to drought, and Carter had to open several lines of credit to keep the farm afloat.Template:Sfn He took classes and studied agriculture while Rosalynn learned accounting to manage the business's books.Template:Sfn Though they barely broke even the first year, the Carters grew the business and became quite successful.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Early political career (1963–1971)Edit
Georgia state senator (1963–1967)Edit
As racial tension inflamed in Plains by the 1954 Supreme Court of the United States ruling in Brown v. Board of Education,Template:Sfn Carter favored integration but often kept those feelings to himself to avoid making enemies. By 1961, Carter began to speak more prominently of integration as a member of the Baptist Church and chairman of the Sumter County school board.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In 1962, he announced his campaign for an open Georgia State Senate seat.Template:Sfn Rosalynn, who had an instinct for politics and organization, was instrumental in his campaign. While early counting of the ballots showed Carter trailing his opponent, Homer Moore, this was later proven to be the result of fraudulent voting.Template:Sfn Another election was held, in which Carter defeated Moore as the sole Democratic candidate.Template:Sfn He served in both the 127th Georgia General Assembly and the 128th Georgia General Assembly.
The civil rights movement was well underway when Carter took office. Carter remained relatively quiet on the issue at first, even as it polarized much of the county, to avoid alienating his segregationist colleagues. Carter did speak up on a few divisive issues, giving speeches against literacy tests and against an amendment to the Georgia Constitution that he felt implied a compulsion to practice religion.Template:Sfn Carter entered the state Democratic Executive Committee two years into office, where he helped rewrite the state party's rules. He became the chairman of the West Central Georgia Planning and Development Commission, which oversaw the disbursement of federal and state grants for projects such as historic site restoration.Template:Sfn
When Bo Callaway was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1964, Carter immediately began planning to challenge him. The two had previously clashed over which two-year college would be expanded to a four-year college program by the state, and Carter saw Callaway—who had switched to the Republican Party—as representing aspects of politics he despised.Template:Sfn Carter was reelected to a second two-year term in the state Senate,Template:Sfn where he chaired its Education Committee and sat on the Appropriations Committee. He contributed to a bill expanding statewide education funding and getting Georgia Southwestern State University a four-year program. He leveraged his regional planning work, giving speeches around the district to make himself more visible to potential voters. On the last day of the term, Carter announced his candidacy for the House of Representatives.Template:Sfn Callaway decided to run for governor instead;Template:Sfn Carter decided to do the same.Template:Sfn
1966 and 1970 gubernatorial campaignsEdit
In the 1966 gubernatorial election, Carter ran against liberal former governor Ellis Arnall and conservative segregationist Lester Maddox in the Democratic primary. In a press conference, he described his ideology as "Conservative, moderate, liberal and middle-of-the-road ... I believe I am a more complicated person than that."Template:Sfn He lost the primary but drew enough votes as a third-place candidate to force Arnall into a runoff election with Maddox, who defeated Arnall.Template:Sfn In the general election, Republican nominee Callaway won a plurality of the vote but less than a majority, allowing the Democratic-majority Georgia House of Representatives to elect Maddox as governor.Template:Sfn Maddox's victory—due to his segregationist stance—was seen as the worst outcome for the indebted Carter.Template:Sfn Carter returned to his agriculture business, carefully planning his next campaign. This period was a spiritual turning point for Carter; he declared himself a born again Christian. His last child, Amy, was born during this time.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
In the 1970 gubernatorial election, liberal former governor Carl Sanders became Carter's main opponent in the Democratic primary. Carter ran a more modern campaign, employing printed graphics and statistical analysis. Responding to polls, he leaned more conservative than before, positioning himself as a populist and criticizing Sanders for both his wealth and perceived links to the national Democratic Party. He also accused Sanders of corruption, but when pressed by the media, he did not provide evidence.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Throughout his campaign, Carter sought both the black vote and the votes of those who had supported prominent Alabama segregationist George Wallace. While he met with black figures such as Martin Luther King Sr. and Andrew Young and visited many black-owned businesses, he also praised Wallace and promised to invite him to give a speech in Georgia. Carter's appeal to racism became more blatant over time, with his senior campaign aides handing out a photograph of Sanders celebrating with Black basketball players.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Carter came ahead of Sanders in the first ballot, leading to a runoff election. The subsequent campaign was even more bitter. Despite his early support for civil rights, Carter's appeal to racism grew, and he criticized Sanders for supporting Martin Luther King Jr. Carter won the runoff election and won the general election against Republican nominee Hal Suit. Once elected, Carter began to speak against Georgia's racist politics. Leroy Johnson, a black state senator, voiced his support for Carter: "I understand why he ran that kind of ultra-conservative campaign. I don't believe you can win this state without being a racist."Template:Sfn
Georgia governorship (1971–1975)Edit
Carter was sworn in as the 76th governor of Georgia on January 12, 1971. In his inaugural speech, he declared that "the time for racial discrimination is over",Template:Sfn shocking the crowd and causing many segregationists who had supported his candidacy to feel betrayed. Carter was reluctant to engage with fellow politicians, making him unpopular with the legislature.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He expanded the governor's authority by introducing a reorganization plan submitted in January 1972. Despite an initially cool reception in the legislature, the plan passed at midnight on the last day of the session.Template:Sfn Carter merged about 300 state agencies into 22, although it is disputed whether that saved the state money.Template:Sfn On July 8, 1971, during an appearance in Columbus, Georgia, he stated his intention to establish a Georgia Human Rights Council.Template:Sfn
In a July 1971 news conference, Carter announced that he had ordered department heads to reduce spending to prevent a $57 million deficit by the end of the 1972 fiscal year, specifying that each state department would be affected and estimating that five percent over government revenue would be lost if state departments continued to fully use allocated funds.Template:Sfn In January 1972, he requested that the state legislature fund an early childhood development program along with prison reform programs and $48 million (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year) in paid taxes for nearly all state employees.Template:Sfn
In March 1972, Carter said he might call a special session of the general assembly if the Justice Department struck down any reapportionment plans by either the House or Senate.Template:Sfn He pushed several reforms through the legislature, providing equal state aid to schools, setting up community centers for mentally disabled children, and increasing educational programs for convicts.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In one of his more controversial decisions, he vetoed a plan to build a dam on Georgia's Flint River, which attracted the attention of environmentalists nationwide.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Civil rights were a high priority for Carter, who added black state employees and portraits of three prominent black Georgians to the capitol building. This angered the Ku Klux Klan.Template:Sfn He favored a constitutional amendment to ban busing for the purpose of expediting integration in schools on a televised joint appearance with Florida Governor Reubin Askew on January 31, 1973,Template:Sfn and co-sponsored an anti-busing resolution with Wallace at the 1971 National Governors Conference.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Georgia's death penalty statute in Furman v. Georgia (1972), Carter signed a revised statute that reintroduced the practice. He later regretted endorsing the death penalty, saying, "I didn't see the injustice of it as I do now."Template:Sfn
Ineligible for a second consecutive term under the 1945 Georgia Constitution, Carter considered running for president and engaged in national politics. He was named to several southern planning commissions and a delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention, where U.S. Senator George McGovern was the likely nominee. Carter tried to ingratiate himself with conservative and anti-McGovern voters. He was fairly obscure at the time, and his attempt at triangulation failed.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn On August 3, Carter met with Wallace in Birmingham, Alabama, to discuss preventing the Democrats from losing in a landslide,Template:Sfn but they did.Template:Sfn
Carter regularly met with his fledgling campaign staff and decided to start putting together a presidential campaign for 1976. He tried unsuccessfully to become chairman of the National Governors Association to boost his visibility. With David Rockefeller's endorsement, he was named to the Trilateral Commission in April 1973. The next year, he was named chairman of the Democratic National Committee's congressional and gubernatorial campaigns.Template:Sfn In May 1973, Carter warned his party against politicizing the Watergate scandal,Template:Sfn which he attributed to president Richard Nixon's isolation from Americans and secretive decision-making.Template:Sfn
1976 presidential campaignEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Further
On December 12, 1974, Carter announced his presidential campaign at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. His speech contained themes of domestic inequality, optimism, and change.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Upon his entrance in the Democratic primaries, he was competing against sixteen other candidates and was considered to have little chance against the more nationally known politicians such as Wallace.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His name recognition was very low, and his opponents derisively asked "Jimmy Who?".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In response to this, Carter began to emphasize his name and what he stood for, stating "My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for president."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
This strategy proved successful. By mid-March 1976, Carter was not only far ahead of the active contenders for the presidential nomination, but led incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford by a few percentage points.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As the Watergate scandal was still fresh in the voters' minds, Carter's position as an outsider proved helpful. He promoted government reorganization. In June, Carter published a memoir titled Why Not the Best? to introduce himself to the American public.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Carter became the front-runner early on by winning the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. His strategy involved reaching a region before another candidate could extend influence there, traveling over Template:Convert, visiting 37 states, and delivering over 200 speeches before any other candidate had entered the race.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the South, he tacitly conceded certain areas to Wallace and swept them as a moderate when it became clear Wallace could not win the region. In the North, Carter appealed largely to conservative Christian and rural voters. While he did not achieve a majority in most Northern states, he won several by building the largest singular support base. Although Carter was initially dismissed as a regional candidate, he would clinch the Democratic nomination.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1980, Laurence Shoup noted that the national news media discovered and promoted Carter, and stated:
