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Jimmy Carter

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: USA Presidents

   James Earl Carter, Jr.
   Jimmy Carter
     __________________________________________________________________

   39th President of the United States
   In office
   January 20, 1977 –  January 20, 1981
   Vice President(s)   Walter Mondale
   Preceded by Gerald Ford
   Succeeded by Ronald Reagan
     __________________________________________________________________

   Born October 1, 1924 (age 82)
   Plains, Georgia
   Political party Democratic
   Spouse Rosalynn Smith Carter
   Religion Baptist
   Signature

   James Earl Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924), was the 39th President
   of the United States (1977–1981) and the Nobel Peace laureate in 2002.
   Previously, he was the Governor of Georgia (1971–1975). Carter won the
   Democratic nomination as a dark horse candidate, and went on to defeat
   incumbent Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election.

   As President his major initiatives included the consolidation of
   numerous governmental agencies into the newly formed Department of
   Energy, a cabinet level department. He enacted strong environmental
   legislation; deregulated the trucking, airline, rail, finance,
   communications, and oil industries; bolstered the social security
   system; and appointed record numbers of women and minorities to
   significant government and judicial posts. In foreign affairs, Carter's
   major initiatives included the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal
   Treaties, the creation of full diplomatic relations with the People's
   Republic of China, and the negotiation of the SALT II Treaty. In
   addition, he's a champion of human rights throughout the world and used
   human rights as the centre of his administration's foreign policy.

   The Iranian hostage crisis was seen by critics as a devastating blow to
   national prestige; Carter struggled for 444 days to effect the release
   of the hostages. A failed rescue attempt led to the resignation, in
   protest, of his Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. The hostages were
   finally released the day Carter left office.

   The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan marked the end of détente, and
   Carter moved to the right, boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in
   Moscow, and began to rebuild American military power. He beat off a
   primary challenge from Senator Ted Kennedy but was unable to
   effectively reduce soaring interest rates and inflation rates, or to
   lower unemployment. The " Misery Index", his favored measure of
   economic well-being, rose 50% in four years. He feuded with the
   Democratic leaders who controlled Congress and, as a result, was unable
   to reform the tax system or to implement a national health plan. He was
   defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.

   After leaving office, Carter assumed the role of an elder statesman and
   international mediator, using his prestige as a former president to
   further many causes. He founded the Carter Centre as a forum for issues
   related to democracy and human rights. He has also traveled extensively
   to monitor elections, conduct peace negotiations, and establish relief
   efforts. In 2002, Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize for his "efforts to
   find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance
   democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social
   development." Carter has continued his decades-long active involvement
   with the charity Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for the
   needy.

Early years

   Carter descended from a family that had resided in Georgia for several
   generations. His great-grandfather, Private L. B. Walker Carter
   (1832–1874) served in the Confederate States Army in the Sumter Flying
   Artillery, seeing considerable action at the Battle of Gettysburg.

   Jimmy Carter, the first President born in a hospital, was the oldest of
   four children of James Earl and Lillian Gordy Carter. He was born in
   the southwest Georgia town of Plains and grew up in nearby Archery,
   Georgia. Carter was a gifted student from an early age who always had a
   fondness for reading. By the time he attended Plains High School, he
   was also a star in basketball and football. He was greatly influenced
   by one of his high school teachers, Julia Coleman. Ms. Coleman was
   handicapped by polio. She had encouraged young Jimmy to read War and
   Peace; he was disappointed to find that there were no cowboys or
   Indians in the book. Carter mentioned his beloved teacher in his
   inaugural address as an example of someone who beat overwhelming odds.
   Carter had three younger siblings. His brother, Billy (1937–1988),
   caused some political problems for him during his administration. His
   sister, Gloria (1926–1990), was low-key and was famous for collecting
   and riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles. His other sister, Ruth
   (1929–1983), became a well-known Christian evangelist.

   He attended Georgia Southwestern College and Georgia Institute of
   Technology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United
   States Naval Academy in 1946. Carter was a gifted student and finished
   59th out of his Academy class of 820. Carter served on submarines in
   the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. He was later selected by Captain
   (later Admiral) Hyman G. Rickover for the U.S. Navy's fledgling nuclear
   submarine program, where he became a qualified command officer.
   Rickover was a demanding officer, and Carter was greatly influenced by
   him. Carter later said that next to his parents, Admiral Rickover had
   had the greatest influence on him. There was a story he often told of
   being interviewed by the Admiral. He was asked about his rank in his
   class at the Naval Academy. Carter said "Sir, I graduated 59th out of a
   class of 820". Rickover only asked "Did you always do your best?"
   Carter was forced to admit he had not, and the Admiral asked why.
   Carter later used this as the theme of his presidential campaign, and
   as the title of his first book, "Why Not The Best?" Carter loved the
   Navy, and had planned to make it his career. His ultimate goal was to
   become Chief of Naval Operations. Carter did some post-graduate work,
   studying nuclear physics and reactor technology for several months at
   Union College starting in March 1953. He married Rosalynn Smith in
   1946. They had three sons, ( John William "Jack" Carter, born in 1947;
   James Earl "Chip" Carter III, born in 1950; and Donnel Jeffrey "Jeff"
   Carter, born in 1952), and a daughter ( Amy Lynn Carter, in 1967).

   Upon the death of his father in July 1953, however, LT. Carter
   immediately resigned his commission and was discharged from the Navy on
   October 9, 1953. This cut short his nuclear power training school and
   unfortunately he was never able to command a nuclear submarine, as the
   first of the fleet was launched January 17, 1955, over a year after his
   discharge from the Navy.

   He then took over and expanded his family's peanut farming business in
   Plains. There he was involved in a farming accident which left him with
   a permanently bent finger.

