39th president of the United States
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- Jimmy Carter - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
Also known as: James Earl Carter, Jr.
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
Quick Facts
- In full:
- James Earl Carter, Jr.
- Born:
- October 1, 1924, Plains, Georgia, U.S. (age 100)
- Title / Office:
- presidency of the United States of America (1977-1981), United States
- governor (1971-1975), Georgia
- Political Affiliation:
- Democratic Party
- Awards And Honors:
- Grammy Award (2006)
- Nobel Prize (2002)
- Notable Family Members:
- spouse Rosalynn Carter
- brother Billy Carter
See all related content →
Top Questions
Who is Jimmy Carter?
Who is Jimmy Carter?
Jimmy Carter served as the 39th president of the United States, from 1977 to 1981, which was a time of serious problems at home and abroad. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002. Learn about the key events of his life.
Why was Jimmy Carter awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace?
Why was Jimmy Carter awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace?
Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002 for his work in diplomacy and advocacy, both during and after his presidency.
Read an interview with Carter in which he reflects on the state of the world after his Nobel win.
Who is Jimmy Carter’s wife?
Who is Jimmy Carter’s wife?
Jimmy Carter married Rosalynn Smith on July 7, 1946. As first lady, she participated in political affairs to an extent unmatched by any of her predecessors; she and her husband both acknowledged her status as a full working partner by scheduling weekly business lunches together. She was also a strong mental health advocate during and after her time in the White House. She died in 2023.
What was Jimmy Carter's role in the Camp David Accords?
What was Jimmy Carter's role in the Camp David Accords?
In 1978 Jimmy Carter secured an agreement between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin that is known as the Camp David Accords, which ended the state of war that had existed between the two countries since Israel’s founding in 1948. The difficult negotiations lasted 13 days and were salvaged only by Carter’s tenacious intervention.
What books has Jimmy Carter written?
What books has Jimmy Carter written?
Jimmy Carter wrote numerous books after leaving the U.S. presidency. His books included Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid (2006), We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work (2009), White House Diary (2010), The Virtues of Aging (1998), A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety (2015), and Faith: A Journey for All (2018).
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Jimmy Carter (born October 1, 1924, Plains, Georgia, U.S.) is the 39th president of the United States (1977–81), who served as the country’s chief executive during a time of serious problems at home and abroad. His perceived inability to deal successfully with those problems led to an overwhelming defeat in his bid for reelection. However, for his work in diplomacy and advocacy, both during and after his presidency, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2002.
(Read Britannica’s interview with Jimmy Carter.)
Early life and political career
The son of Earl Carter, a peanut warehouser who had served in the Georgia state legislature, and Lillian Gordy Carter, a registered nurse who went to India as a Peace Corps volunteer at age 68, Carter attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology before graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1946. After marrying Rosalynn Smith (Rosalynn Carter)—who came from Carter’s small hometown, Plains, Georgia—he embarked on a seven-year career in the U.S. Navy, serving submarine duty for five years. He was preparing to become an engineering officer for the submarine Seawolf in 1953 when his father died. Carter resigned his commission and returned to Georgia to manage the family peanut farm operations.
Beginning his political career by serving on the local board of education, Carter won election as a Democrat to the Georgia state senate in 1962 and was reelected in 1964. In 1966 he failed in a bid for the governorship and, depressed by this experience, found solace in Evangelical Christianity, becoming a born-again Baptist.
Prior to running again for governor and winning in 1970, Carter at least tacitly adhered to a segregationist approach. However, in his inaugural address he announced that “the time for racial discrimination is over” and proceeded to open Georgia’s government offices to Blacks—and to women. As governor, he reorganized the existing maze of state agencies and consolidated them into larger units while introducing stricter budgeting procedures for them. In the process he came to national attention, finding his way onto the cover of Time magazine as a symbol of both good government and the “New South.”
Britannica QuizU.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office QuizIn 1974, just before his term as governor ended, Carter announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president. Although lacking a national political base or major backing, he managed through tireless and systematic campaigning to assemble a broad constituency. In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, which had raised widespread concern about the power of the presidency and the integrity of the executive branch, Carter styled himself as an outsider to Washington, D.C., a man of strong principles who could restore the faith of the American people in their leaders. Ironically, Carter’s moral stance and candour caused a small stir when, during the campaign, he admitted in an interview with Playboy magazine that he had “committed adultery in [his] heart many times.”
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Winning the Democratic nomination in July 1976, Carter chose the liberal Sen. Walter F. Mondale of Minnesota as his running mate. Carter’s opponent was the unelected incumbent Republican president, Gerald R. Ford, who had come into office in 1974 when Richard Nixon resigned in the wake of Watergate. Many believed that the close race tipped in Carter’s favor after Ford stumbled in a televised debate by saying that eastern Europe was not dominated by the Soviet Union. In November 1976 the Carter-Mondale ticket won the election, capturing 51 percent of the popular vote and garnering 297 electoral votes to Ford’s 240.
See 5 Things You Don’t Know About Jimmy Carter