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What Carter had that his opponents did not was the acceptance and support of elite sectors of the mass communications media. It was their favorable coverage of Carter and his campaign that gave him an edge, propelling him rocket-like to the top of the opinion polls. This helped Carter win key primary election victories, enabling him to rise from an obscure public figure to President-elect in the short space of 9 months.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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During an interview in April 1976, Carter said, "I have nothing against a community that is... trying to maintain the ethnic purity of their neighborhoods."<ref name="Time 1976-04-19">Template:Cite news</ref> His remark was intended as supportive of open housing laws, but specifying opposition to government efforts to "inject black families into a white neighborhood just to create some sort of integration".<ref name="Time 1976-04-19" /> Carter's stated positions during his campaign included public financing of congressional campaigns,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> supporting the creation of a federal consumer protection agency,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> creating a separate cabinet-level department for education,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> signing a peace treaty with the Soviet Union to limit nuclear weapons,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> reducing the defense budget,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a tax proposal implementing "a substantial increase toward those who have the higher incomes" alongside a levy reduction on taxpayers with lower and middle incomes,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> making multiple amendments to the Social Security Act,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and having a balanced budget by the end of his first term.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On July 15, 1976, Carter chose U.S. senator Walter Mondale as his running mate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carter and Ford faced off in three televised debates,<ref name="Howard, Adam NBC News" /> the first United States presidential debates since 1960.<ref name="Howard, Adam NBC News">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
For the November 1976 issue of Playboy, which hit newsstands a couple of weeks before the election, Robert Scheer interviewed Carter. While discussing his religion's view of pride, Carter said: "I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times."<ref>"The Playboy Interview: Jimmy Carter." Robert Scheer. Playboy, November 1976, Vol. 23, Iss. 11, pp. 63–86.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This response and his admission in another interview that he did not mind if people uttered the word "fuck" led to a media feeding frenzy and critics lamenting the erosion of boundary between politicians and their private intimate lives.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
ElectionEdit
Carter once had a sizable lead over Ford in national polling, but by late September his lead had narrowed to only several points.<ref>Carter's lead narrows Template:Webarchive. The Springfield News-Leader. September 29, 1976. October 3, 2024.</ref><ref>Harris, Louis (October 30, 1976). Harris Poll says Carter holds only a 1-point lead. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 30, 2024.</ref> In the final days before the election, several polls showed that Ford had tied Carter, and one Gallup poll found that he was slightly ahead.<ref>Presidential Contenders Strain At Finish. United Press International. The Times Argus. November 1, 1976. Retrieved September 30, 2024.</ref> Most analysts agreed that Carter was going to win the popular vote, but some argued Ford had an opportunity to win the electoral college and thus the election.<ref>Larrabee, Don (October 31, 1976). Presidency seems to be up for grabs. The Greenville News. Retrieved October 1, 2024.</ref><ref>Ford's brother sees electoral college victory Template:Webarchive. Associated Press. The Recorder. November 1, 1976. Retrieved October 1, 2024.</ref>
Carter and Mondale ultimately defeated Ford and his runningmate (Senator Bob Dole), receiving 297 electoral votes and 50.1% of the popular vote.<ref name="Toledo Blade-1976">Template:Cite news</ref> Carter's victory was attributed in part<ref>Kaplan, Seth; Kaplan, James I. (November 3, 1976). Many Factors Figured in Carter's Win Template:Webarchive. The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved September 30, 2024.</ref> to his overwhelming support among black voters in states decided by close margins.<ref name="bhuh43">Template:Cite news</ref> In Ohio and Wisconsin, where the margin between Carter and Ford was under two points, the black vote was crucial for Carter; if he had not won both states, Ford would have won the election.<ref name="bhuh43"/><ref>Kornacki, Steve (July 29, 2019). Journey to power: The history of black voters, 1976 to 2020 Template:Webarchive. NBC News. Retrieved September 30, 2024.</ref>
TransitionEdit
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Preliminary planning for Carter's presidential transition had been underway for months before his election.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Voxtransition1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter had been the first presidential candidate to allot significant funds and a significant number of personnel to a pre-election transition planning effort, which then became standard practice.<ref name="burke2004">Template:Cite book</ref> He set a mold that influenced all future transitions to be larger, more methodical and more formal than they were.<ref name="burke2004" /><ref name="Voxtransition1" />
On November 22, 1976, Carter conducted his first visit to Washington, D.C. after being elected, meeting with director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) James Lynn and United States secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld at the Blair House, and holding an afternoon meeting with President Ford at the White House.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The next day, he conferred with congressional leaders, saying that his meetings with cabinet members had been "very helpful" and that Ford had offered his assistance if he needed anything.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Relations between Ford and Carter were relatively cold during the transition.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> During his transition, Carter announced the selection of numerous designees for positions in his administration.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A few weeks before his inauguration, Carter moved his peanut business into the hands of trustees to avoid a potential conflict of interest.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also asked incoming members of his administration to divest themselves of assets through blind trusts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Presidency (1977–1981)Edit
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Carter was inaugurated as the 39th president on January 20, 1977.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One of Carter's first acts was the fulfillment of a campaign promise by issuing Proclamation 4483 declaring unconditional amnesty for Vietnam War–era draft evaders.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter's tenure in office was marked by an economic malaise, a time of continuing inflation and recession and the 1979 energy crisis. Under Carter, in May 1980, the Federal Trade Commission became "apparently the first agency ever closed by a budget dispute", but Congress took action and the agency opened the next day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Carter attempted to calm various conflicts around the world, most visibly in the Middle East with the signing of the Camp David Accords;<ref name="achievement.org">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> giving the Panama Canal to Panama; and signing the SALT II nuclear arms reduction treaty with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. His final year was marred by the Iran hostage crisis, which contributed to his losing the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Whistleblowers have alleged, most recently in 2023, that people working on the Reagan campaign's behalf convinced Iran to prolong the crisis to reduce Carter's chance of reelection.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Domestic policyEdit
Holidays and proclamationsEdit
In 1978, Carter signed into law a bill creating a celebration in May called Asian American Heritage Week. May 7 and 10 were designated for national observance and recognition of the contributions of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants to American society. In 1992, President George H. W. Bush signed a bill expanding the celebration into Asian American Heritage Month.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill renaming this celebration Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EconomyEdit
The first two years of Carter's presidency were a time of intense stagflation, primarily due to recovery from a previous recession that had left fixed investment at extreme lows and unemployment at 9%.<ref name="stat 88">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Under Carter, the unemployment rate declined from 8.1% when he took office to 5.7% by July 1978,<ref>Sharp Drop Noted In Unemployment. Associated Press. Spokane Chronicle. July 7, 1978. Retrieved October 2, 2024.</ref><ref>Jobless Level Up Slightly. The New York Times. The Patriot-News. October 7, 1978. Retrieved October 26, 2024.</ref> but during the early 1980s recession it returned to its pre-1977 level.<ref>Jobless Rate Could Reach 7.5% This Year, 8% In 1981, Kahn Predicts. Associated Press. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 1, 1980. Retrieved October 2, 2024.</ref> His last two years were marked by double-digit inflation, very high interest rates,Template:Sfn oil shortages, and slow economic growth.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Due to economic stimulus legislation, such as the Public Works Employment Act of 1977, proposed by Carter and passed by Congress, real household median income had grown by 5.2%, with a projection of 6.4% for the next quarter.Template:Sfn
The 1979 energy crisis ended this period of growth, and as inflation and interest rates rose, economic growth, job creation and consumer confidence declined sharply.Template:Sfn Federal Reserve Board chairman G. William Miller's relatively loose monetary policy had already contributed to somewhat higher inflation,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> rising from 5.8% in 1976 to 7.7% in 1978. The sudden doubling of crude oil prices<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> forced inflation to double-digit levels, averaging 11.3% in 1979 and 13.5% in 1980.<ref name="stat 88" /> The sudden shortage of gasoline as the 1979 summer vacation season began exacerbated the problem and came to symbolize the crisis to the general public;Template:Sfn the acute shortage, originating in the shutdown of Amerada Hess refining facilities, led the federal government to sue the company that year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EnvironmentEdit
During his 1976 campaign, Carter promised to sign into law any bills Congress passed to regulate strip mining.<ref>Ford defends vetoing limits on strip mines. The Courier-Journal. October 23, 1977. Retrieved January 1, 2025.</ref> In 1977, Carter signed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, which regulated strip mining.<ref>Coal strip mining bill signed into law by Carter Template:Webarchive. The New York Times. August 4, 1977. Retrieved January 1, 2025.</ref>
In 1978, Carter declared a federal emergency in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls, New York. More than 800 families were evacuated from the neighborhood, which was on top of a toxic waste landfill. The Superfund law was created in response to the situation.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Federal disaster money was appropriated to demolish about 500 houses and two schools built atop the dump, and to remediate the dump and construct a containment area for the hazardous waste. This was the first time such a process had been undertaken. Carter acknowledged that several more "Love Canals" existed across the country, and that discovering such hazardous dump sites was "one of the grimmest discoveries of our modern era".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In December 1978, Carter used the 1906 Antiquities Act and his executive order power to designate Template:Convert of land in Alaska as a national monument. This executive order protected the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge until Congress codified it into law with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, which doubled the amount of public land set aside for national parks and wildlife refuges.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>See Seth S. King, "Carter Designates U.S. Land In Alaska For National Parks," The New York Times, December 2, 1978 Template:Webarchive</ref>
U.S. energy crisisEdit
