BIOGRAPHY of JIMMY CARTER,
former President of the United States of America
Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter aspired to make Government "competent and compassionate," responsive to the American people and their expectations. His achievements were notable, but in an era of rising energy costs, mounting inflation, and continuing tensions, it was impossible for his administration to meet these high expectations.

Carter, who has rarely used his full name--James Earl Carter, Jr.--was born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. Peanut farming, talk of politics, and devotion to the Baptist faith were mainstays of his upbringing. Upon graduation in 1946 from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Carter married Rosalynn Smith. The Carters have three sons, John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff), and a daughter, Amy Lynn.
After seven years' service as a naval officer, Carter returned to Plains. In 1962 he entered state politics, and eight years later he was elected Governor of Georgia. Among the new young southern governors, he attracted attention by emphasizing ecology, efficiency in government, and the removal of racial barriers.

Carter announced his candidacy for President in December 1974 and began a two-year campaign that gradually gained momentum. At the Democratic Convention, he was nominated on the first ballot. He chose Senator Walter F. Mondale of Minnesota as his running mate. Carter campaigned hard against President Gerald R. Ford, debating with him three times. Carter won by 297 electoral votes to 241 for Ford.
Carter worked hard to combat the continuing economic woes of inflation and unemployment. By the end of his administration, he could claim an increase of nearly eight million jobs and a decrease in the budget deficit, measured in percentage of the gross national product. Unfortunately, inflation and interest rates were at near record highs, and efforts to reduce them caused a short recession. Carter could point to a number of achievements in domestic affairs. He dealt with the energy shortage by establishing a national energy policy and by decontrolling domestic petroleum prices to stimulate production. He prompted Government efficiency through civil service reform
and proceeded with deregulation of the trucking and airline industries. He sought to improve the environment. His expansion of the national park system included protection of 103 million acres of Alaskan lands. To increase human and social services, he created the Department of Education, bolstered the Social Security system, and appointed record numbers of women, blacks, and Hispanics to Government jobs. In foreign affairs, Carter set his own style. His championing of human rights was coldly received by the Soviet Union and some other nations. In the Middle East, through the Camp David agreement of 1978, he helped bring amity between Egypt and Israel. He succeeded in obtaining ratification of the Panama Canal treaties. Building upon the work of predecessors, he established full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and completed negotiation of the SALT II nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union.
There were serious setbacks, however. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the suspension of plans for ratification of the SALT II pact. The seizure as hostages of the U. S. embassy staff in Iran dominated the news during the last 14 months of the administration. The consequences of Iran's holding Americans captive, together with continuing inflation at home, contributed to Carter's defeat in 1980. Even then, he continued the difficult negotiations over the hostages. Iran finally released the 52 Americans the same day Carter left office.
Post-presidential Years

Carter later devoted himself to writing, teaching at Emory University, and building housing for the poor (through Habitat for Humanity). He established the Carter Center (1986) at Emory, a research and advocacy center active in many areas. Carter's continuing interest in foreign affairs is exemplified by his unofficial diplomatic missions, sometimes negotiating truces, to such countries as Ethiopia (1989), Somalia (1993), North Korea, Haiti, and Bosnia (1994), and Sudan and Rwanda (1995); and by his monitoring of elections throughout the world. On Dec. 14, 1999, he represented the United States at the official ceremonies marking the turnover of the Panama Canal to Panama.
Carter's writings include Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President (1982), Keeping Faith (1982), Negotiation (1984), The Blood of Abraham (1985), An Outdoor Journal: Adventures and Reflections (1988), Turning Point (1992), Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation (1993), Always a Reckoning (1994), Living Faith (1996), and A Government as Good as Its People (1996). Jimmy Carter has been by far the most active ex-president in recent American history, supervising elections in many fledgling democracies, and helping to defuse international crises in North Korea and Haiti. In 2002, former President Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. With Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, he is the third American president to have been so honored. The Nobel committee cited former President Carter "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

FAMILY

PARENTS:
James Earl Carter, born 1894, Arlington, Georgia; died 1953.
Lillian Gordy Carter, born 1898, Richland, Georgia; died 1983. Married September 26, 1923.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS:
Ruth Carter Stapleton (Mrs. Robert T.) , died 1983.
Gloria Carter Spann (Mrs. Walter G.), died 1990.
William Alton (Billy) Carter III, died 1988.

WIFE:
Rosalynn Smith Carter, born August 18, 1927, in Plains, Georgia. Married July 7, 1946.

CHILDREN:
John William (Jack) Carter, born July 3, 1947, in Portsmouth, Virginia. His son, Jason James Carter, was born August 7, 1975, and daughter, Sarah Rosemary Carter, was born December 19, 1978. He is married to Elizabeth Brasfield of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Her children are John and Sarah Chuldenko.

James Earl (Chip) Carter III, born April 12, 1950, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His son, James Earl Carter IV, was born February 25, 1977. He is married to Ginger Hedges of Americus, Georgia. Their daughter, Margaret Alicia Carter, was born September 23, 1987.

Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff) Carter, born August 18, 1952, in New London, Connecticut. Married Annette Jene Davis of Arlington, Georgia. Children: Joshua Jeffrey Carter, born May 8, 1984,

Jeremy Davis Carter, born June 25, 1987, James Carlton Carter, born April 24, 1991.

Amy Lynn Carter, born October 19, 1967, in Plains, Georgia.

 
For Further Reading

Abernathy, M. G., et al., The Carter Years (1984)
Anderson, Patrick, Electing Jimmy Carter 1994
Bourne, Peter G., Jimmy Carter (1997)
Brinkley, Douglas, The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey beyond the White House (1998)
Carter, Rosalynn, First Lady from Plains (1984)
Dumbrell, John, The Carter Presidency: A Re-Evaluation (1993)
Fink, Gary M., and Graham, Hugh D., eds., The Carter Presidency: Policy Choices in the Post-New Deal Era (1998)
Haas, Garland A., Jimmy Carter and the Politics of Frustration (1992)
Hargrove, E. C., Jimmy Carter as President (1988)
Meyer, Peter, James Earl Carter (1978)
Miller, William L., Yankee from Georgia (1978)
Rosati, J. A., The Carter Administration's Quest for Global Security (1987).

 
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