Jimmy Carter From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who Jimmy Carter served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the Governor of Georgia prior to his election as president. Carter has remained active in public life during his post-presidency, and in 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Carter Center. Carter joined the United States Navy after graduating high school, serving on nuclear submarines. He left the Navy in 1953 to return to Georgia, where he worked as a peanut farmer. From 1963 to 39th President of the United States 1967, Carter served in the Georgia State Senate. In 1970, Carter won election as In office Governor of Georgia, defeating former January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981 Governor Carl Sanders in the Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale primary. He served as governor from Preceded by Gerald Ford 1971 to 1975. Despite being little-known outside of Georgia at the start of the Succeeded by Ronald Reagan campaign, Carter won the 1976 76th Governor of Georgia Democratic presidential nomination. In In office the general election, Carter defeated January 12, 1971 – January 14, 1975 incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in a relatively close election. Lieutenant Lester Maddox Preceded by Lester Maddox On his second day in office, Carter Succeeded by George Busbee pardoned all evaders of the Vietnam War drafts. During Carter's term as president, Member of the Georgia Senate two new cabinet-level departments, the from the 14th district Department of Energy and the In office Department of Education, were established. He established a national January 14, 1963 – January 10, 1967 energy policy that included conservation, Preceded by Constituency Established price control, and new technology. In foreign affairs, Carter pursued the Camp Succeeded by Hugh Carter David Accords, the Panama Canal Constituency Sumter County Treaties, the second round of Strategic Personal details Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II), and the return of the Panama Canal Zone to Born James Earl Carter Jr. Panama. On the economic front he October 1, 1924 confronted persistent "stagflation", a Plains, Georgia, U.S. combination of high inflation, high Political party Democratic unemployment and slow growth. The end Spouse(s) Rosalynn Smith (m. 1946) of his presidential tenure was marked by the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the Children 4, including Jack and Amy 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island Parents James Earl Carter Sr. nuclear accident, and the Soviet invasion Bessie Lillian Gordy of Afghanistan. In response to the Relatives Gloria Carter Spann (sister) invasion, Carter ended détente, escalated Ruth Carter Stapleton (sister) the Cold War, and led the international Billy Carter (brother) boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Hugh Carter (cousin) Moscow. In 1980, Carter faced a primary challenge from Senator Ted Kennedy, but Jason Carter (grandson) Carter won re-nomination at the 1980 James Carter IV (grandson) Democratic National Convention. Carter Residence Plains, Georgia, U.S. lost the general election in an electoral Alma mater Georgia Institute of Technology landslide to Republican nominee Ronald United States Naval Academy (BS) Reagan. Polls of historians and political scientists usually rank Carter as a below Profession Naval officer average president. farmer politician In 2012, he surpassed Herbert Hoover as author the longest-retired president in U.S. Civilian Nobel Peace Prize history, and he is also the first president awards See more to mark the 40th anniversary of his inauguration. He set up the Carter Center Signature in 1982 as his base for advancing human rights. He has also traveled extensively to Military service conduct peace negotiations, observe Allegiance United States elections, and advance disease prevention and eradication in developing nations. Service/branch United States Navy Additionally, Carter is a key figure in the Years of 1943–53 (Navy) Habitat for Humanity project and he has service 1953–61 (Navy Reserve) written several books about various Rank Lieutenant topics. In reference to current political views, he has criticized some of Israel's Military American Campaign Medal actions and policies in regards to the awards World War II Victory Medal Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has China Service Medal advocated for a two-state solution. He National Defense Service has vigorously opposed the Supreme Medal Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC to strike down limits on campaign spending by corporations and unions, saying that the U.S. is "no longer a functioning democracy" and now has a system of "unlimited political bribery." Contents 1 Early life 2 Naval career 3 Farming 4 Early