Jimmy Carter, former president and humanitarian, dies at 100

Former President Jimmy Carter, who rose from humble beginnings in rural Georgia to the White House and was renowned for his charity work around the globe, has died.

He was 100 years old and passed peacefully in his Plains, Georgia home, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Sunday, citing Carter’s son, Chip.

The Carter Center in February 2023 announced that Carter would enter hospice care to “spend his remaining time at home with his family” following several hospital stays. After almost a year and a half in hospice, Carter’s grandson, Jason, said the former president was “coming to the end.”

Carter had previously been treated for brain and liver cancer, was hospitalized after a fall in 2019, and had surgery the same year to relieve a buildup of pressure around his brain.

Presidents often fade into the background after they leave the White House, but Carter — the 39th president of the United States — was in many ways a more popular, impactful figure after his single tumultuous term from 1977 to 1981.

Carter has often been referred to as the best ex-president in history, a compliment he seemed to embrace.

He came to be admired for his amiable demeanor and lifelong dedication to public service and humanitarianism. Carter was a US Navy veteran and a Nobel laureate.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023 at age 96. He is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. 

The peanut farmer who became president

Carter, whose full name was James Earl Carter Jr., was born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. His father was a peanut farmer who’d served in the Georgia state legislature. His mother, Lillian Gordy Carter, served as a nurse, civil- and women’s-rights activist, and Peace Corps volunteer in India at the age of 68 in 1966. The Carters were deeply tied to their Baptist faith.

Carter graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1946. He served in the Navy for seven years before returning to Georgia to take over his family’s peanut farm after his father died.

‘I’ll never tell a lie’

Carter entered state politics as a Democrat in the early 1960s and in 1970 was elected to the Georgia governorship. In 1974, he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president.

Initially, Carter was pegged as a long shot given his lack of political connections and the fact he was relatively unknown nationally.

But Carter painted himself as an honest outsider with strong morals at a time when many Americans were disillusioned with Washington over the Watergate scandal, and his campaign gradually gained momentum.

He repeatedly told voters, “I’ll never tell a lie.”

Carter’s longtime embrace of civil rights was also crucial to his victory.

After being elected governor, Carter declared during his inaugural address, “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over.”

He carried these sentiments into his presidential campaign and allied himself with key Black members of Congress. Carter received overwhelming support from Black voters, especially in the South, which propelled him to the White House.

Carter won the Democratic nomination in July 1976, choosing then-Sen. Walter Mondale of Minnesota as his running mate against President Gerald Ford, the Republican incumbent. Carter defeated Ford in November of that year, winning 50.1% of the popular vote and capturing 297 electoral votes to Ford’s 240.

The Georgian swept the Deep South, the last Democrat to do so on the presidential level, while also carrying important battlegrounds like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The informal president

As president, Carter sought to portray himself as a man of the people and make the presidency more accessible.

After he was sworn in, Carter and his wife walked to the White House, launching an informal tradition followed by subsequent presidents at their inaugurations.

He also spoke and dressed in a less formal manner and held frequent press conferences.

Carter entered office as a popular figure pushing for ambitious programs to address the country’s myriad social and economic woes. His administration had a historically large number of women, Black, and Latino members and staff.

Though Carter’s image as an “outsider” seemed to be advantageous during his campaign, it hurt him with Congress once he was in the White House. He struggled to get lawmakers on board with his bold proposals for reform, and his approval ratings tanked as he struggled to push his proposals through the legislative branch.

A scandal in the summer of 1977 didn’t help matters. At the time, Bert Lance, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, was accused of being involved in dubious financial activities as a Georgia banker. Carter at first defended Lance, whom he saw as a close friend, but ultimately called on him to resign.

In 1979, amid an energy crisis and recession, Carter delivered his infamous “crisis in confidence” speech, contending that the nation needed to restore its faith in itself. The speech was well-received at first but was ultimately not a particularly successful selling point.

John HaltiwangerJohn L. DormanGeoff Weiss, and Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert 

Business Insider

Dec 29, 2024, 1:17 PM PST

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