The family of James Earl Carter were early immigrants to the New World ,arriving some time in the early 17th century, and were residents of Georgia from Revolutionary times. James Earl throughout his life was known as Jimmy.
The family was far from wealthy but his father did have a peanut farm, warehouse and small general store outside the town limits of Plains, Georgia. His mother was a trained nurse who gave up he profession when she became pregnant with her first son, Jimmy.
Early Life
From an early age he assisted his father in the store. He worked hard but was encouraged to study. In 1941 he graduated as valedictorian of his small high school.
Carter Joins the Navy
Carter had always wanted to go to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland so he enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology to prepare to fulfill his dream. In 1942 he was accepted and would graduate near the top of his class in 1946.
He met his wife while on leave and fell in love with Eleanor Rosalynn Smith, a friend of his sister, and they were married shortly before he left the Naval Academy. For the next few years he was assigned to naval submarine duty. By 1952, Jimmy and Rosalynn would have three children with one to follow in the late 1960s.
The Navy was embarking on a goal to develop a nuclear submarine and Carter was assigned to a research team headed by Captain Hyman Rickover who would later come to be known as the “Father of the nuclear Navy".
In 1953 his father would become ill; he died in July of that year. The farm in Plains had been on the decline for several years due to his father's illness. There was a real chance that his mother Lillian would lose it. Carter made a decision to resign from the Navy and return home to run the farm.
Farming anywhere is a hard and difficult way to make a living. A drought hit Georgia in 1954 and there was essentially no profit. Leaving the security of military life was also hard on his wife.
The Civil Rights movement and an anti-desegregation action committee tried to get Carter to join its ranks which Carter refused to do. In retaliation they boycotted his business. Over time the boycott lost steam.
Carter Enters Politics
Jimmy Carter became involved in local service committees and groups. When a Georgia State Senate seat opened up in 1962, Carter ran for it. He was defeated through voter fraud and eventually the courts invalidated the election and Carter gained the seat.
In 1966 he decided to run as a Democratic candidate for the governor's office. Being a liberal and anti-segregationist did not help his campaign that year and he placed third in the voting. He spent the next several years traveling the state and in the 1970 election he distanced him self from his former views on race and even seeking the support of an acknowledged segregationist Lester Maddox. This strategy paid off and in a runoff election, with 49% of the vote, was elected Governor of Georgia.
He carefully watched the national political scene and observed how in the 1972 Presidential election, George McGovern's campaign led him to a disastrous defeat.
Campaign and Election of 1976
Starting in 1972, Carter began working himself into positions of power in the Democratic Party, first by becoming Chairman of the Democratic Governor's Campaign Committee, and then by securing the position of Democratic National Committee campaign chairman in 1974. He was now well positioned for a run for the White House in 1976.
The democratic primaries demonstrated the fact that Carter could win by out distancing the other contender. Nationwide in a field of six potential nominees he won in 27 states.
With the disarray of the Republican Party after the Watergate scandal and the unpopularity of President Gerald Ford after the pardon given to former President Richard Nixon, he managed to win the popular vote by more than 2,200,000 and narrowly defeat Ford in the Electoral College.
Carter as President
Voters became disenchanted with Carter in both his domestic and foreign policies. Domestically inflation was rampant and interest rates in the high teens prevailed. In foreign policy he was unable to secure the release of the American held hostage in Iran.
The 1980 election would see his resounding defeat by Ronald Reagan.
Sources:
- Bourne, Peter G. (1997). JIMMY CARTER: A Comprehensive Biography from Plains to Post-Presidency. New York: Scribner Publishing. ISBN 068419543.
- Smith, Carter (2005). PRESIDENTS: All you need to know. Irvington, New York: Hylas Publishing. ISBN 1592581234.
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