Moralism typified much of Carter's action.<ref>Kenneth Earl Morris, ed. Jimmy Carter, American Moralist ( University of Georgia Press, 1996).</ref> On April 18, 1977, he delivered a televised speech declaring that the energy crisis was the "moral equivalent of war". He encouraged energy conservation and installed solar water heating panels on the White House.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He wore a cardigan<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to offset turning down the heat in the White House.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On August 4, 1977, Carter signed the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977, forming the Department of Energy, the first new cabinet position in eleven years.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Carter emphasized that the House of Representatives had "adopted almost all" of the energy proposal he had made five months earlier and called the compromise "a turning point in establishing a comprehensive energy program."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The next month, he called energy "the most important domestic issue that we will face while I am in office".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On January 12, 1978, Carter said the continued discussions about his energy reform proposal had been "long and divisive and arduous".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In an April 11, 1978, news conference, Carter said his biggest surprise "in the nature of a disappointment" since becoming president was the difficulty Congress had in passing legislation, citing the energy reform bill in particular.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After much deliberation and modification, Congress approved the Carter energy legislation on October 15, 1978. It deregulated the sale of natural gas, dropped a longstanding pricing disparity between intra- and interstate gas, and created tax credits to encourage energy conservation and the use of non-fossil fuels.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
On March 1, 1979, Carter submitted a standby gasoline rationing plan per the request of Congress.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On April 5, he delivered an address in which he stressed the urgency of energy conservation and increasing domestic production of energy sources such as coal and solar.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On July 15, 1979, Carter delivered a nationally televised address in which he identified what he believed to be a "crisis of confidence" among American people,<ref name="millercenter1979">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> under the advisement of pollster Pat Caddell who believed Americans faced a crisis in confidence from events of the 1960s and 1970s, before his presidency.<ref name="crisis speech">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some later called this his "malaise speech",<ref name="millercenter1979" /> memorable for mixed reactions<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and his use of rhetoric.<ref name="crisis speech" /> The speech's negative reception centered on a view that he did not emphasize his own efforts to address the energy crisis and seemed too reliant on Americans.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Relations with CongressEdit
Carter typically refused to conform to Washington's rules.Template:Sfn He avoided phone calls from members of Congress and verbally insulted them. He was unwilling to return political favors. His negativity led to frustration in passing legislation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During a press conference on February 23, 1977, Carter stated that it was "inevitable" that he would come into conflict with Congress and added that he had found "a growing sense of cooperation" with Congress and met in the past with congressional members of both parties.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter developed a bitter feeling following an unsuccessful attempt at having Congress enact the scrapping of several water projects.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
As a rift ensued between the White House and Congress afterward, Carter noted that the Democratic Party's liberal wing opposed his policies the most ardently, attributing this to Ted Kennedy's wanting the presidency.<ref>Carter, Jimmy Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis, p. 8, (2005), Simon & Schuster</ref> Thinking he had support from 74 Congressmen, Carter issued a "hit list" of 19 projects that he claimed were "pork barrel" spending that he said he would veto if they were included in legislation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He found himself again at odds with Congressional Democrats, as House Speaker Tip O'Neill found it inappropriate for a president to pursue what had traditionally been the role of Congress. Carter was also weakened by signing a bill that contained many of the "hit list" projects he had intended to veto.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In an address to a fundraising dinner for the Democratic National Committee on June 23, 1977, Carter said, "I think it's good to point out tonight, too, that we have evolved a good working relationship with the Congress. For eight years we had government by partisanship. Now we have government by partnership."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web
}}</ref> At a July 28 news conference, assessing the first six months of his presidency, Carter spoke of his improved understanding of Congress:
I have learned to respect the Congress more in an individual basis. I've been favorably impressed at the high degree of concentrated experience and knowledge that individual members of Congress can bring on a specific subject, where they've been the chairman of a subcommittee or committee for many years and have focused their attention on this particular aspect of government life which I will never be able to do.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
On May 10, 1979, the House voted against giving Carter authority to produce a standby gas rationing plan.Template:Sfn The following day, Carter described himself as shocked and embarrassed for the U.S. government by the vote and concluded "the majority of the House Members are unwilling to take the responsibility, the political responsibility for dealing with a potential, serious threat to our Nation." He added that most House members were placing higher importance on "local or parochial interests" and challenged the House to compose its own rationing plan in the next 90 days.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carter's remarks were met with criticism by House Republicans, who accused his comments of not befitting the formality a president should have in their public remarks. Others pointed to 106 Democrats voting against his proposal and the bipartisan criticism potentially coming back to haunt him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At a news conference on July 25, 1979, Carter called on believers in the future of the U.S. and his proposed energy program to speak with Congress as it bore the responsibility to impose his proposals.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Amid the energy proposal opposition, The New York Times commented that "as the comments flying up and down Pennsylvania Avenue illustrate, there is also a crisis of confidence between Congress and the President, sense of doubt and distrust that threatens to undermine the President's legislative program and become an important issue in next year's campaign."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
DeregulationEdit
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In 1977, Carter appointed Alfred E. Kahn to lead the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). He was part of a push for deregulation of the industry, supported by leading economists, leading think tanks in Washington, a civil society coalition advocating the reform, the head of the regulatory agency, Senate leadership, the Carter administration, and even some in the airline industry. This coalition swiftly gained legislative results in 1978.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act into law on October 24, 1978. The main purpose of the act was to remove government control over fares, routes and market entry (of new airlines) from commercial aviation. The Civil Aeronautics Board's powers of regulation were to be phased out, eventually allowing market forces to determine routes and fares. The Act did not remove or diminish the Federal Aviation Administration's regulatory powers over airline safety.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1978, Carter signed a bill into law "allowing homebrewing and small-scale craft brewing to operate legally".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The new law deregulated the American beer industry by making it legal to sell malt, hops, and yeast to American home brewers for the first time since the 1920 beginning of prohibition in the United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This deregulation led to an increase in home brewing that by the 2000s had developed into a strong craft microbrew culture in the United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Chrysler bailoutEdit
Template:Further information In the late 1970s, the Chrysler Cooperation—one of the "Big Three" automakers in the U.S.—faced near-certain bankruptcy as it projected a loss of $1Template:Spacesbillion.<ref name="derg55">Chrysler Aid Plan Signed Template:Webarchive. The Kansas City Times. January 8, 1980. Retrieved December 22, 2024.</ref> Carter proposed that the company forgo salary increases and bonuses, saying that it might be done "without decimating the company or putting it on its knees", but the company had already frozen wage increases and bonuses months before, to no avail.<ref>Auto firm says sacrifices made Template:Webarchive. The Hamilton Spectator. August 13, 1979. Retrieved December 22, 2024.</ref> In 1979, Congress began working on a bailout plan for Chrysler, led by Congressman James J. Blanchard. Carter assembled a team that included Vice President Mondale and Assistant Domestic Policy Adviser David Rubenstein to secure a $1.5 billion loan guarantee.<ref name="vr55b">Howard, Phoebe Wall (December 31, 2024). Chrysler rescue of 80,000 jobs during Carter administration almost didn't happen Template:Webarchive. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 1, 2025.</ref>
In December, Congress passed the Chrysler Corporation Loan Guarantee Act of 1979 to bail Chrysler out with $3.5Template:Spacesbillion (equivalent to $Template:InflationTemplate:Spacesbillion in Template:Inflation-year) in aid.Template:Sfn The bill turned over $162 million in stock to Chrysler's workers, eliminated around $125 million in wage increases, and gave Chrysler $500 million in bank loans.<ref name="derg55"/> Carter, who had initially opposed the bailout of corporations,<ref name="vr55b"/> signed it into law in January, saying that the bill saved thousands of jobs.<ref name="derg55"/> The bailout was successful at the time, but Chrysler would eventually file for bankruptcy during the 2008 financial crisis.<ref name="vr55b"/>
HealthcareEdit
During his presidential campaign, Carter embraced healthcare reform akin to the Ted Kennedy–sponsored bipartisan universal national health insurance.<ref>Multiple sources * Template:Cite news * Template:Cite news * Template:Cite news</ref> Carter's proposals on healthcare while in office included a 1977 mandatory health care cost proposal,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and a 1979 proposal that provided private health insurance coverage.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The 1977 mandatory health care cost proposal was passed in the Senate,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but later defeated in the House.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> During 1978, he met with Kennedy over a compromise healthcare law that proved unsuccessful.Template:Sfn He later said Kennedy's disagreements thwarted his plan to provide a comprehensive American health care system.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1980, Carter signed into law the Mental Health Systems (MHSA) Act, which allocated block grants to states to bolster community health services and provided funding to states to create and implement community-based health services. The MHSA was considered landmark legislation in mental health care.<ref>Mental Health Systems Act 'landmark' legislation, state MH director says Template:Webarchive. Hattiesburg American. October 30, 1980.</ref> By September 1981, the Reagan administration had repealed most of the law.<ref>Walker, Joe (September 18, 1981). Mental health boss focuses help call on the public Template:Webarchive. The Paducah Sun. Retrieved October 2, 2024.</ref>
EducationEdit
Early into his term, Carter collaborated with Congress to fulfill his campaign promise to create a cabinet-level education department. In an address from the White House on February 28, 1978, Carter argued "Education is far too important a matter to be scattered piecemeal among various government departments and agencies, which are often busy with sometimes dominant concerns."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On February 8, 1979, the Carter administration released an outline of its plan to establish an education department and asserted enough support for the enactment to occur by June.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 17, the same year, Carter signed the Department of Education Organization Act into law,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> establishing the United States Department of Education.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carter added 43,000 children and families to the Head Start program,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> while the percentage of nondefense dollars spent on education was doubled.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In a speech on November 1, 1980, Carter stated his administration had extended Head Start to migrant children.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
LGBTQ rightsEdit
During Carter's administration, the United States Foreign Service "lifted its ban on gay and lesbian personnel". In 1977, the Carter administration became the first U.S. presidential administration to invite gay and lesbian rights activists to the White House to discuss federal policy with regard to ending employment discrimination in the federal government on the basis of sexual orientation and related issues.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Foreign policyEdit