   From a young age, Carter showed a deep commitment to Christianity,
   serving as a Sunday School teacher throughout his political career.
   Even as President, Carter prayed several times a day, and professed
   that Jesus Christ was the driving force in his life. Carter had been
   greatly influenced by a sermon he had heard as a young man, called, "If
   you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence
   to convict you?"

Early political career

State Senate

   Carter started his career by serving on various local boards, governing
   such entities as the schools, hospital, and library, among others. In
   the 1960s, he served two terms in the Georgia Senate from the
   fourteenth district of Georgia.

   His 1962 election to the state Senate, which followed the end of
   Georgia's County Unit System (per the Supreme Court case of Gray v.
   Sanders), was chronicled in his book Turning Point: A Candidate, a
   State, and a Nation Come of Age. The election involved corruption led
   by Joe Hurst, the sheriff of Quitman County. This included people
   voting in alphabetical order and dead people voting. It took a
   challenge of the fraudulent results for Carter to win the election.
   Carter was reelected in 1964, to serve a second two-year term.

Campaign for governor

   In 1966, at the end of his career as a state senator, he flirted with
   the idea of running for the United States House of Representatives. His
   Republican opponent dropped out and decided to run for Governor of
   Georgia. Carter did not want to see a Republican as the governor of his
   state and in turn dropped out of the race for Congress and joined the
   race to become governor. Carter lost the Democratic primary, but drew
   enough votes as a third place candidate to force the favourite, Ellis
   Arnall, into a run-off, setting off a chain of events which resulted in
   the election of Lester Maddox.

   For the next four years, Carter returned to his agriculture business
   and carefully planned for his next campaign for governor in 1970,
   making over 1,800 speeches throughout the state.

   During his 1970 campaign, he ran an uphill populist campaign in the
   Democratic primary against former Governor Carl Sanders, labeling his
   opponent "Cufflinks Carl". Although Carter had never been a
   segregationist—he had refused to join the segregationist White
   Citizens' Council, prompting a boycott of his peanut warehouse; and he
   had been one of only two families which voted to admit blacks to the
   Plains Baptist Church —he "said things the segregationists wanted to
   hear," according to historian E. Stanly Godbold. Carter did not condemn
   Alabama firebrand George Wallace, and Carter's campaign aides handed
   out photographs of his opponent, showing Sanders associating with black
   basketball players. He also chastised Sanders for not inviting Wallace
   to address the State Assembly during his tenure as Governor. Following
   his close victory over Sanders in the primary, he was elected governor
   over Republican Hal Suit.

Governor of Georgia

   Jimmy Carter

                          76^th Governor of Georgia

              Term of office:
   January 12, 1971 – January 14, 1975

   Lieutenant Governor: Lester Maddox
       Predecessor:     Lester Maddox
        Successor:      George Busbee
          Born:         October 1, 1924
                        Plains, Georgia
     Political party:   Democrat
       Profession:      Farmer/Naval Submariner
         Spouse:        Rosalynn Smith Carter
        Religion:       Baptist

   After having run a campaign in which he promoted himself as a
   traditional southern conservative, Carter surprised the state and
   gained national attention by declaring in his inaugural speech that the
   time of racial segregation was over, and that racial discrimination had
   no place in the future of the state. He was the first statewide office
   holder in the Deep South to say this in public. Following this speech,
   Carter appointed many blacks to statewide boards and offices.

   Carter made government efficient by merging about 300 state agencies
   into 30 agencies. One of his aides recalled that Governor Carter "was
   right there with us, working just as hard, digging just as deep into
   every little problem. It was his program and he worked on it as hard as
   anybody, and the final product was distinctly his." He also pushed
   reforms through the legislature, providing equal state aid to schools
   in the wealthy and poor areas of Georgia, set up community centers for
   mentally handicapped children, and increased educational programs for
   convicts. Carter took pride in a program he introduced for the
   appointment of judges and state government officials. Under this
   program, all such appointments were based on merit, rather than
   political influence.

   In 1972, as U.S. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota was marching
   toward the Democratic nomination for President, Carter called a news
   conference in Atlanta to warn that McGovern was unelectable. Carter
   criticized McGovern as too liberal on both foreign and domestic policy.
   The remarks attracted little national attention, and after McGovern's
   huge loss in the general election, Carter's attitude was not held
   against him within the Democratic Party.

   After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Georgia's death penalty law in
   1972, Carter signed new legislation to authorize the death penalty for
   murder, rape and other offenses and to implement trial procedures which
   would conform to the newly-announced constitutional requirements. This
   law was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1976.

   In 1974, Carter was chairman of the Democratic National Committee's
   congressional and gubernatorial campaigns.

1976 presidential campaign

   The electoral map of the 1976 election.
   Enlarge
   The electoral map of the 1976 election.

   Carter began running for President in 1975, almost immediately upon
   leaving office as governor of Georgia. When Carter entered the
   Democratic Party presidential primaries in 1976, he was considered to
   have little chance against nationally better-known politicians. When he
   told his family of his intention to run for President, he was asked by
   his mother, "President of what?" However, Nixon's Watergate scandal was
   still fresh in the voters' minds, and so his position as an outsider,
   distant from Washington, DC, became an asset. The centerpiece of his
   campaign platform was government reorganization.

   Carter became the front-runner early on by winning the Iowa caucuses
   and the New Hampshire primary. He used a two-prong strategy. In the
   South, which most had tacitly conceded to Alabama's George Wallace,
   Carter ran as a moderate favorite son. When Wallace proved to be a
   spent force, Carter swept the region. In the North, Carter appealed
   largely to conservative Christian and rural voters and had little
   chance of winning a majority in most states. But in a field crowded
   with liberals, he managed to win several Northern states by building
   the largest single bloc. Initially dismissed as a regional candidate,
   Carter proved to be the only Democrat with a truly national strategy,
   and he eventually clinched the nomination.

