Jimmy Carter Biography Quotes 40 Report mistakes
| 40 Quotes | |
| Born as | James Earl Carter Jr. |
| Occup. | President |
| From | USA |
| Spouse | Rosalynn Smith Carter (1946-2023) |
| Born | October 1, 1924 Plains, Georgia, USA |
| Died | December 29, 2024 Plains, Georgia, USA |
| Aged | 100 years |
James Earl Carter Jr. was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, a small farming town that shaped his character and outlook. He grew up in the nearby community of Archery, the son of James Earl Carter Sr., known as Earl, a businessman and farmer, and Lillian Gordy Carter, a nurse celebrated for her civic spirit and directness. The family included siblings Ruth, Gloria, and Billy, whose personalities and public profiles added to the Carters visibility in Georgia. The household combined strict frugality with high expectations for education, service, and faith, and Carter became a lifelong Baptist who taught Sunday school well into his later years.
Education, Naval Service, and Marriage
After attending local schools, Carter studied briefly at Georgia Southwestern and the Georgia Institute of Technology before entering the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. He married Rosalynn Smith of Plains that same year, beginning a partnership that would become central to his personal and public life. Commissioned into the Navy, he served on submarines in the Atlantic and Pacific and was selected by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover for the new nuclear submarine program, an experience that demanded rigorous preparation and exacting standards. When his father died in 1953, Carter resigned his commission and returned to Plains to support his family and rebuild the struggling peanut business.
Business and Community Leadership
Back in Georgia, Carter modernized the farm and entered local civic life, serving on school and hospital boards and participating in community and church organizations. He and Rosalynn, who managed the businesss finances, cultivated a reputation for integrity and diligence. Exposure to the inequities of the Jim Crow South deepened Carters interest in civil rights and efficient, ethical government.
Entry into Politics and the Governorship
Carter won election to the Georgia State Senate in 1962, where he focused on governmental reform and fairness in public administration. After an unsuccessful bid for governor in 1966, he organized a disciplined statewide operation, drawing on advisers such as Hamilton Jordan and Jody Powell. Elected governor in 1970, he declared in his inaugural address that the time for racial discrimination was over in Georgia. He pursued comprehensive reorganization of state agencies, improvements in education and criminal justice, and broadened inclusion in state appointments. He cultivated relationships with emerging leaders such as Andrew Young while maintaining a pragmatic approach to budgets and development.
The 1976 Presidential Campaign
National distrust after Watergate created an opening for an outsider who promised honesty and competence. Carter campaigned extensively, introducing himself to voters one handshake at a time and emphasizing that he would not lie to the American people. He defeated better-known Democrats, including George Wallace, and chose Senator Walter F. Mondale as his running mate. In the general election he narrowly defeated President Gerald R. Ford, presenting himself as a reformer focused on energy, ethics, and human rights.
Domestic Policy as President
Taking office in 1977, Carter confronted inflation, unemployment, and energy shocks. He pushed a comprehensive energy strategy, created the Department of Energy, and urged conservation as a national imperative. He advanced airline, trucking, rail, and natural gas deregulation, with economists such as Alfred Kahn helping shape policy. He supported civil service reform, ethics in government, and expanded environmental protections, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which set aside vast wilderness for preservation. He created the Department of Education and nominated a diverse cohort of federal judges, among them Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the appellate bench. In 1979 he appointed Paul Volcker as Chair of the Federal Reserve, a step that helped set the stage for taming inflation, albeit at significant short-term economic cost.
Foreign Policy and Human Rights
Carter placed human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. With National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance often differing in approach, he navigated a complex world marked by Cold War rivalry and regional upheaval. He brokered the Camp David Accords between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, leading to the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty. He signed the Panama Canal treaties with General Omar Torrijos, normalized diplomatic relations with the Peoples Republic of China as Deng Xiaoping emerged as a key partner, and concluded the SALT II arms agreement with Leonid Brezhnev. Events in Iran upended his agenda: the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran led to a prolonged hostage crisis. A rescue attempt, Operation Eagle Claw, failed in 1980, a searing episode that underscored the difficulties of the moment.