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Israel and EgyptEdit
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From the onset of his presidency, Carter attempted to mediate the Arab–Israeli conflict.Template:Sfn After a failed attempt to seek a comprehensive settlement in 1977 (through reconvening the 1973 Geneva conference),Template:Sfn Carter invited the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin to the presidential lodge Camp David in September 1978, in hopes of creating a definitive peace. While the two sides could not agree on Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, the negotiations resulted in Egypt formally recognizing Israel, and the creation of an elected government in the West Bank and Gaza. This resulted in the Camp David Accords, which ended the war between Israel and Egypt.Template:Sfn
The accords were a source of great domestic opposition in both Egypt and Israel. Historian Jørgen Jensehaugen argues that by the time Carter left office in January 1981, he was "in an odd position—he had attempted to break with traditional U.S. policy but ended up fulfilling the goals of that tradition, which had been to break up the Arab alliance, sideline the Palestinians, build an alliance with Egypt, weaken the Soviet Union and secure Israel."<ref>Jørgen Jensehaugen. Arab–Israeli Diplomacy under Carter: The US, Israel and the Palestinians (2018) p. 178, quoted on H-DIPLO Template:Webarchive</ref>
AfricaEdit
In an address to the African officials at the United Nations on October 4, 1977, Carter stated the U.S.'s interest to "see a strong, vigorous, free, and prosperous Africa with as much of the control of government as possible in the hands of the residents of your countries" and pointed to their unified efforts on "the problem of how to resolve the Rhodesian, Zimbabwe question."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At a news conference later that month, Carter said the U.S. wanted to "work harmoniously with South Africa in dealing with the threats to peace in Namibia and in Zimbabwe in particular", to do away with racial issues such as apartheid, and to work for equal opportunities in other facets of society in the region.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Despite human rights concerns, Carter continued U.S. support for Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire.<ref>John Soares, "Jimmy Carter in Africa: Race and the Cold War." Presidential Studies Quarterly 48.4 (2018): 865–866.</ref> Zaire received nearly half the foreign aid Carter allocated to sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>Lamb, David (1987) The Africans, Vintage, Template:ISBN, p. 46</ref> Under Carter an alliance with Liberia's Samuel Doe, who had come to power in a 1980 coup, was pursued.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Carter visited Nigeria from March 31 to April 3, 1978, to improve relations,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the first U.S. president to do so.<ref name="history.state.gov">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He reiterated interest in convening a peace conference on Rhodesia that involved all parties.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The elections of Margaret Thatcher as prime minister of the United Kingdom<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Abel Muzorewa for Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> South Africa turning down a plan for South West Africa's independence, and domestic opposition in Congress were seen as a heavy blow to the Carter administration's policy toward South Africa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On May 16, 1979, the Senate voted in favor of lifting economic sanctions against Rhodesia, seen by some Rhodesians and South Africans as a potentially fatal blow to joint diplomacy efforts and any compromise between the Salisbury leaders and guerrillas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On December 3, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance promised Senator Jesse Helms that when the British governor arrived in Salisbury to implement an agreed Lancaster House settlement and the electoral process began, the President would take prompt action to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe Rhodesia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
East AsiaEdit
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Carter sought closer relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC), continuing the Nixon administration's drastic policy of rapprochement. The two countries increasingly collaborated against the Soviet Union, and the Carter administration tacitly consented to the Chinese invasion of Vietnam. In December 1978, he announced the United States' intention to formally recognize and establish full diplomatic relations with the PRC starting on January 1, 1979, while severing ties with Taiwan, including revoking a mutual defense treaty with the latter.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1979, Carter extended formal diplomatic recognition to the PRC for the first time. This decision led to a boom in trade between the United States and the PRC, which was pursuing economic reforms under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping.Template:Sfn Carter supported the China-allied Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia fighting the Soviet-backed Vietnamese invasion.<ref>John W. Garver, China's Quest: The History of the Foreign Relations of the People's Republic (2016) pp 383–400.</ref>
After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Carter allowed the sale of military supplies to China and began negotiations to share military intelligence.Template:Sfn In January 1980, Carter unilaterally revoked the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty with the Republic of China (ROC). Conservative Republicans challenged Carter's abrogation of the treaty in court, but the Supreme Court ruled that the issue was a non-justiciable political question in Goldwater v. Carter. The U.S. continued to maintain quasi-diplomatic contacts with the ROC through the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
During Carter's presidency, the U.S. continued to support Indonesia under Suharto as a Cold War ally, despite human rights violations in East Timor. The violations followed Indonesia's December 1975 invasion of East Timor. Under Carter's administration military assistance to Indonesia increased, peaking in 1978.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This was antithetical to Carter's stated policy of "not selling weapons if it would exacerbate a potential conflict in a region".<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the Philippines, Carter supported the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
During a news conference on March 9, 1977, Carter reaffirmed his interest in having a gradual withdrawal of American troops from South Korea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On May 19, The Washington Post quoted Chief of Staff of U.S. forces in South Korea John K. Singlaub as criticizing Carter's withdrawal of troops from the Korean peninsula.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carter relieved Singlaub of his duties on May 21.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
During a news conference on May 26, 1977, Carter said South Korea could defend itself with reduced American troops in case of conflict.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From June 30 to July 1, 1979, Carter held meetings with president of South Korea Park Chung Hee for a discussion on relations between the U.S. and South Korea as well as Carter's interest in preserving his policy of worldwide tension reduction.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On April 21, 1978, Carter announced a reduction in American troops in South Korea scheduled to be released by the end of the year by two-thirds, citing lack of action by Congress in regard to a compensatory aid package for the South Korean government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He supported South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan during the suppression of the Gwangju Uprising in May 1980.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> South Korean pro-democracy activist Kim Dae-jung was sentenced to death in September 1980, but his sentence was commuted after the intervention of presidents Carter and Reagan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
IranEdit
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On November 15, 1977, Carter pledged that his administration would continue positive relations between the U.S. and Iran, calling its contemporary status "strong, stable and progressive".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On December 31, 1977, he called Iran under the Shah an "island of stability".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Carter praised the Shah's "great leadership" and spoke of "personal friendship" between them.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> American support for the unpopular Shah increased anti-American sentiment in Iran, which intensified after the Shah, who was dying of cancer, left Iran for the last time in January 1979 and Carter allowed him to be admitted to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York on October 22, 1979.Template:Sfn
On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The students belonged to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line and supported the Iranian revolution.Template:Sfn Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for the next 444 days. They were freed immediately after Ronald Reagan succeeded Carter as president on January 20, 1981. During the crisis, Carter remained in isolation in the White House for more than 100 days.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A month into the affair, Carter announced his commitment to resolving the dispute without "any military action that would cause bloodshed or arouse the unstable captors of our hostages to attack them or to punish them".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On April 7, 1980, he issued Executive Order 12205, imposing economic sanctions against Iran,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and announced further government measures he deemed necessary to ensure a safe release.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On April 24, 1980, Carter ordered Operation Eagle Claw to try to free the hostages. The mission failed, leaving eight American servicemen dead and two aircraft destroyed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The failure led Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who had opposed the mission, to resign.Template:Sfn
Released in 2017, a declassified memo produced by the CIA in 1980 concluded "Iranian hardliners—especially Ayatollah Khomeini" were "determined to exploit the hostage issue to bring about President Carter's defeat in the November elections." Additionally, Tehran in 1980 wanted "the world to believe that Imam Khomeini caused President Carter's downfall and disgrace."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Soviet UnionEdit
On February 8, 1977, Carter said he had urged the Soviet Union to align with the U.S. in forming "a comprehensive test ban to stop all nuclear testing for at least an extended period of time", and that he was in favor of the Soviet Union ceasing deployment of the RSD-10 Pioneer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At a June 13 press conference, he announced that the U.S. would "work closely with the Soviet Union on a comprehensive test ban treaty to prohibit all testing of nuclear devices underground or in the atmosphere", and that Paul Warnke would negotiate demilitarization of the Indian Ocean with the Soviet Union.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
At a December 30 news conference, Carter said that during "the last few months, the United States and the Soviet Union have made great progress in dealing with a long list of important issues, the most important of which is to control the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons", and that the two countries sought to conclude SALT II talks by the spring of the next year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The talk of a comprehensive test ban treaty materialized with the signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II by Carter and Leonid Brezhnev on June 18, 1979.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1979, the Soviets intervened in the Second Yemenite War. The Soviet backing of South Yemen constituted a "smaller shock", in tandem with tensions that were rising due to the Iranian Revolution. This played a role in making Carter's stance on the Soviet Union more assertive, a shift that finalized with the impending Soviet-Afghan War.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In his 1980 State of the Union Address, Carter emphasized the significance of relations between the two regions: "Now, as during the last 3½ decades, the relationship between our country, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union is the most critical factor in determining whether the world will live at peace or be engulfed in global conflict."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Soviet invasion of AfghanistanEdit