   The media discovered and promoted Carter. As Lawrence Shoup noted in
   his 1980 book The Carter Presidency And Beyond:

     "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."

   As late as January 26, 1976, Carter was the first choice of only 4% of
   Democratic voters, according to the Gallup Poll. Yet "by mid-March 1976
   Carter was not only far ahead of the active contenders for the
   Democratic presidential nomination, he also led President Ford by a few
   percentage points," according to Shoup.

   Carter began the race with a sizeable lead over Ford, who was able to
   narrow the gap over the course of the campaign, but was unable to
   prevent Carter from narrowly defeating him on November 2nd, 1976.
   Carter won the popular vote by 50.1% to 48.0% for Ford and received 297
   electoral votes to Ford's 240. This made him the first Democrat to win
   a majority of the popular vote since 1964. He became the first
   contender from the Deep South to be elected President since 1848.

Presidency (1977–1981)

   President Carter - October 1980
   Enlarge
   President Carter - October 1980

Economic Situation

   The 1970's are described as a period of stagflation, meaning economic
   stagnation, price inflation, as well as higher interest rates. Price
   inflation (or more money for the same thing) creates uncertainty in
   budgeting and planning and makes labor strikes for pay raises more
   likely. In 1973, during the Nixon Administration, OPEC (Organization of
   Petrolium Exporting Countries) agreed to reduce supplies of oil
   available to the world market. This sparked an oil crisis and forced
   oil prices to rise sharply, spurring price inflation through-out the
   economy, and slowing growth. Significant government borrowing and for
   items such as the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons stock pile helped
   keep interest rates high relative to inflation. The Nixon
   Administration policies of trying to talk price inflation down (known
   as jawbone-ing) and price freezes were ineffective.

Energy crisis

   When the energy market exploded—an occurrence Carter desperately tried
   to avoid during his term—he was planning on delivering his fifth major
   speech on energy. However, he felt that the American people were no
   longer listening. Instead, he went to Camp David and for ten days met
   with governors, mayors, religious leaders, scientists, economists, and
   general citizens. He sat on the floor and took notes of their comments
   and especially wanted to hear criticism. His pollster told him that the
   American people simply faced a crisis of confidence because of the
   assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, and Watergate. On
   July 15, 1979, Carter gave a nationally-televised address in which he
   identified what he believed to be a "crisis of confidence" among the
   American people. This has come to be known by critics as his "malaise"
   speech, even though he did not use the word "malaise" anywhere in the
   text:

          I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to
          American democracy.... I do not refer to the outward strength of
          America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the
          world, with unmatched economic power and military might.

          The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis
          of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and
          soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in
          the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the
          loss of a unity of purpose for our nation.

   Carter's speech, written by Chris Matthews, was well-received. But the
   country was in the midst of a weak economy dominated by OPEC-influenced
   double-digit inflation, and many citizens were directly affected by
   this, causing concern about the federal government's response. Three
   days after the speech, Carter asked for the resignations of all of his
   Cabinet officers, and ultimately accepted five. Carter later admitted
   in his memoirs that he should have simply asked only those five members
   for their resignation. By asking the entire Cabinet, it gave the
   appearance that the White House was falling apart.

   The economy suffered double-digit inflation, coupled with very high
   interest rates, oil shortages, high unemployment, and slow economic
   growth. As a result, he convinced Congress to create the United States
   Department of Energy. Following its recommendations to conserve energy,
   Carter wore sweaters, installed solar power panels on the roof of the
   White House, installed a wood stove in the living quarters, ordered the
   General Services Administration to turn off hot water in some
   facilities and requested that Christmas decorations remain dark in 1979
   and 1980. Nationwide controls were put on thermostats in government and
   commercial buildings to prevent people from raising temperatures in the
   winter or lowering them in summer.

   The price inflation caused interest rates to rise to unprecedented
   levels (above 12% per year). The prime rate hit 21.5 in December 1980,
   highest in history . Investments in fixed income (both bonds, and
   pensions being paid to retired people) were becoming less valuable.
   With the markets for U.S. government debt coming under pressure, Carter
   appointed Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board;
   Volcker replaced G. William Miller who left to become the Secretary of
   the Treasury. Volcker pursued a tight monetary policy to bring down
   inflation, which he considered his mandate. He succeeded, but only by
   first going through a very unpleasant phase where the economy slowed
   down, causing a rise in unemployment, prior to any relief from the
   inflation. The stagnant growth of the economy (causing unemployment),
   in combination with a high rate of inflation, has often been called
   stagflation, an unprecedented situation in American economics that
   Volcker is credited for ending.

Domestic policies

   Jimmy Carter's reorganization efforts separated the Department of
   Health, Education and Welfare into the Department of Education and the
   Department of Health and Human Services. Efforts were also made to
   reduce the number of government departments and employees as Carter had
   done when he was governor of Georgia. He signed into law a major Civil
   Service Reform, the first in over a hundred years. Despite calling for
   a reform of the tax system in his presidential campaign, once in office
   he did very little to change it.

   Initially, Carter was fairly successful in getting legislation through
   Congress, such as pardoning Vietnam-era draft-dodgers, and cancelling
   the B-1 Bomber program, but then he met with opposition from the
   leadership of the Democratic Party when he characterized a rivers and
   harbors bill as "pork barrel" spending. In apparent retaliation,
   Congress responded by refusing to pass major provisions of his consumer
   protection bill and his labor reform package. Carter then vetoed a
   public works package calling it "inflationary," as it contained what he
   considered to be wasteful spending. Congressional leaders sensed that
   public support for his legislation was weak, and took advantage of it.
   After gutting his consumer protection bill, they transformed his tax
   plan into nothing more than spending for special interests, after which
   Carter referred to the congressional tax committees as "ravenous
   wolves."

