#39 Jimmy Carter- The Humanitarian President

#39 Jimmy Carter- The Humanitarian President

Carter was a farm boy that joined the Navy out of college (1943-1953; active, 1953-1961; reserve) before getting into politics. After his service he went back to farming and studying politics where he eventually won a seat in the Georgia Senate (1963-1967) before going on to win the position of Governor (1971-1975)

1977;

• Carter becomes the 39th President of the United States at the age of 52. Walter Mondale is his VP
• Carter pardons Vietnam War draft evaders.

• Congress passes Emergency Natural Gas Act, authorizing the President to deregulate natural gas prices due to a shortage in supply.
• Production of the B-1 strategic bomber is cancelled

1978;

• He invokes the Taft-Hartley Act to end the Bituminous coal strike
• He warns of the Soviet threat in a foreign policy address at Wake Forest University
• Carter mediates talks between Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt at Camp David, resulting in a peace treaty between the two nations.
• He mediates talks between Israel and Egypt and helps sign the Camp David Accords
• Congress passes a revised energy bill eighteen months after Carter proposed it. Congress also passes the Humphrey-Hawkins full employment bill.
• His administration grants full diplomatic status to the People’s Republic of China

1979;

• The President approves development of the MX missile.
• He signs the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) with the USSR. The U.S. Senate never ratifies the treaty but both nations voluntarily comply with its terms.

CARTER AND BREZHNEV SIGN SALT II

• He delivers what becomes known as his the “Crisis of Confidence speech,” blaming the problems of the nation on “a crisis of spirit.”
• He collapses in 10K race, leading the press to depict the event as representative of the strength of his presidency.

CARTER COLLAPSES DURING RACE

• Carter signs a bill establishing the Department of Education
• Iran hostage crisis starts as Iranian students take sixty-six Americans hostage at the American embassy in Tehran

1980;

• Due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Carter asks the Senate to table its consideration of SALT II. He also placed an embargo on grain sales to the Soviet Union and suggests the possibility of boycotting the Summer Olympics in Moscow

SOVIET INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN

• Carter announces the “Carter Doctrine” in his State of the Union address
• He announces his anti-inflation program which includes a proposal for a balanced budget for fiscal year 1981.
• His administration announces that the economy is in recession, with the inflation rates hitting ten percent and interest rates climbing to eighteen percent.
• The U.S. Olympic Committee votes to boycott the Moscow summer Olympics, supporting Carter in protesting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
• He announces the failure of “Desert One,” the mission to rescue the Iranian-held hostages, and that several American military personnel had been killed.

FAILURE OF DESERT ONE; RH-53 SEA STALLION HELICOPTERS AND THE BODY OF A PILOT

• He signs Presidential Directive 59 advocating a strategy for fighting a nuclear war

Carter had success promoting Middle East peace but the soaring oil prices, high inflation, and the Iran hostage crisis made him look weak and cost him a re-election bid. He took back over his peanut farm from the Trust Company that mismanaged it to debt and went on living an active life establishing the Carter Center, building his presidential library, writing books, traveling the world as a diplomat and doing charity work which won him a Nobel Peace Prize

Famous quotes;

“We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon.”

“Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease.”

“If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement.”