Communists under the leadership of Nur Muhammad Taraki seized power in Afghanistan on April 27, 1978.<ref name="Kaplan">Template:Cite book</ref> Due to the regime's improvement of secular education and redistribution of land coinciding with mass executions and political oppression, Taraki was deposed by rival Hafizullah Amin in September.<ref name="Kaplan" /><ref name="Kepel">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Amin was considered a "brutal psychopath" by foreign observers and had lost control of much of the country, prompting the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan on December 24, 1979, execute Amin, and install Babrak Karmal as president.<ref name="Kaplan" /><ref name="Kepel" />
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In the West, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was considered a threat to global security and the oil supplies of the Persian Gulf, as well as the existence of Pakistan.<ref name="Kepel" /><ref name="Riedel">Template:Cite book</ref> These concerns led Carter to expand collaboration between the CIA and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which had begun in July 1979, when the CIA started providing $695,000 worth of non-lethal assistance to the Afghan mujahideen.<ref name="Tobin 2020" /> The modest scope of this early collaboration was likely influenced by the understanding, later recounted by CIA official Robert Gates, "that a substantial U.S. covert aid program" might have "raise[d] the stakes", thereby causing "the Soviets to intervene more directly and vigorously than otherwise intended."<ref name="Riedel" /><ref name="Gates">Template:Cite book When asked whether he expected that the revelations in his memoir would inspire the conspiracy theories surrounding the U.S. aid program, Gates replied: "No, because there was no basis in fact for an allegation the administration tried to draw the Soviets into Afghanistan militarily." See Gates, email communication with John Bernell White Jr., October 15, 2011, as cited in Template:Cite thesis cf. Template:Cite book</ref>
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According to a 2020 review of declassified U.S. documents by Conor Tobin in the journal Diplomatic History:
The primary significance of this small-scale aid was in creating constructive links with dissidents through Pakistan's ISI that could be utilized in the case of an overt Soviet intervention ... The small-scale covert program that developed in response to the increasing Soviet influence was part of a contingency plan if the Soviets did intervene militarily, as Washington would be in a better position to make it difficult for them to consolidate their position, but not designed to induce an intervention.<ref name="Tobin 2020">Template:Cite journal</ref>
On December 28, 1979, Carter signed a presidential finding explicitly allowing the CIA to transfer "lethal military equipment either directly or through third countries to the Afghan opponents of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan" and to arrange "selective training, conducted outside of Afghanistan, in the use of such equipment either directly or via third country intermediation."<ref name="Tobin 2020" /> His finding defined the CIA's mission as "harassment" of Soviet troops; at the time, "this was not a war the CIA expected to win outright on the battlefield," in the words of Steve Coll.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Carter was determined to respond harshly to what he considered a dangerous provocation. In a televised speech on January 23, 1980, he announced sanctions on the Soviet Union, promised renewed aid and registration to Pakistan and the Selective Service System, and committed the U.S. to the Persian Gulf's defense.<ref name="Riedel" /><ref name="Gates" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter imposed an embargo on grain shipments to the USSR, tabled SALT II, requested a 5% annual increase in defense spending,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and called for a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, which was ultimately joined by 65 other nations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In early 1980, Carter determined the thrust of U.S. policy for the duration of the war: he initiated a program to arm the mujahideen through Pakistan's ISI and secured a pledge from Saudi Arabia to match U.S. funding for this purpose. Despite huge expenditure, the Soviet Union was unable to quell the insurgency and withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Riedel" /> The routing of U.S. aid through Pakistan led to some controversy, as weapons sent to Karachi were frequently controlled by Pakistan, whose government influenced which rebels received assistance. Despite this, Carter has expressed no regret over his decision to support what he considered the Afghan freedom fighters.<ref name="Riedel" />
International tripsEdit
Carter made twelve international trips to 25 countries as president.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was the first president to make a state visit to Sub-Saharan Africa when he went to Nigeria in 1978.<ref name="history.state.gov" /> He made several trips to the Middle East to broker peace negotiations. His visit to Iran from December 31, 1977, to January 1, 1978, took place less than a year before the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter gave his "Island of Stability" speech during this visit.
Allegations and investigationsEdit
On September 21, 1977, the Carter administration's OMB director Bert Lance resigned amid allegations of improper banking activities before his tenure.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> United States Attorney General Griffin Bell appointed Paul J. Curran as a special counsel to investigate loans made to the peanut business Carter owned by a bank controlled by Lance,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Efn and Carter became the first sitting president to testify under oath as part of an investigation of him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In October 1979, Curran announced that no evidence had been found to support allegations that funds loaned from the National Bank of Georgia had been diverted to Carter's 1976 presidential campaign, ending the investigation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1980 presidential campaignEdit
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Carter's reelection campaign was based primarily on attacking Ronald Reagan. The campaign frequently pointed out and mocked Reagan's proclivity for gaffes, using his age and perceived lack of connection to his native California voter base against him.Template:Sfn Later, the campaign used similar rhetoric as Lyndon Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign, portraying Reagan as a warmonger who could not be trusted with the nuclear arsenal.Template:Sfn Carter attempted to deny the Reagan campaign $29.4 million (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year) in campaign funds, due to dependent conservative groups already raising $60 million to get him elected—an amount that exceeded the limit of campaign funds. Carter's attempt was later denied by the Federal Election Commission.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Carter announced his reelection campaign in December 1979.<ref>President Set to Toss Hat in Ring. Associated Press. The Bismarck tribune. December 4, 1979. Retrieved October 1, 2024.</ref> A month earlier, Senator Ted Kennedy had announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the Democratic presidential primaries, questions about Kennedy were a frequent subject of Carter's press conferences.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Despite winning key states such as California and New York, Kennedy surprised his supporters by running a weak campaign. Carter won most of the primaries and secured renomination. He later wrote that the strongest opposition to his policies came from the Democratic Party's liberal wing, which he attributed to Kennedy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Kennedy had mobilized the liberal wing, which weakened Carter's support in the general election.Template:Sfn
Carter and Mondale were formally nominated at the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter delivered a speech notable for its tribute to the late Hubert Humphrey, whom he initially called "Hubert Horatio Hornblower",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Kennedy made "The Dream Shall Never Die" speech, in which he criticized Reagan and did not endorse Carter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Along with Reagan and Kennedy, Carter was opposed by centrist John B. Anderson, who had previously contested the Republican presidential primaries, and upon losing to Reagan, reentered the race as an independent. Anderson advertised himself as a more liberal alternative to Reagan's conservatism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As the campaign went on, Anderson's polling numbers dropped and his base was gradually pulled to Carter or Reagan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter had to run against his own "stagflation"-ridden economy, while the hostage crisis in Iran dominated the news. He was attacked by conservatives for failing to "prevent Soviet gains" in less-developed countries, as pro-Soviet governments had taken power in countries including Angola, Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Afghanistan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His brother, Billy Carter, caused controversy due to his association with Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carter alienated many liberal college students, who were expected to be one of his strongest support bases, by reactivating the Selective Service System on July 2, 1980, reinstating registration for the military draft. His campaign manager, Timothy Kraft, stepped down five weeks before the general election amid what turned out to be an uncorroborated allegation of cocaine use.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
On October 28, Carter and Reagan participated in the sole presidential debate of the election cycle in which they were both present, due to Carter refusing to participate in debates that included Anderson.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Though initially trailing Carter by several points,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Reagan experienced a surge in polling after the debate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was in part influenced by Reagan deploying the phrase "There you go again", which became the election's defining phrase.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> It was later discovered that in the final days of the campaign, Reagan's team acquired classified documents Carter used to prepare for the debate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Reagan and his running mate (George H. W. Bush) defeated Carter and Mondale in a landslide, winning 489 electoral votes. The Senate went Republican for the first time since 1952.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Carter's 49 electoral votes were the second-fewest for an incumbent president seeking reelection. In his concession speech, Carter admitted that he was hurt by the election's outcome but pledged "a very fine transition period" with President-elect Reagan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Post-presidency (1981–2024)Edit
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Shortly after losing reelection, Carter told the White House press corps that he intended to emulate the retirement of Harry S. Truman and not use his subsequent public life to enrich himself.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
DiplomacyEdit
Diplomacy was a large part of Carter's post-presidency. These diplomatic efforts began in the Middle East, with a September 1981 meeting with prime minister of Israel Menachem Begin,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a March 1983 tour of Egypt that included meeting with members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2018, official files revealed that, in January 1993, Carter had been suggested for a Northern Ireland peace process role by president-elect Bill Clinton amid speculation that Clinton would appoint a special envoy for Northern Ireland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1994, Clinton sought Carter's assistance in a North Korea peace mission, during which Carter negotiated an understanding with Kim Il Sung.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Carter outlined a treaty with Kim, which he announced to CNN without the Clinton administration's consent to spur American action.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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In March 1999, Carter visited Taiwan and met with President Lee Teng-hui. During the meeting, Carter praised the progress Taiwan made in democracy, human rights, economy, culture, science, and technology.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> But Carter remained a controversial figure in Taiwan for having ended U.S. diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).<ref>Wong, Tessa. "'It was destiny': How Jimmy Carter embraced China and changed history". BBC News, December 30, 2024.</ref>
In 2003, Carter championed a plan to hold elections in Venezuela amid protests aimed at doing so.<ref>Olson, Alexandra (January 22, 2003). Jimmy Carter proposes plan to hold elections in Venezuela Template:Webarchive. Associated Press. The Sun. Retrieved October 2, 2024.</ref> Ultimately, no elections were held.