   On a more successful note, Carter signed legislation bolstering the
   Social Security system through a staggered increase in the payroll tax
   and appointed record numbers of women, blacks, and Hispanics to
   government and judiciary jobs. He also initiated a comprehensive urban
   policy. Carter enacted strong legislation for environmental protection.
   His Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act created 103 million
   acres (417,000 km²) of national park land in Alaska. He was also
   successful in deregulating the trucking, rail, airline, communications,
   oil, and finance industries.

Foreign Policies

   Celebrating the signing of the Camp David Accords (1978): Menachem
   Begin, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat
   Enlarge
   Celebrating the signing of the Camp David Accords (1978): Menachem
   Begin, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat

South Korea

   One of Carter's first acts in office was to order the unilateral
   removal of all nuclear weapons from South Korea. He also announced his
   intention to remove all US troops from South Korea. During his first
   month in office he cut the defense budget by $6 Billion.

Initial Response to Arab-Israeli Conflict

   Carter's Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and National Security Adviser
   Zbigniew Brzezinski paid close attention to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
   Diplomatic relations between both Israel and Egypt were significantly
   increased after the Yom Kippur War and the Carter administration felt
   that the time was right for comprehensive solution to the conflict.

Rapid Deployment Forces

   On October 1, 1979, President Carter announced before a television
   audience the existence of the Rapid Deployment Forces (RDF), a mobile
   fighting force capable of responding to worldwide trouble spots,
   without drawing on forces committed to NATO. The RDF was the forerunner
   of CENTCOM.

Human Rights

   President Carter initially departed from the long-held policy of
   containment toward the Soviet Union. In its place Carter promoted a
   foreign policy that placed human rights at the forefront. This was a
   break from the policies of several predecessors, in which human rights
   abuses were often overlooked if they were committed by a nation that
   was allied with the United States. The Carter Administration ended
   support to the historically U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship in
   Nicaragua, and gave millions of dollars in aid to the nation's new
   Sandinista regime after it rose to power by a revolution.

   Carter continued his predecessors' policies of imposing sanctions on
   Rhodesia, and, after Bishop Abel Muzorewa was elected Prime Minister,
   protested that the Marxists Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo were
   excluded from the elections. Strong pressure from the United States and
   the United Kingdom prompted new elections in what was then called
   Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Carter was also known for his criticism of Alfredo
   Stroessner, Augusto Pinochet, the apartheid government of South Africa,
   and other traditional allies.

People's Republic of China

   Carter continued the policy of Richard Nixon to "normalize" relations
   with the People's Republic of China by granting full diplomatic and
   trade relations, thus ending official relations with the Republic of
   China (though the two nations continued to trade and the U.S.
   unofficially recognized Taiwan through the Taiwan Relations Act).

Panama Canal Treaties

   One of the most controversial moves of President Carter's presidency
   was the final negotiation and signature of the Panama Canal Treaties in
   September 1977. Those treaties, which essentially would transfer
   control of the American-built Panama Canal to the nation of Panama,
   were bitterly opposed by a segment of the American public and by the
   Republican Party. A common argument against the treaties was that the
   United States was transferring an American asset of great strategic
   value to an unstable and corrupt country led by a brutal military
   dictator ( Omar Torrijos). After the signature of the Canal treaties,
   in June 1978, Jimmy Carter visited Panama with his wife and twelve U.
   S. Senators, amid widespread student disturbances against the Torrijos
   dictatorship. Carter then began urging the Torrijos regime to soften
   its policies and move Panama towards gradual democratization. This
   treaty ultimately helped relations with Panama and Latin America.

Camp David Accords

   Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, and Menachem Begin meet on the Aspen Lodge
   patio on September 6, 1978.
   Enlarge
   Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, and Menachem Begin meet on the Aspen Lodge
   patio on September 6, 1978.

   One of Carter's most important accomplishments as President was the
   Camp David Accords. The Camp David Accords were a peace agreement
   between Israel and Egypt, which were negotiated by President Carter,
   following up on earlier negotiations which had been conducted in the
   Middle East. In these negotiations King Hassan II of Morocco acted as a
   negotiator between Arab interests and Israel, and Nicolae Ceauşescu of
   Romania acted as go-between for Israel and the PLO. Once initial
   negotiations had been completed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
   approached Carter for assistance. Carter then invited Israeli Prime
   Minister Menachem Begin and Sadat to Camp David to continue the
   negotiations. The Camp David accords produced peace between Egypt and
   Israel that has lasted to the present. (2006)

Strategic Arms Limitations Talks

   A key foreign policy issue Carter worked laboriously on was the SALT II
   Treaty. SALT stood for the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks and were
   negotiations being conducted between the United States and the Soviet
   Union. The work of Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon brought about the SALT
   I treaty, but Carter wished to further the reduction of nuclear arms.
   It was his main goal, as was stated in his Inaugural Address, that
   nuclear weaponry be completely banished from the face of the Earth.
   Carter and Leonid Brezhnev, the leader of the Soviet Union, reached an
   agreement and held a signing ceremony. There was much opposition in
   Congress to ratifying the treaty, as many thought that it weakened US
   defenses. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan late in 1979,
   Carter withdrew the treaty from consideration by Congress and the
   treaty was never ratified. Even so, both sides honored their
   commitments laid out in the negotiations.
   President Jimmy Carter and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev
   sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II) treaty, June 18,
   1979, in Vienna.
   Enlarge
   President Jimmy Carter and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev
   sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II) treaty, June 18,
   1979, in Vienna.

