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The Courage of Jimmy Carter
When asked which president they feel was the most courageous, most people would reply with either Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, or Kennedy. While these are all valid claims, I believe that one former president is being overlooked. His name is Jimmy Carter, and in my opinion, he is one of the most courageous people to ever be elected to the office of President of the United States of America.
James Earl Carter Jr. was born October 1, 14 in Plains, Georgia (Maroukian 154). His father operated a small country store and his mother was a homemaker. He was brought up in a strict Southern Baptist home and soon realized that he wanted to be a naval officer. He lobbied hard for an appointment to the Naval Academy in Annapolis and, in 14, his wish was granted. In 146 he graduated 5th in a class of 80 and was assigned to serve on the USS Pomfret battleship (155). After touring the Pacific for three years he was one of a small group of officers selected to work on the Navy's new nuclear submarine program. He studied nuclear physics at Union College in New York for two years before returning to the Navy to serve a tour of duty on the nuclear submarine Sea Wolf. In 15, following the death of his father, Carter resigned from the Navy and returned to Plains to take over the family farm (Carter, J.).
Success in Plains, Georgia came slowly. Carter founded a fertilizer business, increased his real estate holdings and acquired a cotton gin, a peanut shelling plant, a farm operation, and numerous warehouses. He soon owned more than ,100 acres of land, had a net worth of $600,000 and total assets of over one million dollars (Carter J.). Life was going very well for the military officer turned peanut farmer and he and his new wife Rosalyn planned on starting a family and living out the rest of their lives in Plains. While establishing himself as a successful farmer and businessman, Carter began his political career as chairman of the Sumter county school board. He also served as chairman of the county hospital authority, as president of the Plains Development Corporation, and as president of the Crop Improvement Association (Maroukian 155).
After the Supreme Court ruled in 154 that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, Georgia underwent a period of upheaval. In Plains, a White Citizens' Council movement was organized. When Carter was asked to join he adamantly refused, which caused his businesses to be boycotted and vandalized. In a situation like this, most people would have given in to the peer pressure, but Jimmy Carter stood up for what he believed in and for what was right. He never once considered siding with the supremacist group and was disappointed when he realized that some of his closest friends and neighbors disowned him due to his beliefs. When a new state senate seat was formed in the legislative reapportionment of 16, Carter decided to run, although nobody thought he had a chance.
Although he was first believed to have lost, it was soon realized that Jimmy Carter had won the state senate election. He went on to serve two terms where his record on education and equality made him enormously popular with the residents of his district. In 166, Carter sought the Georgia governorship, but ran third in the primary. He immediately started preparing for the 170 election and ended up winning by a landslide. His term as governor was marked by the appointment of increased numbers of black citizens to state boards and agencies, and he hung a large portrait of the late Martin Luther King Jr. in the capital building, a move which would have been unheard of in earlier years. He reorganized the state government by abolishing more than 00 offices, board, and commissions and consolidating their functions into new agencies (Carter, H. 10). He instituted the passage of a "sunshine law" to open government meetings to the public. He added large tracts of wilderness area to the state parks system and pushed for adoption of environmental legislation to protect the state's rivers (10). He also supported the reinstatement of the death penalty and worked for stiffer sentences in drug cases. Most politicians don't accomplish this much in their whole careers, but Jimmy Cater did this and more in only four short years as the governor of Georgia.
Carter sensed that the mood of the country was anti-Washington. The American public wanted a leader who wasn't associated with Watergate or the Vietnam War. Just as with his early bids for the state senate and governorship, nobody thought Carter had what it took to win a presidential election. When the results of the Iowa, New Hampshire, and Florida caucuses came in everyone was amazed when Carter won them all. He chose Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota as his running mate, thus gaining a Northern liberal to add balance to the ticket. He defeated Gerald Ford in the electoral college by receiving 7 votes to Ford's 40, with one vote going to Ronald Reagan (Maroukian 156).