In 2006, Carter stated his disagreements with Israel's domestic and foreign policy while saying he supported the country,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> extending his criticisms to Israel's policies in Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza.Template:Sfn
In July 2007, Carter joined Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa, to announce his participation in The Elders, a group of independent global leaders working together on peace and human rights issues.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the announcement, Carter participated in visits to Darfur,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Sudan,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cyprus, the Korean Peninsula, and the Middle East, among others.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He attempted to travel to Zimbabwe in 2008, but was stopped by President Robert Mugabe's government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In December 2008, Carter met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and in a June 2012 call with Jeffery Brown, he stressed that Egyptian military generals could take full executive and legislative power to form a new constitution favoring themselves if their announced intentions came true.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On August 10, 2010, Carter traveled to North Korea and negotiated the release of Aijalon Gomes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2017, as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea persisted, Carter recommended a peace treaty between the two nations,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and confirmed that he had volunteered to the Trump administration to be a diplomatic envoy to North Korea.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Views on later presidentsEdit
Carter began his first year out of office with a pledge not to critique the Reagan administration, saying it was "too early".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He sided with Reagan on issues like building neutron arms after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but frequently spoke out against his administration, denouncing many of its actions in the Middle East.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He condemned the handling of the Sabra and Shatila massacre,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the lack of efforts to rescue and retrieve four American businessmen from West Beirut in 1984,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Reagan's support of the Strategic Defense Initiative in 1985,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and his claim of an international conspiracy on terrorism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1987 he criticized Reagan for conceding to terrorist demands,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> nominating Robert Bork for the Supreme Court,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and his handling of the Persian Gulf crisis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On January 16, 1989, before the inauguration of George H. W. Bush, Carter told Gerald Ford that Reagan had experienced a media honeymoon, saying that he believed Reagan's immediate successor would be less fortunate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Carter had a mostly poor relationship with Bill Clinton, who snubbed him from his inauguration ceremony. He questioned the Clinton administration's morality, particularly with respect to the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal and the pardon of Marc Rich.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In July 2001, Carter said he was "disappointed in almost everything" President George W. Bush had done, but after the September 11 attacks, he offered only praise, calling on Americans to support Bush with "complete unity".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later, Carter opposed the Iraq War<ref>Jimmy Carter, "Just War – or a Just War?" Template:Webarchive, The New York Times, March 9, 2003. Retrieved August 4, 2008.</ref> and what he considered an attempt by Bush and Tony Blair to oust Saddam Hussein with "lies and misinterpretations".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2004, Carter said he believed Bush had exploited the September 11 attacks.<ref>Carter says Bush exploiting 9/11 terrorist attacks Template:Webarchive. The Spokesman-Review. October 26, 2004. Retrieved October 1, 2024.</ref> In 2007, Carter said the Bush administration "has been the worst in history" on foreign affairs;<ref>Frank Lockwood, "Carter calls Bush administration worst ever" Template:Webarchive, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, May 19, 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2008.</ref> he later said he was just comparing Bush's tenure to Nixon's.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On the Bush administration's behalf, Tony Fratto responded that Carter's comments increased his irrelevance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Though he praised President Barack Obama in the early part of his tenure,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carter stated his disagreement with using drone strikes against suspected terrorists, Obama's choice to keep Guantanamo Bay detention camp open,<ref>Template:Cite news ABC quotes came from a NY Times June 25, 2012 op-ed Template:Webarchive written by Carter</ref> and the federal surveillance programs Edward Snowden revealed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
During Donald Trump's presidency, Carter spoke favorably of the chance for immigration reform<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and criticized Trump for his handling of the U.S. national anthem protests.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In an October 2017 interview with The New York Times, he said the media had covered Trump more harshly "than any other president certainly that I've known about".<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2019, Trump called Carter and expressed concern that China was "getting ahead" of the United States. Carter agreed, saying that China's strength came from its lack of involvement in armed conflict and calling the U.S. "the most warlike nation in the history of the world."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In July 2021, Carter gave his final recorded interview and said that President Joe Biden "has done very well" in office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Presidential politicsEdit
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Carter was considered a potential candidate in the 1984 presidential election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In May 1982, Carter ruled out another run, and instead endorsed Mondale for the Democratic presidential nomination.<ref>Multiple sources:
- Template:Cite news
- Template:Cite news</ref> After Mondale secured the nomination in the Democratic primaries, Carter critiqued the Reagan campaign,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> spoke at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, and advised Mondale about his campaign.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the election, in which Reagan defeated Mondale, Carter said the loss was predictable because Mondale's platform included raising taxes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In March 1987, Carter ruled himself out as a candidate in the 1988 presidential election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ahead of the 1988 Democratic National Convention, Carter predicted that the convention would see party unity<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> after tensions arose between presumptive nominee Michael Dukakis and runner-up Jesse Jackson.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter delivered an address at the convention.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Carter spoke of the need for the 1992 Democratic National Convention to address certain issues not focused on in the past,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and campaigned for Clinton after he became the Democratic nominee,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> publicly stating his expectation to be consulted during Clinton's presidency.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Carter endorsed Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic nominee, days before the 2000 presidential election,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in subsequent years voiced his opinion that Gore won the election,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> despite Republican nominee George W. Bush having been certified the victor following the Supreme Court's ruling in Bush v. Gore.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
In the 2004 presidential election, Carter endorsed the Democratic nominee John Kerry and spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also voiced concern about another voting mishap in Florida.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, it was speculated that Carter would endorse Barack Obama over his main primary rival Hillary Clinton, as Carter and other members of the Carter family had spoken favorably of Obama.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although he did not endorse Obama during the primaries, he said in late May 2008 that Clinton should end her bid and concede to Obama after the final primaries on June 3.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On June 3, Carter endorsed Obama, and said he would vote for Obama as a superdelegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention<ref name="toendoseobama1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (as a former president, Carter was entitled to hold one of 20 superdelegate slots reserved for "distinguished party leaders").<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Before this, he had remained publicly neutral.<ref name="toendoseobama1"/> During the general election campaign, Carter criticized John McCain, the Republican nominee.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Once Obama became the presumptive nominee, he advised Obama not to select Clinton as his running mate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Ahead of the primaries of the 2012 presidential election, Carter expressed his preference for Mitt Romney to win the Republican nomination, though he clarified that he preferred Romney because he believed him to be the prospective Republican nominee who would most assure Obama's reelection.<ref>Yahoo News, Jimmy Carter wants Mitt Romney to be the Republican nominee Template:Webarchive, September 16, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.</ref> Carter recorded an address that was shown at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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In the 2016 presidential election, Carter was critical of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shortly after Trump entered the primary, predicting that he would lose.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As the primary continued, Carter said he preferred Trump to his main rival, Ted Cruz,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> though he rebuked the Trump campaign during the primary<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and in his address to the 2016 Democratic National Convention.<ref name="blasts1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In August 2016, Carter endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He again expressed his support of Clinton in his speech to the Democratic convention, which he delivered by video.<ref name="blasts1"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2019, Carter said that Trump would not have been elected without Russia's interference in the 2016 election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When questioned, he agreed that Trump is an "illegitimate president".<ref name="Lewis_6/28/2019">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="C-SPAN_6/28/2019">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In a 2017 discussion with Senator Bernie Sanders, Carter said he voted for Sanders in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter delivered a recorded audio message endorsing Joe Biden for the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention. On January 6, 2021, after the U.S. Capitol attack,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carter released a statement that he and his wife were "troubled" by the events, that what had occurred was "a national tragedy and is not who we are as a nation", and that "having observed elections in troubled democracies worldwide, I know that we the people can unite to walk back from this precipice to peacefully uphold the laws of our nation".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter recorded an audio message for Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021, as the Carters could not attend the ceremony in person.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In November 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overruled a three-judge panel of the court and scheduled a rehearing of the case against the Trump administration–proposed land swap in Alaska to allow a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. In an unusual action, Carter had filed an opinion in support of a lawsuit by environmental groups, saying the swap violated the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act passed near the end of his presidency. Carter said the act "may be the most significant domestic achievement of my political life".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In August 2024, Carter's son Chip said his father wanted to live to 100 to vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He did so on October 16.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Hurricane reliefEdit
Carter criticized the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and built homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also partnered with former presidents to work with One America Appeal to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma in the Gulf Coast and Texas communities,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in addition to writing op-eds about the goodness seen in Americans who assist each other during natural disasters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Other activitiesEdit