Intervention in Afghanistan

   In December 1979, USSR invaded Afghanistan, after the pro-Moscow
   Afghanistan government placed by a 1978 coup was overthrown. Some
   believed the Soviets were attempting to expand their borders southward
   in order to gain a foothold in the region. The Soviet Union had long
   lacked a warm water port, and their movement south seemed to position
   them for further expansion toward Pakistan and India in the East, and
   Iran to the West. American politicians, including Republicans and
   Democrats alike, feared that the Soviets were positioning themselves
   for a takeover of Middle Eastern oil. Others believed that the Soviet
   Union was fearful that the Muslim uprising would spread from Iran and
   Afghanistan to the millions of Muslims in the USSR. In a 1998 interview
   with Le Nouvel Observateur, Carter's National Security Advisor Zbigniew
   Brzezinski admitted that the United States began sending aid to
   anti-Soviet Afghan Islamist factions on July 3, 1979, nearly six months
   before the Soviet invasion. Brezezinski told Le Nouvel Observateur that
   this secretly provoked war gave America "the opportunity of giving to
   the USSR its Vietnam war." Full Text of Interview

   After the invasion, Carter announced the Carter Doctrine: that the US
   would not allow any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf.
   Carter terminated the Russian Wheat Deal to establish trade with USSR
   and lessen Cold War tensions. The grain exports had been beneficial to
   people employed in agriculture, and the Carter embargo marked the
   beginning of hardship for American farmers. He also prohibited
   Americans from participating in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and
   reinstated registration for the draft for young males. Carter and
   Zbigniew Brzezinski started a $40 billion covert program of training
   Islamic fundamentalists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Reagan would later
   expand this program greatly to combat Cold War concerns presented by
   Russia at the time. In retrospect, this contributed to the collapse of
   the Soviet Union. Critics of this policy blame Carter and Reagan for
   the resulting instability of post-Soviet Afghani governments, which led
   to the rise of Islamic theocracy in the region, and also created much
   of the current problems with Islamic fundamentalism.
   The Iranian Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi meeting with Arthur Atherton,
   William H. Sullivan, Cyrus Vance, President Jimmy Carter, and Zbigniew
   Brzezinski, 1977
   Enlarge
   The Iranian Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi meeting with Arthur Atherton,
   William H. Sullivan, Cyrus Vance, President Jimmy Carter, and Zbigniew
   Brzezinski, 1977

Hostage Crisis

   The main conflict between human rights and U.S. interests came in
   Carter's dealings with the Shah of Iran. The Shah, Mohammad Reza
   Pahlavi, had been a strong ally of America since World War II and was
   one of the "twin pillars" upon which U.S. strategic policy in the
   Middle East was built. However, his rule was strongly autocratic, and
   he went along with the plan of the Eisenhower Administration to depose
   Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953. Though Carter praised the Shah as a wise
   and valuable leader, when the Iranian Revolution broke out in Iran,
   which led to the overthrow of the monarchy, the U.S. did not intervene.
   The Shah was subsequently deposed and exiled.

   Despite having previously denied the Shah entry into the United States
   for medical treatment, on October 22, 1979, Carter finally granted him
   entry and temporary asylum for the duration of his cancer treatment;
   the Shah left for Panama on December 15, 1979. In response to the
   Shah's entry into the U.S., Iranian militants seized the American
   embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. The Iranians demanded
   (1) the return of the Shah to Iran for trial, (2) the return of the
   Shah's wealth to the Iranian people, (3) an admission of guilt by the
   United States for its past actions in Iran, plus an apology, and (4) a
   promise from the United States not to interfere in Iran's affairs in
   the future. Though later that year the Shah left the U.S. and died in
   Egypt, the hostage crisis continued and dominated the last year of
   Carter's presidency, even though almost half of the hostages were
   released. The subsequent responses to the crisis—from a " Rose Garden
   strategy" of staying inside the White House, to the unsuccessful
   attempt to rescue the hostages—were largely seen as contributing to
   defeat in the 1980 election.

   In 1982, a small book by James B. Stewart, esquire, appeared that gave
   insight into the timing of these events. The Partners: Inside America’s
   Most Powerful Law Firms begins with Stewart’s insider description of
   the negotiation process for the release of the hostages. Though short,
   the chapter laid out clearly what had happened behind the scenes. After
   the hostages were taken, President Carter issued, on November 14, 1979,
   Executive Order 12170 - Blocking Iranian Government property , which
   was used to freeze the bank accounts of the Iranian government in US
   banks, totaling about $8 billion US at the time. This was to be used as
   a bargaining chip for the release of the hostages.

   The Iranians then changed their demand to return of the Shah and the
   release of the Iranian money. Through informal channels the Iranian
   government started negotiations with the banks holding the money. The
   banks took over negotiations for the release of the hostages, not the
   U.S. State Department. When the Shah died of cancer in the summer of
   1980, the Iranians wanted no more to do with the hostages and changed
   their demands to just the release of the hostages in exchange for the
   return of their money. Why the deal was not struck at that point is
   never explained, since it was the same deal that the Iranians received
   in January 1981. The hostages were finally released with the signing of
   Executive Orders 12277 through 12285, releasing all assets belonging to
   the Iranian government and all assets belonging to the Shah found
   within the United States and the guarantee that the hostages would have
   no legal claim against the Iranian government that would be heard in
   U.S. courts . Shortly after the publication of The Partners,
   accusations of an " October Surprise" were leveled against the Reagan
   Administration. No witnesses were ever found who had anything to
   report, but Congress investigated the matter and showed the story was
   based on a hoax. (The hoax depended on William Casey being in Madrid on
   a day he was in London, so the entire set of allegations fell apart.)

