Introduction - President Jimmy Carter
Among those on the Democratic Presidents list is Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.) who was elected as the 39th president of the United States in 1977. Despite his achievements while in office, he only served one term before he was defeated by Republican, Ronald Reagan. When the former president first took office, the country was in the midst of a recession. Even though Carter's famous quote "I'll never tell a lie" helped him win the first election, he was unable to persuade Americans to vote for him for a second term. Read more about the achievements and problems of President Carter's presidency in the kid-friendly list of information below; including where he began his career and why he won the Nobel Peace Prize.Click here for a great selection of Amazon.com books about Jimmy Carter.
President Jimmy Carter Quick Facts
- He was the thirty ninth president of the USA serving 1 term from January 20th 1977 through January 20th 1981.
- James Earl Carter Jr. (Jimmy Carter) was born on October 1, 1924 in the rural town of Plains, Georgia to James Earl Carter Sr. and Lillian Carter.
- He is a member of the Democratic Party.
- Jimmy Carter's vice president was Walter Mondale.
Jimmy Carter before Elected President
- Although the Great Depression brought severe hardship to many southern families, Carter's family prospered during this time. His father's peanut farm grew to where they eventually employed over 200 workers.
- Jimmy Carter graduated at the top of his class from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1946 and spent a total of seven years in the Navy.
- In 1946, Jimmy Carter married Rosalynn Smith after reconnecting with her from his childhood. They had four children together, three sons and a daughter.
- Carter's political career began in the Georgia State Senate in 1962.
- In 1966 Carter was defeated in his first bid to become the governor of Georgia. He ran again in 1970 and won the election to become governor of his home state of Georgia.
List of Jimmy Carter's Top 3 Campaign Slogans
- "I'll never tell a lie"
- "I'll never avoid a controversial issue"
- "A Leader, For a Change"
Jimmy Carter List of Presidential Successes and Failures
- Carter succeeded in establishing good will and full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, a challenge that both Presidents Nixon and Ford attempted during their presidencies.
- In Carter's most important speech of his presidency, called the "crisis of confidence" speech, he blamed citizens for not coming together to solve America's problems. While it may have initially motivated Americans to take action, the media, whom Carter did not have a good relationship with, quickly placed blame back on the president. Between this and Carter firing much of his administration, Americans opinion of him began to deteriorate.
- Although Carter fought to drive down oil prices and felt it was critical for the U.S. to become less dependent on foreign countries for oil, he could not prevent the Iranian Revolution of 1979 from driving up the oil prices that he fought so hard to keep down.
- In 1977, in a very controversial move, Jimmy Carter agreed to transfer control over the Panama Canal back to Panama. The agreement with Panama, effective as of the year 2000, caused American support for Carter to deteriorate and his credibility to wavier.
Jimmy Carter After the Oval Office
- After leaving the oval office, Carter remained active as a humanitarian, diplomat, and author.
- Carter became a professor at Emory University and worked with Habitat for Humanity in his post-presidency years.
- Carter's most notable achievements were recognized in 2002 when he was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize for his attempt to foster peace between Israel and Egypt as well as international peace, along with decades of promoting human rights and democracy.