political career, 1962–71 4.1 Georgia State Senator (1963–67) 4.2 1966 and 1970 campaigns for governor 5 Governor of Georgia (1971–75) 5.1 National ambition 6 1976 presidential campaign 6.1 Democratic primary 6.2 1976 general election 7 Presidency (1977–81) 7.1 Iran hostage crisis 7.2 U.S. energy crisis 7.3 EPA Love Canal Superfund 7.4 Deregulation 7.5 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 7.6 International trips 7.7 1980 presidential campaign 8 Post-presidency (1981–present) 8.1 Carter Center and Nobel Prize 8.2 Diplomacy 8.3 Criticism of U.S. policy 8.4 Author 8.5 Involvement with Bank of Credit and Commerce International 8.6 2004 Presidential race 8.7 2008 Presidential race 8.8 2012 Presidential race 8.9 2016 Presidential race 8.10 Other activities 9 Personal views 9.1 Abortion 9.2 Death penalty 9.3 Equality for women 9.4 Gun control 9.5 Same-sex marriage 9.6 Race in politics 9.7 Torture 10 Personal life 10.1 Religion 10.2 Family 10.3 Cancer diagnosis 10.4 Funeral and burial plans 11 Public image and legacy 11.1 Public opinion 11.2 Legacy 11.3 Honors and awards 12 Books 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 Further reading 16.1 Primary sources 17 External links Early life James Earl Carter Jr. was born on October 1, 1924, at the Wise Sanitarium in Plains, Georgia.[note 1] He is a descendant of English immigrant Thomas Carter, who settled in Virginia in 1635. Numerous generations of Carters lived as cotton farmers in Georgia. Carter is also a descendant of Thomas Cornell, an ancestor of Cornell University's founder and distantly related to Richard Nixon and Bill Gates.[3] Plains was a boomtown of 600 people at the time of Carter's birth. His father, James Earl Carter Sr., was a successful local businessman who ran a general store and had begun to invest in farmland. He had been a reserve second lieutenant in the U.S. Army's Quartermaster Corps during World War I. Carter's mother, Bessie Lillian Gordy, was a nurse at the Wise hospital. Carter was the oldest of Earl and Lillian's children; they moved several times during his infancy.[2] The Carters settled on a dirt road in nearby Archery, which was almost entirely populated by impoverished African American Carter (around age 13) families. They eventually had three more children: Gloria, Ruth, with his dog, Bozo, in and Billy. Carter got along well with his parents, although his 1937 mother worked long hours and was often absent in his childhood. Although Earl was staunchly pro-segregation, he allowed his son to befriend the black farmhands' children. Carter was an enterprising teenager who was given his own acre of Earl's farmland where he grew, packaged, and sold peanuts. He also rented out a section of tenant housing that he had purchased.[2] Carter attended the Plains High School from 1937 to 1941. By that time, the Great Depression had impoverished Archery and Plains, but the family benefited from New Deal farming subsidies, and Earl took a position as a community leader. Young Jimmy was a diligent student with a fondness for reading. A popular anecdote holds that he was passed over for valedictorian after he and his friends skipped school to venture downtown in a hot rod. Carter's truancy was mentioned in a local newspaper, although it is not clear he would have been valedictorian anyway.[4] Carter's teacher, Julia Coleman, was an especially strong influence. As an adolescent, Carter played on the Plains High School basketball team; he also joined the Future Farmers of America and developed a lifelong interest in woodworking.[4] Naval career Carter had long dreamed of attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. In 1941, he started undergraduate coursework in engineering at Georgia Southwestern College in nearby Americus. The following year, he transferred to Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and he achieved admission to the Naval Academy in 1943. He was a good student but was seen as reserved and quiet, in contrast to the academy's culture of aggressive hazing of freshmen. While at the academy, Carter fell in love with his sister Ruth's friend Rosalynn Smith, whom he would marry shortly after his graduation in 1946.[5] He was a sprint football player for the Navy Midshipmen[6]. Carter graduated 60th out of 820 midshipmen in the class of 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as an ensign.[7] From 1946 to 1953, Carter and Rosalynn lived in Virginia, Hawaii, Connecticut, New York and California, during his deployments in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets.[8] In 1948, he began officers' training for submarine duty and served President Jimmy Carter and aboard USS Pomfret. He was promoted to lieutenant junior Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, grade in 1949. In 1951 he became attached to the USN (far right) aboard the diesel/electric USS K-1, (a.k.a.