Administration and Cabinet

               Jimmy Carter meets with his Secretary of State Cyrus Vance.
                                                                   Enlarge
               Jimmy Carter meets with his Secretary of State Cyrus Vance.

                             Official White House portrait of Jimmy Carter
                                                                   Enlarge
                             Official White House portrait of Jimmy Carter

   OFFICE                    NAME                     TERM
   President                 Jimmy Carter             1977–1981
   Vice President            Walter F. Mondale        1977–1981
   National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski      1977–1981
   C.I.A. Director           Stansfield Turner        1977–1981
   F.B.I. Director           Clarence M. Kelley       1977–1978
                             William Hedgcock Webster 1978–1981
   State                     Cyrus R. Vance           1977–1980
                             Edmund Muskie            1980–1981
   Treasury                  W. Michael Blumenthal    1977–1979
                             G. William Miller        1979–1981
   Defense                   Harold Brown             1977–1981
   Justice                   Griffin Bell             1977–1979
                             Benjamin R. Civiletti    1979–1981
   Interior                  Cecil D. Andrus          1977–1981
   Commerce                  Juanita M. Kreps         1977–1979
                             Philip M. Klutznick      1979–1981
   Labor                     Ray Marshall             1977–1981
   Agriculture               Robert Bergland          1977–1981
   HEW                       Joseph A. Califano, Jr.  1977–1979
   HHS                       Patricia R. Harris       1979–1981
   Education                 Shirley M. Hufstedler    1979–1981
   HUD                       Patricia R. Harris       1977–1979
                             Moon Landrieu            1979–1981
   Transportation            Brock Adams              1977–1979
                             Neil E. Goldschmidt      1979–1981
   Energy                    James R. Schlesinger     1977–1979
                             Charles W. Duncan        1979–1981

   Amongst Presidents who served at least one full term, Carter is the
   only one who never made an appointment to the Supreme Court.

1980 election

   The electoral map of the 1980 election.
   Enlarge
   The electoral map of the 1980 election.

   Carter lost the presidency by a landslide to Ronald Reagan in the 1980
   election. The popular vote went approximately 51% for Reagan and 41%
   for Carter. However, because Carter's support was not concentrated in
   any geographic region, Reagan won 91% of the electoral vote, leaving
   Carter with only six states and the District of Columbia. Independent
   candidate John Bayard Anderson won seven percent of the vote and
   prevented Carter from taking traditionally Democratic states, like New
   York, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts.
   Jimmy Carter standing with Zbigniew Brzezinski
   Enlarge
   Jimmy Carter standing with Zbigniew Brzezinski

   A public perception that the Carter Administration had been ineffectual
   in addressing the Iranian hostage crisis may have contributed to his
   defeat. Although the Carter team had successfully negotiated with the
   hostage takers for release of the hostages, an agreement trusting the
   hostage takers to abide by their word was not signed until January 19,
   1981, after the election of Ronald Reagan. The hostages had been held
   captive for 444 days, and their release happened just minutes after
   Carter left office. However, Reagan asked Carter to go to Germany to
   greet the hostages.
   Carter shooing away the rabbit, at far right
   Enlarge
   Carter shooing away the rabbit, at far right

   During his campaign, Carter was mocked for an encounter with a rabbit
   while fishing on a farm pond. A swimming swamp rabbit, perhaps ill or
   fleeing from a predator, attempted to board the President's small boat.
   Carter shooed the creature away with his paddle. Several months later,
   Carter's Press Secretary Jody Powell mentioned what he viewed as a
   "mildly amusing incident" to reporter Brooks Jackson over tea. Shortly
   thereafter, the story appeared on the front page of The Washington Post
   and was reported on the evening news of all the major television
   networks.

Post-presidency

   Former Presidents Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, then-President George H.
   W. Bush, former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter at the
   dedication of the Reagan Presidential Library
   Enlarge
   Former Presidents Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, then-President George H.
   W. Bush, former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter at the
   dedication of the Reagan Presidential Library

   Since leaving the presidency, Carter has written 20 books.

   Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale are the longest-living
   post-presidential team in American history. On May 23, 2006, they had
   been out of office for 25 years and 123 days, surpassing the record
   established by President John Adams and Vice President Thomas
   Jefferson. Adams and Jefferson died on the same day— July 4, 1826.

   In ten surveys of historians which ranked US presidents, which included
   over 1000 scholars, the ranking of Carter's presidency ranged from #19
   to #34. These rankings are similar to those of Gerald Ford, Chester
   Arthur, and Herbert Hoover. While at the time he left office Carter's
   presidency was viewed by many as a failure, his activities since
   leaving office, especially his many peacekeeping and humanitarian
   efforts, have led to a more favorable view of him.

Diplomacy

   In 1994, Carter went to North Korea at the behest of President Clinton.
   North Korea had expelled investigators from the International Atomic
   Energy Agency and was threatening to begin processing spent nuclear
   fuel. Carter met with North Korean President Kim Il Sung resulting in
   the signing of the Agreed Framework, under which North Korea agreed to
   stop processing nuclear fuel, in exchange for a return to normalized
   relations, oil deliveries and two light water reactors to replace its
   graphite reactors.

   Though the Agreed Framework negotiated by Jimmy Carter was widely
   hailed at the time as a diplomatic achievement, in 2005 North Korea
   announced that it had nuclear weapons and proved this assertion with
   the detonation of a small nuclear bomb in an underground test on
   October 9, 2006. Carter's supporters attributed the failure of the
   agreement to ongoing American sanctions (contrary to the agreement) due
   to opposition from a Republican-controlled Congress, while critics
   questioned whether the North Korean government ever intended to give up
   its nuclear weapons program.

