JIMMY CARTER
Biography
Naval Officer and Businessman
Jimmy graduated from high school with very high marks. From his first days at school, he had wanted to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. An uncle whom he idolized had been in the Navy. At the same time, it meant a chance for an education, for there was little money in the family to pay for college.
Carter received an appointment to the Naval Academy in 1942. But first he spent a year at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, taking courses that would help him to pass the entrance examinations to Annapolis. He entered the academy in 1943. There he adapted to the strict discipline, did well in his studies, ran track and cross-country, and played on the lightweight football team. He graduated in 1946 in the upper 10 percent of his class. Soon after, he married Rosalynn Smith, whose family lived near Plains. He had met her in his last year at the Naval Academy. The Carters had four children: John, James Earl 3rd (Chip), Jeffrey, and Amy.
Carter spent seven years in the Navy, attaining the rank of lieutenant (senior grade). During part of that time he worked with Admiral Hyman G. Rickover in the nuclear submarine program. Carter’s ambition then was to become an admiral. But when his father died in 1953, Carter felt that it was necessary to return to the family farm.
But he was not content to be just a peanut farmer. He bought a peanut sheller and began to supply large peanut processors. Then he expanded his operation into peanut warehousing. Eventually, with some hard work, the Carters became relatively prosperous.
State Senator and Governor
Carter’s interest in politics can be traced at least in part to his father, who had served a year in the Georgia state legislature. In 1962, Carter ran for the state Senate. He lost by a few votes. But when violations of voting rules were discovered, he challenged the results and was declared the winner.
In 1966, Carter first declared himself a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives but then decided to try for the Democratic nomination for governor of Georgia. He lost in the primary election, but he made a good showing. Carter devoted himself to his business and to civic affairs until 1970. Then he tried again for the governorship. He defeated a former governor of the state in the primary and won the election easily.
Perhaps Carter's most important contribution as governor was in increasing efficiency in the state. Hating waste, he reduced the number of state agencies from 300 to 22. He appointed a considerable number of blacks to state jobs. He also ordered that a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr., be placed alongside portraits of other famous Georgians in the state capitol building. It was the first portrait of a black to hang in the capitol, a gesture Carter felt was long overdue.
Campaign for the Presidency
Carter announced his candidacy for the presidency late in 1974. He campaigned tirelessly, sought the support of Democratic leaders, and built an efficient political staff. His soft southern drawl and wide smile became familiar across the country. By the time of the Democratic National Convention in New York in the summer of 1976, he had already won enough delegates to assure his nomination. The only question that remained was whom he would pick as the Vice Presidential candidate. He chose Walter F. Mondale, a liberal senator from Minnesota. In the election, Carter defeated the Republican candidate, President Gerald R. Ford. Carter received 297 Electoral votes to Ford's 240.
The White House Years
The new President adopted a casual style. Carter chose to walk instead of ride down Pennsylvania Avenue after his inauguration. He also requested that the presidential theme, “Hail to the Chief,” not be played every time he entered a public place. Many people welcomed this simplicity. But others were critical of Carter’s style, which sometimes seemed less than forceful. They wondered how he would deal with the country’s problems.
At home, Carter’s administration faced major problems in the areas of energy supply and the economy. Soon after taking office, Carter asked Congress to create a new Department of Energy. He proposed legislation to reduce oil consumption, increase U.S. oil production, and encourage the use of other energy sources. Congress approved the new department and, after much debate, some of the legislation.
Inflation soon became the leading economic problem. In 1978, Carter called for voluntary limits on wage and price increases. The limits had little effect. Later, controls were imposed on credit. The government hoped that by discouraging borrowing, it would lessen the rate of inflation.
However, a new gasoline shortage and continuing economic problems brought Carter’s popularity at home to an all-time low by July, 1979. In a televised speech, Carter said that the United States was facing a “crisis of confidence.” He promised to provide strong leadership, and he outlined a new energy program.
Foreign Policy
In foreign policy, Carter often stressed moral principles. His goals, he said, were peace, arms control, economic cooperation, and the advancement of human rights. His efforts toward peace in the Middle East were widely acclaimed. In the fall of 1978, the leaders of Egypt and Israel met with him at Camp David, Maryland, and agreed on basic principles for a peace treaty. A treaty was signed in 1979. But negotiations on details of the peace made slow progress.
Carter concluded new treaties with Panama, giving the country control of the Panama Canal by the year 2000. These treaties were controversial, but they were ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1978. Diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China were established in 1979. In June, 1979, Carter signed a new strategic arms limitation treaty with the Soviet Union. But this treaty met with strong opposition in Congress.
The Iran Crisis and Afghanistan
At the end of 1979 two issues arose that severely tested Carter's leadership. In November, Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held the Americans there hostage. In December, the Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan to put down a rebellion against that country's Communist government.
To free the hostages, the United States attempted to negotiate with Iranian leaders. Carter also halted trade with Iran. He appealed to the United Nations and the World Court. When these measures were not successful, Carter ordered military action to try to free the hostages, but the rescue mission failed.
As a result of the Soviet action in Afghanistan, Carter asked Congress to delay consideration of the new arms treaty. He limited trade with the Soviet Union and called for a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, which were held in Moscow.
Defeat in 1980, and Later Years
In the 1980 election, Carter was badly beaten by his Republican challenger, Ronald W. Reagan, a former governor of California, who won 489 electoral votes to Carter's 149. Ironically, on January 21, 1981, the day after Carter left office, the U.S. hostages were freed.
In later years, Carter wrote several books, established the Carter Center at Emory University, and worked for Habitat for Humanity building housing for the poor. He helped monitor elections in Panama and other developing nations and fostered peace talks in Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. His most ambitious peace efforts came in 1994, under President William (Bill) Clinton. He met with North Korea's leaders over the issue of international inspection of their nuclear sites and led a U.S. delegation to Haiti to persuade its military rulers to return power peacefully to an elected president whom they had overthrown.
Godfrey Sperling, Jr.
Chief, Washington News Bureau, The Christian Science Monitor