Jimmy Carter was inaugurated on January 0, 177. He immediately demonstrated his disdain for what he considered to be the "imperial presidency." After taking the oath of office, he and members of his staff walked to the White House, where he quickly sold the presidential yacht and other lucrative possessions that previous presidents had used tax dollars to buy (Carter, J). Most of his decisions while president were favored by the public, but his policies regarding foreign and domestic affairs, national defense, and hostages in Iran were under constant scrutiny.
In foreign affairs, Carter undertook to establish human rights as a tenet of American policy. His frequent criticism of nations that violated basic human rights angered the Soviet Union, which took the statements personally and viewed them as intervention in its internal affairs. In spite of these differences, Carter and Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty in Vienna in 17, which set limits on the amount of nuclear weapons the United States and the Soviet Union could possess and limited the amount of military force that the United States and the Soviet Union could impose on weaker countries (Cockburn ). The media and the general public viewed the signing of this treaty as very beneficial and thought that it was the first step in establishing a peaceful alliance with the Soviet Union. When this treaty was put before the senate, however, it failed to be ratified and, in return, allowed the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan the following year. You may recall that in wake of the September 11, 001 terrorist attacks it was noted that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a direct cause of the Al Queda terrorist group being formed. Just think, if those Senators would have listened to Jimmy Carter and ratified the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty the biggest catastrophe in the existence of our country would not have happened.
By far, the most perplexing problem that President Carter faced was the seizure of American diplomats by Iranian students in 17. When more than a year of negotiations and an attempted airborne rescue failed, many people became dissatisfied with the Carter administration and his approval rating plummeted. Carter tried everything he could think of to regain the hostages, but was unable to succeed in any venue. Ironically, the hostages were finally released on January 0, 181, the inauguration day of Carter's successor, Ronald Reagan (Will 8). Their freedom was obtained in exchange for concessions that included the unfreezing of Iranian assets in the United States, something that Carter refused to do.
Carter worked hard to combat the continuing economic woes of inflation and unemployment. By the end of his administration, jobs in America increased by eight million and the budget deficit decreased dramatically (Carter, H. 10). Unfortunately, inflation and interest rates were at near record highs, and efforts to reduce them caused a short recession. He dealt with the energy shortage by establishing a national energy policy and by decontrolling domestic petroleum prices to stimulate production. He was a large supporter of civil service reform and was instrumental in the deregulation of the trucking and airline industries. He sought to improve the environment as his expansion of the national park system included the protection of 10 million acres of Alaskan lands (10). To increase human and social services, he created the Department of Education, bolstered the Social Security system, and appointed a record number of women, blacks, and Hispanics to government jobs.
Since leaving the White House in 180, former president Carter has traveled the globe, working for peace and the fair treatment of all people. In 18, Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, set up the Carter Center to promote human rights, democracy and health care (Will 8). He goes to the world's most troubled regions, helping to make sure elections are fair and spreading a message of peace. On October 11, 00 he was awarded one of the world's highest honors, the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize committee noted Carter's "untiring effort to find peaceful solutions" (Maroukian 157). Carter said he plans to give most of his one million dollar prize to the Carter Center so its work may continue, "not just in my lifetime but for the next hundred years" (157).
Although Jimmy Carter may have struggled with some aspects of the presidency, it is safe to say that he faced much harder challenges than most other presidents have in the past. He may be remembered by some people as the president who could not get the hostages out of Iran, the president who let the economy suffer during uncertain times, or the president who failed to establish some form of control over the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons. To me, though, he will be remembered as the president who tirelessly supported issues concerning the preservation of the environment, the president who wholeheartedly cut the government's excess spending, and the president who established the highly important Department of Education and strengthened Social Security. Most importantly though, I will remember him as the person who continually strives to do his best and who will stand up for what is right no matter what the consequences may be. Jimmy Carter is, in my opinion, one of the most courageous presidents in the history of our great country and a most deserving candidate of the Nobel Peace Prize.
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