   Carter visited Cuba in May 2002 and met with Fidel Castro. He was
   allowed to address the Cuban public on national television with a
   speech that he wrote and presented in Spanish. This made Carter the
   first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the
   island since the Cuban revolution of 1959.

   In June 2005, Carter urged the closing of the Guantanamo Bay Prison in
   Cuba, which has been the centre point for recent claims of prisoner
   abuse.

   Not all Carter's efforts have gained him favour in Washington;
   President Clinton and both Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush
   were said to have been less than pleased with Carter's "freelance"
   diplomacy in Iraq and elsewhere.

   Carter has also in recent years become a frequent critic of Israel and
   the US foreign policy in support of Israel.

Humanitarian work

   Carter has been involved in a variety of national and international
   public policy, conflict resolution, human rights and charitable causes
   through the Carter Center. He established the Carter Center the year
   following his term and currently chairs the center with his wife
   Rosalynn. The centre also focuses on world-wide health care including
   the campaign to eliminate guinea worm disease. He and members of the
   centre are sometimes involved in the monitoring of the electoral
   process in support of free and fair elections. This includes acting as
   election observers, particularly in Latin America and Africa.

   He and his wife are also well-known for their work with Habitat for
   Humanity, a program that helps poor people to afford their first home.

   Carter was the third U.S. President, after Theodore Roosevelt and
   Woodrow Wilson, to receive the Nobel Peace Prize award. In his Nobel
   Lecture, Carter told the European audience that U.S. actions after the
   Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the 1991 Gulf War, like NATO
   itself, was a continuation of President Wilson's doctrine of collective
   security.

American politics

   In 2001, Carter criticized President Clinton's controversial pardon of
   Marc Rich, calling it "disgraceful" and suggesting that Rich's
   financial contributions to the Democratic Party was a factor in
   Clinton's action.

   In March 2004, Carter condemned George W. Bush and Tony Blair for
   waging an unnecessary war "based upon lies and misinterpretations" in
   order to oust Saddam Hussein. He claimed that Blair had allowed his
   better judgment to be swayed by Bush's desire to finish a war that
   George H. W. Bush (his father) had started.

   In August 2006, Carter made remarks controversial with many Jewish
   Americans and Democratic supporters of Israel when he said on the 15th
   of that month "I don't think Israel has any legal or moral
   justification for their massive bombing of the entire nation of
   Lebanon," and on the same topic, "I represent the vast majority of
   Democrats." His remarks were in response to the Israel-Hezbollah war of
   that summer.

   In September 2006, Carter was interviewed on the BBC's Newsnight
   current affairs programme, voicing his concern at the alleged
   increasing influence of the Religious Right on U.S. politics. He also
   criticised Tony Blair and the British Government for being
   "subservient" to the Bush administration and accused Blair of giving
   unquestioning support to any "radical or ill-advised" policy adopted by
   Bush.

Additional accolades

   Carter has received honorary degrees from many American colleges,
   including Harvard University, Bates College, and the University of
   Pennsylvania.

   In 2000, Carter received the James A. Van Fleet Award from The Korea
   Society.
   President Carter holding up a model of the submarine that will carry
   his name
   Enlarge
   President Carter holding up a model of the submarine that will carry
   his name

   On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named
   Carter and the other living former Presidents (Gerald Ford, George H.
   W. Bush, and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding
   the World Trade Centre.

   Because he had served as a submariner (the only President to have done
   so), a submarine was named for him. The USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) was
   named on April 27, 1998, making it one of the very few U.S. Navy
   vessels to be named for a person still alive at the time of the naming.
   In February 2005, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter both spoke at the
   commissioning ceremony for this submarine.

   Carter is a University Distinguished Professor at Emory University and
   teaches occasional classes there. He also teaches a Sunday School class
   at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. Being an accomplished
   amateur woodworker, he has occasionally been featured in the pages of
   Fine Wood Working magazine, which is published by Taunton Press.

   Carter has also participated in many ceremonial events such as the
   opening of his own presidential library and those of Presidents Ronald
   Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. He has also participated in
   many forums, lectures, panels, funerals and other events. Carter
   delivered a eulogy at the funeral of Coretta Scott King.

Trivia

   President George W. Bush (second from left), walks with, from left,
   former President George H.W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton and
   former President Jimmy Carter during the dedication of the William J.
   Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, November
   18, 2004.
   Enlarge
   President George W. Bush (second from left), walks with, from left,
   former President George H.W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton and
   former President Jimmy Carter during the dedication of the William J.
   Clinton Presidential Centre and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, November
   18, 2004.
     * Jimmy Carter was the first former Governor of Georgia to serve as
       president.

     * Jimmy Carter was born on the same day as the late Chief Justice,
       William H. Rehnquist, on October 1, 1924.

     * Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital.

     * In sequence, Jimmy Carter was the 39th president to serve but the
       41st to be born. George H.W. Bush was the 40th born and George W.
       Bush was the 42nd born.

     * Jimmy Carter is 5 feet 8 inches tall.

     * Jimmy Carter's original legal name was James Earl Carter, but he
       eventually changed his legal name to Jimmy.

     * Carter once greeted Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother of the United
       Kingdom with a kiss on the lips. Angered, she reprimanded him by
       saying, "No man has done that since my husband died."