The Carter family's peanut business accumulated a $1 million debt in 1981. Carter began writing books to pay off this debt. As of July 2019, he had "published more than 30, from a children's book to reflections on his presidency".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After he left the White House, "[o]n average, he completed just about one book per year over those 35 years, including many bestsellers, a novel and a children's book."<ref>Brinkley, Douglas. "Jimmy Carter's many books were as direct and plainspoken as their author". The Washington Post, December 31, 2024.</ref>
In 1982, Carter founded the Carter Center,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a non-governmental and nonprofit organization with the purpose of advancing human rights and alleviating human suffering.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Among these efforts has been working with the World Health Organization to eradicate dracunculiasis, also called Guinea worm disease. The incidence of this disease has decreased from 3.5Template:Spacesmillion cases in the mid-1980s<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to four in the first seven months of 2024, according to the Carter Center's statistics.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carter attended the dedication of his presidential library<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and those of Presidents Ronald Reagan,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> George H. W. Bush,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Bill Clinton,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and George W. Bush.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He delivered eulogies at the funerals of Coretta Scott King,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gerald Ford,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Theodore Hesburgh.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2007, Carter founded the New Baptist Covenant organization for social justice.<ref>Carla Hinton, Ex-president Jimmy Carter works to unite all Baptists Template:Webarchive, oklahoman.com, US, July 25, 2009</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2013, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, their son Chip, and Chip's wife Becky traveled to the neighborhood of Queens Village in New York City. They worked on five housing construction projects with Habitat for Humanity.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:As of Carter was Honorary Chair of the World Justice Project.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was formerly an honorary chair of the Continuity of Government Commission.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> He continued to occasionally teach Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church as of 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter also taught at Emory University, and in 2019 was awarded tenure for 37 years of service.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Israel and PalestineEdit
Template:Further Carter's 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, a New York Times Best Seller, generated controversy for characterizing Israel's policies in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip as amounting to apartheid.<ref>Craig Daigle, "Beyond Camp David: Jimmy Carter, Palestinian Self-Determination, and Human Rights." Diplomatic History 42.5 (2018): 802–830.</ref> In remarks broadcast over radio, he said that Israel's policies amounted to an apartheid worse than South Africa's:<ref name="HAIP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carter defended himself against accusations of antisemitism by saying "the hope is that my book will at least stimulate a debate, which has not existed in this country. There's never been any debate on this issue of any significance."<ref name="HAIP" /> He said that Israel would not have peace until it agreed to withdraw from the occupied territories, adding, "the greatest commitment in my life has been trying to bring peace to Israel."<ref name="HAIP" />
In a 2007 speech at Brandeis University, Carter apologized for wording in the book that suggested that Palestinian suicide terror attacks were justified as a political tool. "That sentence was worded in a completely improper and stupid way. I've written my publishers to change that sentence immediately in future editions of the book. I apologize to you personally and to everyone here."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In his 2010 book We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land, Carter cites Israel's unwillingness to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories and settlement expansion as the primary obstacle to peace in the Middle East.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Personal lifeEdit
Carter had three younger siblings, all of whom died of pancreatic cancer: Gloria Spann, Ruth Stapleton, and Billy Carter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was a first cousin of politician Hugh Carter and a distant cousin of the Carter family of musicians.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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Carter married Rosalynn Smith on July 7, 1946, in the Plains Methodist Church, the church of Rosalynn's family.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They had three sons, John "Jack", James III "Chip", and Donnel "Jeff", and a daughter, Amy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mary Prince (an African American woman wrongly convicted of murder, and later pardoned) was their daughter Amy's nanny for most of the period from 1971 until Carter's presidency ended.Template:Sfn<ref name="Carter2005">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Carter had asked to be designated as her parole officer, helping enable her to work in the White House.<ref name="Carter2005" />Template:Efn
On October 19, 2019, the Carters became the longest-wed presidential couple, having overtaken George and Barbara Bush at 26,765 days.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After Rosalynn's death on November 19, 2023, Carter released the following statement:
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Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries}}
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The Carters' eldest son, Jack Carter, was the 2006 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Nevada and lost to Republican incumbent John Ensign. Jack's son Jason Carter is a former Georgia state senator<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> who in 2014 was the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia, losing to the Republican incumbent, Nathan Deal. On December 20, 2015, while teaching a Sunday school class, Carter announced that his 28-year-old grandson Jeremy Carter had died of unspecified causes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Interests, friendships and hobbiesEdit
Carter's hobbies included painting,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> fly fishing, woodworking, cycling, tennis, and skiing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also had an interest in poetry, particularly the works of Dylan Thomas.<ref name="Thomas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During a state visit to the UK in 1977, Carter suggested that Thomas should have a memorial in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> this came to fruition in 1982.<ref name="Thomas" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1994, Carter published a book of poetry, Always a Reckoning and Other Poems, illustrated by his granddaughter Sarah Chuldenko.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carter was a personal friend of Elvis Presley, whom he and Rosalynn met on June 30, 1973.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They remained in contact by telephone two months before Presley's sudden death in August 1977. According to Carter, Presley was almost incoherent because of barbiturates; although he phoned the White House several more times, that was the last time they spoke.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The day after Presley's death, Carter issued a statement and said Presley had "changed the face of American popular culture".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carter filed a report with both the International UFO Bureau and the National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> saying that he saw an unidentified flying object in October 1969.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Records showed that Carter got the date wrong, and it was in fact on January 6, 1969. In 2016, a former Air Force scientist found old government reports about a scientific project that on that date launched a barium cloud to examine the upper atmosphere. It would have appeared in the sky at an elevation of 33 degrees, which is almost exactly what Carter had speculated.Template:Sfn
BeliefsEdit
From a young age, Carter showed deep commitment to evangelical Christianity.<ref name="NYT baptist">Somini Sengupta, "Carter Sadly Turns Back on National Baptist Body" Template:Webarchive, The New York Times, October 21, 2000. Page A9. Retrieved August 4, 2008.</ref><ref name="Balmer-2023">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> At a private inauguration worship service, the preacher was Nelson Price, the pastor of Roswell Street Baptist Church of Marietta, Georgia.<ref>Hobbs, Herschel H. and Mullins, Edgar Young. (1978). The Axioms of Religion. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press. Revised edition. p. 22. Template:ISBN.</ref> An evangelical Christian, Carter appealed to voters after the scandals of the Nixon Administration, and is credited with popularizing the term "born again" into American lexicon during his 1976 presidential campaign.<ref name="Balmer-2023" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As president, Carter prayed several times a day, and said Jesus was the driving force in his life. He was greatly influenced by a sermon he had heard as a young man that asked: "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2000, after the Southern Baptist Convention announced it would no longer permit women to become pastors, he renounced his membership, saying: "I personally feel that women should play an absolutely equal role in service of Christ in the church."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He remained a member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.<ref name="NYT baptist" /> Carter's support for the Equal Rights Amendment<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> led many evangelical conservatives to leave the Democratic Party, contributing to the development of the Christian right in American politics.<ref>Ellis, Blake A. "An Alternative Politics: Texas Baptists and the Rise of the Christian Right, 1975–1985." The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, vol. 112, no. 4, 2009, pp. 361–86. JSTOR website Template:Webarchive Retrieved May 5, 2023.</ref>
HealthEdit
On August 3, 2015, Carter underwent elective surgery to remove a small mass on his liver, and his prognosis for a full recovery was initially said to be excellent. On August 12, he announced he had been diagnosed with cancer that had metastasized.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On August 20, Carter said that melanoma had been found in his brain and liver and that he had begun treatment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On December 5, he announced that his medical scans no longer showed any cancer.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
Carter broke his hip in a fall at his Plains home on May 13, 2019, and underwent surgery the same day at the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 6, an injury above his left eyebrow sustained in another fall at home required 14 stitches<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and resulted in a black eye.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On October 21, Carter was admitted to the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center after sustaining a minor pelvic fracture from falling at home for the third time in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On November 11, 2019, Carter was hospitalized at the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta for a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding connected with his falls.<ref name="Emory Hos" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was released from the hospital on November 27.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Emory Hos">Template:Cite news</ref> On December 2, 2019, Carter was readmitted to the hospital for a urinary tract infection. He was released on December 4.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On February 18, 2023, the Carter Center announced that following a "series of short hospital stays", Carter decided to "spend his remaining time at home with his family" in Plains to "receive hospice care"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> for an unspecified illness.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
LongevityEdit
At 100 years old, Carter was the longest-lived former U.S. president.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was the earliest-serving living former president since Gerald Ford's death in 2006. In 2012, he surpassed Herbert Hoover as the longest-retired president. In 2017 and 2021, he became the first president to live to the 40th anniversary of his inauguration and post-presidency, respectively. In 2017, Carter, then 92, became the oldest former president ever to attend an American presidential inauguration.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On March 22, 2019, he became the longest-lived U.S. president.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He said in a 2019 interview with People that he never expected to live as long as he had and that the best explanation for longevity was a good marriage.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
The Carter Center announced Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song, an event concert to celebrate Carter's 100th birthday that featured appearances by musicians and celebrities. The event took place on September 17, 2024, at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 1, 2024, Carter turned 100, the first U.S. president to do so.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Local events celebrating his birthday included a F-18 Super Hornet flyover formation by eight Navy pilots from Naval Air Station Oceana, which Carter viewed from his backyard, and a naturalization ceremony for 100 new citizens at Plains High School, which Chip Carter attended.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carter made arrangements to be buried in front of his home at 209 Woodland Drive in Plains. In 2006, he said that a funeral in Washington, D.C., with visitation at the Carter Center, was also planned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carter asked President Biden to deliver his eulogy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Death and funeralEdit
