Jimmy Carter

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter served as the 39th president of the United States of America from January 20, 1977 through to January 20, 1981 as a democrat.
Carter was born on October 1, 1924 at the Wise Sanitarium in Plains, Georgia. He was the first president to be born in a hospital, and is the eldest of four children. He has Scottish, Irish, and English roots and had ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and American Civil War. He enjoyed reading and he was also a star basketball player. He was part of the National FFA Organization (Future Farmers of America). After high school, he attended Georgia Southwestern College and was admitted into the United States Naval Academy in 1943 after taking math courses at Georgia Tech. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1946, he married Rosalynn Smith and they have four children. Carter served in the Atlantic and Pacific US Submarine Fleet. He applied for the US Navy's nuclear submarine program and was discharged on October 9, 1953. After, he successfully ran the family's peanut farm after the death of his father. He was a devoted Christian and served as a Sunday School teacher throughout his life. He says Jesus Christ is the driving force in his life and he prayed several times a day.
Jimmy Carter's political career began by serving on local boards. In the 1960's, he was elected for two terms in Georgia's Senate from the 14th district. In 1966, he declined an offer to run for a re-election as a state senator.
Carter became the 76th governor of Georgia for one term from January 12, 1971 to January 14, 1975. He was the first officeholder to publicly declare racial segregation over, and proceeded to appoint many African American's to statewide boards and offices. He supported legalizing abortion. He improved government efficiency by merging 300 state agencies to 30. He provided equal state aid to schools in wealthy and poor areas, set up community centers for mentally handicapped kids, and increased educational programs for convicts. He replaced the death penalty with life in prison without parole.
Carter became the president of the United States on January 20, 1977. He encouraged energy conservation by all citizens and installed solar water heating panels on the White House. In 1978, he declared a federal emergency in Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New York, built on top of a toxic waste landfill. Homes were demolished and a containment area for hazardous wastes were built on top. In 1979, Carter deregulated the American beer industry and made it legal to sell malt, hops, and yeast to home brewers. In 1977, Carter appointed Alfred E. Kahn to be chair of the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board). He also signed the Airline Deregulation Act to remove government control over fares, routes, and market entry for commercial aviation. Carter boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, raising controversy. The Soviet Union retaliated by boycotting the 1984 Summer Olympics in LA.
Carter ran for re-election in 1980 against republican candidate Ronald Reagan. His campaign for re-election was one of the most difficult and least successful campaign in history. He had to run against his own stagflation ridden economy.
In 1981, Carter went back to Georgia to his family peanut farm and found himself in more than one million dollars in debt after a blind trust to avoid appearance of a conflict of interest was mismanaged.
In 1982, he established the non-profit, nongovernmental Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering. Bill Clinton secretly recruited Carter to undertake a peace mission in North Korea. Carter has been an author in his post-presidency, writing 21 books covering topics of work, aging, religion, human rights, and poetry. He endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.
Carter plans to be buried in front of his home in Georgia when he dies. He wants a funeral in Washington DC and wants a visitation to the Carter Center.