Jimmy Carter

James Earl Carter Jr. (1 October 1924 – 29 December 2024) was an American politician, statesman, and humanitarian who served as the thirty-ninth president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A prominent figure of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Georgia State Senate from 1963 to 1967 and as the seventy-sixth governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. He became the first U.S. president to reach the age of one hundred and remained active in public service for more than four decades after leaving office, earning distinction for his international humanitarian work, peace-building efforts, and contributions to global health.

Background and Early Life

Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, at the Wise Sanitarium, becoming the first president of the United States to be born in a hospital. He was the eldest child of Bessie Lillian Gordy, a registered nurse, and James Earl Carter Sr., a local businessman and Army veteran of the First World War. The Carter family lineage traced back to English settler Thomas Carter, who emigrated to Virginia in the seventeenth century. Generations of Carters worked in agriculture, particularly cotton farming, and the family lived in several locations around Plains and Archery during Carter’s childhood.
Growing up among communities of impoverished Black tenant farmers had a profound influence on Carter’s social awareness. Although his father supported segregation, he permitted his son to interact freely with Black children who lived and worked on the family land. Carter’s youth was marked by responsibility, enterprise, and a strong work ethic; he cultivated and sold peanuts on an acre of land allocated by his father and later acquired and rented a small section of tenant housing.

Education and Naval Training

Carter attended Plains High School, completing the eleventh grade—the highest offered—before pursuing further studies during the early years of the Second World War. He enrolled at Georgia Southwestern College and later transferred to the Georgia School of Technology. With encouragement from civil rights–supporting academic leaders, he sought and secured an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree. During his time at the academy, Carter was known for his disciplined temperament, academic aptitude, and participation in sprint football and cross-country.
Shortly after graduation, he married Rosalynn Smith, a friend of his sister, forming a partnership that endured for seventy-seven years until Rosalynn’s death in 2023.

Naval Career and Nuclear Service

Following commissioning as an ensign, Carter served in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets from 1946 to 1953. He trained for submarine duty and was promoted to lieutenant junior grade in 1949. His assignments included service aboard diesel-electric submarines and a series of roles culminating in eligibility for executive command.
A defining moment of his naval service occurred in 1952 when a reactor accident at the Chalk River Laboratories in Canada required a rapid international response. Carter led a U.S. team tasked with dismantling the damaged reactor, working under tightly controlled and hazardous conditions. This experience contributed to his later scepticism of certain nuclear weapons programmes and reinforced his views on the safe governance of atomic technology.
Carter began training for the U.S. Navy’s emerging nuclear submarine programme, working under the leadership of Captain Hyman G. Rickover, whose influence Carter later described as formative. However, the death of Carter’s father in 1953 led him to resign from active duty to manage the family farm. He continued in the naval reserve until 1961, ultimately leaving service with the rank of lieutenant.

Agricultural Work and Business Ventures

Upon returning to Plains, Carter faced significant economic challenges as he attempted to rebuild and expand the family’s peanut-growing business. The initial harvest failed, but Carter studied agricultural methods while Rosalynn managed the accounts. Through persistence, adaptation, and business acumen, the enterprise grew into a successful operation. These years shaped Carter’s focus on rural policy, economic fairness, and community development.

Early Political Career in Georgia

Carter entered politics during a period of heightened racial tension in the American South. He was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1962, representing local agricultural communities and advocating for policy transparency, efficient governance, and civil rights. His tenure included efforts to reform local education funding, challenge electoral irregularities, and promote social equity.
In 1970, Carter won election as governor of Georgia. His inaugural address emphasised racial reconciliation, declaring discrimination contrary to moral and democratic principles. As governor, he reorganised state government to reduce bureaucratic inefficiency, supported environmental protection, and advanced reforms in education and criminal justice.

Rise to the Presidency

Carter’s national political emergence began with his candidacy for the 1976 presidential election. Though little-known outside Georgia, he secured the Democratic nomination through strategic campaigning and a reputation for honesty and competence. He won the general election narrowly, unseating the incumbent president.
Taking office in 1977, Carter pursued an ambitious domestic agenda that centred on energy independence, conservation, and technological innovation. He oversaw the creation of the United States Department of Energy and the United States Department of Education, and he initiated policies focused on renewable energy and environmental stewardship.

Foreign Policy and Global Leadership

Carter’s presidency is widely associated with landmark diplomatic achievements. He brokered the Camp David Accords, facilitating peace between Egypt and Israel, and negotiated the Panama Canal Treaties, establishing a framework for future control of the canal. He concluded the Joint Communiqué leading to formal diplomatic relations between the United States and China and contributed to progress in strategic arms limitation agreements.
However, his later presidential years were marked by complex international crises, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the resulting Olympic boycott of 1980, and the Iran hostage crisis, events that overshadowed earlier accomplishments and contributed to his defeat in the 1980 election. He won the Democratic primaries against internal opposition but lost the general election to Ronald Reagan.

Post-Presidential Humanitarian Work

Carter’s post-presidency became the longest and among the most consequential in U.S. history. In 1982 he founded the Carter Center, dedicated to advancing human rights, public health, and conflict resolution. His work helped to monitor elections, mediate disputes, and combat diseases affecting neglected populations worldwide, including playing a central role in the near-eradication of dracunculiasis.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his dedication to peace and humanitarian service. Carter also became a major figure in Habitat for Humanity, participating in construction projects across the world. His writings included works on diplomacy, faith, human rights, and poetry.

Legacy and Personal Life

Carter’s legacy encompasses his contributions to diplomacy, ethical governance, and humanitarian action. Though presidential rankings often place his administration below average, assessments of his later life are consistently positive and emphasise character, commitment to service, and global impact.
He remained deeply connected to his hometown of Plains and maintained a lifelong interest in agriculture, woodworking, and education. His marriage to Rosalynn Carter was widely regarded as one of the most enduring partnerships in modern political history.
Carter died in Plains on 29 December 2024 at the age of one hundred. His life spanned eras of profound change and his influence extended far beyond public office, shaping his reputation as a dedicated advocate for peace, justice, and human dignity.