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Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100.<ref name="Sullivandead1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Shortly after the announcement, President Joe Biden released a statement honoring Carter's legacy, calling him a "man of principle, faith, and humility".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The nation held an official state funeral and day of mourning for Carter on January 9, 2025. All five living U.S. presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, president-elect Donald Trump, and incumbent Biden—attended Carter's funeral.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Clear right
LegacyEdit
AssessmentsEdit
When Carter left office in 1981, scholars and even many Democrats viewed his presidency as a failure.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Betty Glad, a political scientist at the University of Illinois, summarized the public consensus on Carter: "he didn't have a well-developed political philosophy and gave people a feeling he didn't quite know where he was headed."<ref name="eftg5"/>
Historians have ranked Carter's presidency as below average.<ref name="Jimmy Carter's Post-Presidency">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn After leaving office, he told allies he predicted history would be kinder to him than voters were in the 1980 election.<ref name="eftg5">Historians rate best and worst presidents. Wisconsin State Journal. January 10, 1982. Retrieved December 22, 2024.</ref> In a 1982 Chicago Tribune survey, when 49 historians and scholars were asked to rank the best and worst U.S. presidents, Carter was ranked the tenth worst.<ref>Presidents rated: Truman, Ike near the top. Chicago Tribune. The World. February 4, 1982. Retrieved September 29, 2024.</ref> In 2006, conservative British historian Andrew Roberts ranked Carter the worst U.S. president.<ref>Roberts, Andrew (November 11, 2006). Jimmy Carter. The Independent. Retrieved December 21, 2024.</ref> Yet some of Carter's policy accomplishments have been more favorably received.<ref>Schumann, Megan (February 23, 2023). Jimmy Carter's Legacy: Historian Reflects on the 39th President. Rutgers University. Retrieved December 21, 2024.</ref> The 2009 documentary Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace credits Carter's efforts at Camp David, which brought peace between Israel and Egypt, with bringing the only meaningful peace to the Middle East.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> Stuart E. Eizenstat, who served as Carter's chief White House domestic policy adviser, wrote, "Carter's accomplishments at home and abroad were more extensive and longer lasting than those of almost all modern presidents."<ref>Eizenstat, Stuart, "History views Carter's legacy — and his many accomplishments — all wrong", The Washington Post, December 29, 2024.</ref>
While historians generally consider Carter a below-average president, his post-presidency activities have been universally praised, including his peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts.<ref name="Jimmy Carter's Post-Presidency" />Template:Sfn The Independent wrote in 2009, "Carter is widely considered a better man than he was a president."<ref name="Independent 2009-01-22">Template:Cite news</ref>
Public opinionEdit
In exit polls from the 1976 presidential election, many voters still held Ford's pardon of Nixon in 1974 against him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By comparison, Carter was viewed as a sincere, honest, and well-meaning southerner.<ref name="Independent 2009-01-22" /> During his presidency, polls generally showed that most Americans saw Carter as likable and "a man of high moral principles".<ref>Light, Larry (January 17, 1980). Carter runs on first-term record and as rallying point in crisis. Congressional Quarterly. Retrieved September 26, 2024.</ref> In the 1980 election, Reagan projected an easy self-confidence, in contrast to Carter's serious and introspective temperament. Carter was portrayed as more pessimistic and indecisive than Reagan, who was known for his charm and delegation of tasks to subordinates.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Reagan used the economic issues, the Iran hostage crisis, and the lack of Washington cooperation to portray Carter as a weak and ineffectual leader. Carter was the first elected incumbent president since Herbert Hoover in 1932 to lose a reelection bid.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Carter began his presidency with an approval rating between 66% and 75%.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="fvr45">Gallup, George (March 27, 1978). Carter's Decline Is Halted. Gallup Organization. Retrieved September 26, 2024.</ref> He maintained approval ratings above 50% until March 1978,<ref name="fvr45" /> and the following month his approval rating fell to 39%,<ref name="uiher5">Gallup, George (June 4, 1978). Carter Gains In Popularity. The Macon News. Retrieved December 23, 2024.</ref> primarily due to the declining economy.<ref>Carter's approval rating shows rich, poor similar. The Pantagraph. April 9, 1978. Retrieved September 26, 2024.</ref> His ratings briefly rebounded after the Camp David Accords in late 1978<ref>Gallup, George (October 1, 1978). Carter's popularity rise all-time gain. The Shreveport Times. Retrieved December 24, 2024.</ref> but dipped during the 1979 energy crisis and got as low as 28% in July 1979.<ref>Gallup, George (August 14, 1979). Trust in Carter Still Strong. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved September 26, 2024.</ref> At the beginning of the Iran hostage crisis, his approval rating surged to 61%, up 23 points from his pre-crisis rating.<ref name="ib453p">Survey Finds Carter's Popularity Has Risen Sharply in Iran Crisis. The New York Times. December 10, 1979. Retrieved September 26, 2024.</ref> Polls also found that up to 77% of Americans approved of Carter's initial response to the crisis,<ref name="ib453p" /> but by June 1980, amid heated criticism from across the political spectrum<ref>Carter's Lead over Kennedy Is Declining. Gallup Organization. The Tampa Tribune. April 17, 1980. Retrieved September 28, 2024.</ref> for his failure to free the hostages, his approval rating slumped to 33%; that same month Reagan surpassed Carter in pre-1980 election polling.<ref>For the First Time, Reagan Leads Carter. The Tampa Tribune. June 18, 1980. Retrieved September 26, 2024.</ref> As Carter was leaving office, a Gallup poll found that 48% of Americans thought he had been an "average" or "above average" president, 46% said he had been "below average" or "poor", and only 3% thought he had been "outstanding".<ref>Only 3% regard Carter as 'outstanding' president. The Miami Herald. January 9, 1981. Retrieved September 26, 2024.</ref> His average approval rating during his entire presidency was 46%,<ref>Panagopoulos, Costas (January 2, 2007). Ford didn't have it easy. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved December 20, 2024.</ref><ref>Swanson, Emily (August 27, 2017). Trump setting records for low average presidential approval. The Roanoke Times. Retrieved December 20, 2024.</ref> and he left office as one of the most unpopular U.S. presidents in history.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In a 1990 Gallup survey, 45% of respondents said they approved of the overall job Carter did as president, leaving only Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson with lower ratings.<ref>JFK Tops Presidents' List. Gallup Organization. The Post-Standard. December 5, 1990. Retrieved October 1, 2024.</ref> In a 2006 poll, 61% of respondents said they approved of the job Carter did as president, his highest rating since 1979.<ref>Panagopoulos, Costas (December 29, 2006). Ford won the public's affection. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 30, 2024.</ref> In a 2021 survey, 27% of respondents said he had been an "outstanding" or "above average" president, 43% regarded him as "average", and only 24% said he had been "below average" or "poor".<ref>Jones, Jeffrey M. (December 29, 2024). Jimmy Carter Retrospective. Gallup Organization. Retrieved December 31, 2024.</ref>
Awards and honorsEdit
Carterpuri, a village in Haryana, India, was renamed in his honor after he visited in 1978.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carter received the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award in 1984.<ref name="achievement.org" />
The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum was opened in 1986.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following year, buildings connected to Carter's life were granted status as National Historic Sites<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in 2021 were collectively renamed the Jimmy Carter National Historic Park.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1991, Carter was made an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa at Kansas State University,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was elected to the American Philosophical Society.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1998, the U.S. Navy named the third and final Template:Sclass submarine Template:USS.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carter received the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, given in honor of human rights achievements,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Hoover Medal, recognizing engineers who have contributed to global causes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carter's 2002 Nobel Peace Prize<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> was partially a response to president George W. Bush's threats of war against Iraq and Carter's criticism of the Bush administration.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2009, the Souther Field Airport in Americus, Georgia, was renamed Jimmy Carter Regional Airport.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In November 2024, Carter received his 10th nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for audio recordings of his books. He won four times—for Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis (2007), A Full Life: Reflections at 90 (2015), Faith: A Journey For All (2018), and Last Sunday in Plains: A Centennial Celebration (2024).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Judy Kurtz, Jimmy Carter up for another Grammy Template:Webarchive, The Hill (December 7, 2015).</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Musa-20241109">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="RS-20241108">Template:Cite magazine</ref> He is the most nominated and awarded recipient in the category.
On February 21, 2024, the White House Historical Association unveiled its official 2024 White House Christmas ornament honoring Carter's naval service and efforts for peace. This was the first time a president being honored was alive at the time of the unveiling.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See alsoEdit
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- List of peace activists
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- "Mush from the Wimp" – Joke headline from The Boston Globe in a 1980 op-ed
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NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
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WebsitesEdit
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Further readingEdit
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- Andelic, Patrick. Donkey Work: Congressional Democrats in Conservative America, 1974–1994 (2019) excerpt Template:Web archive
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- Template:Cite book In-depth biography focused on the presidency. Excerpt; Template:Webarchive.
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- Daigle, Craig. "Beyond Camp David: Jimmy Carter, Palestinian Self-Determination, and Human Rights." Diplomatic History 42.5 (2018): 802–830.
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- Jensehaugen, Jørgen. Arab-Israeli diplomacy under Carter: the US, Israel and the Palestinians (Bloomsbury, 2018).
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- Reichard, Gary W. "Early Returns: Assessing Jimmy Carter" Presidential Studies Quarterly 20#3 (Summer 1990) 603–620. online Template:Webarchive
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- Williams, Daniel K. The Election of the Evangelical: Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and the Presidential Contest of 1976 (University Press of Kansas, 2020) online review Template:Webarchive
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Primary sourcesEdit
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- Carter, Jimmy (1977). Why Not the Best?.
- Carter, Jimmy (1982). Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President; excerpt; Template:Webarchive.
- Carter, Jimmy (1978–1981). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Jimmy Carter, 1977. Annual compilation of all his public documents.
- Carter, Jimmy (2001). An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood. Excerpt; Template:Webarchive.
- Carter, Jimmy (2002). The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture: Delivered in Oslo on December 10, 2002.
- Carter, Jimmy (2003). Negotiation: The Alternative To Hostility; excerpt; Template:Webarchive.
- Carter, Jimmy (2005). Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis. Excerpt; Template:Webarchive.
- Carter, Jimmy (2006). Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.
- Carter, Jimmy (2007). Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope.
- Carter, Jimmy (2011). White House Diary.
- Carter, Jimmy (2015). A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety.
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External linksEdit
- Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum
- The Carter Center
- Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
- White House biography
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