Jimmy Carter (U.S. president)
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| Jimmy Carter | |
 | |
| President of the United States | |
| Former officeholder | |
| Tenure | |
| January 20, 1977 - January 20, 1981 | |
| Party | Democratic |
| Predecessor | Gerald Ford |
| Report an officeholder change | |
| Elections and appointments | |
| First elected | November 2, 1976 |
| Term limits | N/A |
| Prior offices | |
| Governor of Georgia | |
| 1971-1975 | |
| Georgia State Senator | |
| 1963-1967 | |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | U.S. Navy |
| Years of service | 1946-1953 |
| Personal | |
| Date of birth | October 1, 1924 |
| Place of birth | Plains, Georgia |
| Profession | Actor, politician |
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James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr. (b. on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia) was the 39th President of the United States. He served from 1977 to 1981.[1]
Prior to serving as president, Carter served as the governor of Georgia and represented the 14th District in the Georgia State Senate. Before becoming a politician, he served in the United States Navy.[2]
Biography
Carter was born in Plains, Georgia and was the first of his father's side of the family to graduate from high school. He attended the Georgia Southwestern Junior College where he enrolled in the Naval ROTC program. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology for one year before enrolling in the U.S. Naval Academy. Carter graduated in the top ten percent of his class from the Naval Academy before serving in Norfolk, Virginia, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Schenectady, New York in the Navy. He married Rossalyn Smith early in his naval career.[2]
In 1953, following the death of his father, Carter moved his family back to rural Georgia to tend to the family farm and his mother. He engaged in local politics, serving as the chairman of the Sumter County Board of Education before running for a seat in the Georgia State Senate in 1962. While losing the election at first, he appealed the results and won the seat when a judge threw out fraudulent votes for his opponent. He lost election to become governor of Georgia in 1966 but won when he ran again in 1970. Limited to one term under Georgia law, he positioned himself to run for the U.S. presidency in the 1976 election. He won the Democratic nomination and defeated incumbent Gerald Ford in the general election.[2]
His presidency was marred by the energy crisis in 1979 and the Iranian hostage, leading to a rapidly dropping approval rating, but he did peacefully negotiate the Camp David Peace Accords between Egypt and Israel. Sixty-six United States citizens were taken hostage in Iran leading into his re-election campaign, which greatly impacted his public support. He lost re-election in 1980 to Ronald Reagan. He revived his legacy post-presidency through his involvement in human rights activism and Habitat for Humanity. He earned a Nobel Peace Prize as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[2]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Carter's academic, professional and political career:[2][1]
- 1941-1942: Attended Georgia Southwestern Junior College
- 1942-1943: Attended Georgia Institute of Technology
- 1943-1946: Graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy
- 1946-1953: Served in the United States Navy
- 1953-1962: Worked on his farm and owned Carter's Warehouse
- 1963-1967: Georgia State Senator representing the 14th District
- 1966: Lost election for Governor of Georgia
- 1971-1975: Governor of Georgia
- 1977-1981: President of the United States of America
- 1982: Professor at Emory University
- 1982: Carter Center opened in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1980: Lost re-election for U.S. presidency
- 1999: Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- 2002: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
State of the Union addresses
Every year in office, the President of the United States addresses Congress on the present state of affairs as well as the administration's goals for the coming year.[3] Addresses made by presidents in their inauguration years are not technically "State of the Union" addresses and are typically held in February.[4] Following are transcripts from Carter's State of the Union addresses.
Elections
1980 presidential election
In 1980, Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan (R) in the general election for the United States presidency.
| U.S. presidential election, 1980 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Republican |  Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush |
50.9% | 43,903,230 | 489 | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale | 41.1% | 35,480,115 | 49 | |
| Independent | John Anderson/Patrick Lucey | 6.6% | 5,719,850 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Edward Clark/David Koch | 1.1% | 921,128 | 0 | |
| Citizens | Barry Commoner/LaDonna Harris | 0.3% | 233,052 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 86,257,375 | 538 | |||
| Election results via: 1980 official election results | |||||
Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Gus Hall, John Rarick, Clifton DeBerry, Ellen McCormack, Maureen Smith, Deirdre Griswold, Benjamin Bubar, David McReynolds, Percy Greaves Jr., Andrew Pulley, Richard Congress, Kurt Lynen, Bill Gahres, Frank Shelton, Martin Wendelken and Harley McLain.[5]
1976 presidential election
In 1976, Carter defeated incumbent Gerald Ford (R) in the general election for the United States presidency.
| U.S. presidential election, 1976 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale |
50.2% | 40,831,881 | 297 | |
| Republican | Gerald Ford/Bob Dole | 48.1% | 39,148,634 | 240 | |
| Independent | Eugene McCarthy | 0.9% | 744,763 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Roger MacBride/David Bergland | 0.2% | 172,557 | 0 | |
| American Independent | Lester Maddux/William Dyke | 0.2% | 170,373 | 0 | |
| American | Thomas Anderson/Rufus Shackelford | 0.2% | 158,724 | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers | Peter Camejo/Willie Mae Reid | 0.1% | 90,986 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 81,317,918 | 537 | |||
| Election results via: 1976 official election results | |||||
Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Gus Hall, Margaret Wright, Lyndon LaRouche, Benjamin Bubar, Julius Levin, Frank Zeidler, Ernest Miller, Frank Taylor and various write-in candidates.[6]
Personal
Carter is married to Rosalynn Carter, with whom he has four children. He has been a large supporter of Habitat for Humanity and is a human rights advocate for Africa, Asia and South America. In 1999, he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 2002 he won the Nobel Peace Prize. He also won a Grammy award for the spoken word reading of his book Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis.[1][2]
On August 20, 2015, Carter announced he had melanoma in his brain and would receive cancer treatment at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta. "I’m going to cut back fairly dramatically on my obligations. The Carter Center is well prepared to continue on without any handicap," Carter said of his philanthropic work.[7]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Jimmy + Carter.
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
External links
- Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum website
- The Carter Center website
- Official White House biography
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 CNN, "Jimmy Carter Fast Facts," August 23, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Biography.com, "Jimmy Carter biography," accessed July 17, 2014
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," January 24, 2014
- ↑ The American Presidency Project, "State of the Union Addresses and Messages," accessed October 14, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Election Atlas, "1980 Presidential Election Results," accessed May 6, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Election Atlas, "1976 Presidential Election Results," accessed July 22, 2014
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Jimmy Carter Says He Will Undergo Treatment for Cancer in Brain," August 20, 2015