Academic studies

     * Bourne, Peter. Jimmy Carter: A comprehensive biography from Plains
       to post-presidency. 1997
     * Brinkley, Douglas. 1996. "The rising stock of Jimmy Carter: The
       "hands on" legacy of our thirty-ninth president". Diplomatic
       History 20: 505-29.
     * Dumbrell, John. The Carter presidency: A re-evaluation. Manchester
       University Press 1995.
     * Gary Fink and Hugh Davis Graham, eds. The Carter presidency: Policy
       choices in the post-New Deal era University Press of Kansas. 1998.
     * Andrew R. Flint; "Jimmy Carter: The Re-emergence of Faith-Based
       Politics and the Abortion Rights Issue" Presidential Studies
       Quarterly. Volume: 35. Issue: 1. 2005. pp 28+.
     * Gillon, Steven M. The Democrats' dilemma: Walter F. Mondale and the
       liberal legacy Columbia University Press. 1992.
     * Glad, Betty. Jimmy Carter: In search of the great White House W. W.
       Norton. 1980.
     * Hahn, Dan F. "The rhetoric of Jimmy Carter, 1976-1980". In Essays
       in presidential rhetoric, edited by Theodore O. Windt and Beth
       Ingold, 331-65. Kendall/Hunt. 1992.
     * Hargrove, Erwin. Jimmy Carter as president: Leadership and the
       politics of the public good Louisiana State University Press. 1988.
     * Jones, Charles O. The Trusteeship Presidency: Jimmy Carter and the
       United States Congress. 1988.
     * Jordan, William J. Panama Odyssey. 1984.
     * Kaufman, Burton I. The Presidency of James Earl Carter, Jr. 1993.
     * Kucharsky, David. The Man from Plains: The Mind and Spirit of Jimmy
       Carter. 1976
     * Ribuffo, Leo P. "God and Jimmy Carter" in Transforming faith: The
       sacred and secular in modern American history, edited by Myles L.
       Bradbury and James B. Gilbert, pp 141-59. Greenwood Press. 1989
     * Ribuffo, Leo P. . "'Malaise' revisited: Jimmy Carter and the crisis
       of confidence". in The liberal persuasion: Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
       and the challenge of the American past, edited by John Patrick
       Diggins, 164-85. Princeton University Press. 1997
     * Herbert D. Rosenbaum and Alexej Ugrinsky, eds. The presidency and
       domestic policies of Jimmy Carter, (1994) pp, 83-116. Greenwood
       Press.
     * Schram, Martin. Running for president, 1976: The Carter campaign
       (1977)
     * Strong, Robert. "Recapturing leadership: The Carter administration
       and the crisis of confidence" Presidential Studies Quarterly 1986.
       16 (Fall): 636-50.
     * Strong, Robert. Working in the world: Jimmy Carter and the making
       of American foreign policy Louisiana State University Press. 2000.
     * White, Theodore H. America in search of itself: The making of the
       president, 1956-1980. 1983
     * Witcover, Jules. Marathon: The pursuit of the presidency, 1972-1976
       1977

Honours

   President Carter has been fortunate to receive many honors throughout
   his life. Among the most significant honours were the Presidential
   Medal of Freedom in 1999 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Others
   include:
     * LL.D. (honoris causa) Morehouse College, 1972; Morris Brown
       College, 1972; University of Notre Dame, 1977; Emory University,
       1979; Kwansei Gakuin University, 1981; Georgia Southwestern
       College, 1981; New York Law School, 1985; Bates College, 1985;
       Centre College, 1987; Creighton University, 1987; University of
       Pennsylvania[, 1998
     * D.E. (honoris causa) Georgia Institute of Technology, 1979
     * Ph.D. (Honorary) Weizmann Institute of Science, 1980; Tel Aviv
       University, 1983; Haifa University, 1987
     * D.H.L. (honoris causa) Central Connecticut State University, 1985;
       Trinity College, 1998
     * Doctor (honoris causa) G.O.C. Universite, 1995
     * Silver Buffalo Award, Boy Scouts of America, 1978
     * Gold medal, International Institute for Human Rights, 1979
     * International Mediation medal, American Arbitration Association,
       1979
     * Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize, 1979
     * International Human Rights Award, Synagogue Council of America,
       1979
     * Conservationist of the Year Award, 1979
     * Harry S. Truman Public Service Award, 1981
     * Ansel Adams Conservation Award, Wilderness Society, 1982
     * Human Rights Award, International League for Human Rights, 1983
     * World Methodist Peace Award, 1985
     * Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism, 1987
     * Edwin C. Whitehead Award, National Centre for Health Education,
       1989
     * Jefferson Award, American Institute of Public Service, 1990
     * Philadelphia Liberty Medal, 1990
     * Spirit of America Award, National Council for the Social Studies,
       1990
     * Physicians for Social Responsibility Award, 1991 Aristotle Prize,
       Alexander S. Onassis Foundation, 1991
     * W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award, National Democratic Institute
       for International Affairs, 1992
     * Spark M. Matsunaga Medal of Peace, US Institute of Peace, 1993
     * Humanitarian Award, CARE International, 1993
     * Conservationist of the Year Medal, National Wildlife Federation,
       1993
     * Rotary Award for World Understanding, 1994
     * J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding, 1994
     * National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award, 1994
     * UNESCO Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize, 1994
     * Great Cross of the Order of Vasco Nunéz de Balboa, 1995
     * Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Award, Africare,
       1996
     * Humanitarian of the Year, GQ Awards, 1996
     * Kiwanis International Humanitarian Award, 1996
     * Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, 1997
     * Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Awards for Humanitarian Contributions to
       the Health of Humankind, National Foundation for Infectious
       Diseases, 1997
     * United Nations Human Rights Award, 1998
     * The Hoover Medal, 1998
     * International Child Survival Award, UNICEF Atlanta, 1999
     * William Penn Mott, Jr., Park Leadership Award, National parks
       Conservation Association, 2000

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