1980 Campaign and Transition
A tough economy, the hostage crisis, and an intraparty challenge from Senator Edward M. Kennedy weakened Carter in 1980. He lost the general election to Ronald Reagan, with the hostages released on the day of the inauguration. Despite disappointment, Carter emphasized a peaceful transition and returned to Georgia with Rosalynn, determined to continue public service outside elective office.
The Carter Center and Global Engagement
In 1982 he founded The Carter Center in partnership with Emory University, focusing on conflict resolution, human rights, and public health. Working with leaders such as Dr. Donald Hopkins and with sustained support from Rosalynn Carter, the Center led international efforts to eliminate Guinea worm disease, and advanced programs against river blindness, trachoma, and malaria. Carter monitored elections on several continents, verifying democratic processes in countries from Latin America to Africa and Asia. In 1994 he traveled to North Korea for talks with Kim Il Sung that helped open the path to the Agreed Framework. That same year he joined negotiations in Haiti that averted a violent confrontation. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for decades of work to find peaceful solutions to conflict, promote democracy, and advance development.
Civic Service, Faith, and Advocacy
Beyond diplomacy and health work, Carter volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, literally raising walls alongside homeowners and volunteers. He wrote books on faith, policy, and history, taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, and collaborated closely with Rosalynn on mental health advocacy. Their partnership, often visible in joint projects and quiet daily routines, became a model of public-spirited family life. In later years their grandson Jason Carter took on leadership at The Carter Center, helping extend the institutions reach.
Health, Longevity, and Later Years
Carter announced in 2015 that he was being treated for melanoma that had spread, and he spoke candidly about his faith and medical care as he responded to treatment and returned to work. In 2023 he chose to receive hospice care at home in Plains, where he continued to receive visitors and follow the Centers programs. Rosalynn Carter, a steadfast partner and nationally recognized advocate for caregivers and mental health, died in 2023, and he honored her life at memorial services attended by family and friends, including President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. Carter became the longest-lived U.S. president, a distinction he held as he reflected on a life that bridged the rural South of his youth with a global stage of diplomacy and humanitarian service.
Legacy
Jimmy Carter is remembered as a principled leader whose presidency mixed consequential achievements with formidable crises, and whose post-presidential years transformed expectations for former heads of state. Figures around him, from Walter Mondale, Cyrus Vance, and Zbigniew Brzezinski to Hamilton Jordan, Jody Powell, Andrew Young, and Paul Volcker, illustrate the range of relationships that shaped his work. His commitment to human rights, ethical governance, environmental stewardship, and disease eradication left a durable imprint at home and abroad. Whether negotiating at Camp David with Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin or helping villagers fight Guinea worm alongside health workers, Carter approached public life with the same values he learned in Plains: honesty, discipline, humility, and service to others.
Our collection contains 40 quotes who is written by Jimmy, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Motivational - Justice - Never Give Up - Leadership.
Other people realated to Jimmy: Mattie Stepanek (Poet), Hubert H. Humphrey (Politician), Pierre Trudeau (Statesman), Moshe Dayan (Soldier), Barbara Jordan (Politician), Daniel J. Boorstin (Historian), Theodore Hesburgh (Clergyman), Kofi Annan (Statesman), Hillary Clinton (Politician), William J. Clinton (President)
Frequently Asked Questions
- Biden Jimmy Carter: President Joe Biden visited Jimmy Carter in April 2021, highlighting a relationship between two Democratic Presidents.
- Jimmy Carter children: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have four children: Jack, James III, Donnel, and Amy.
- Jimmy Carter, wife: His wife is Rosalynn Carter, and they are known for their long-term partnership and humanitarian work.
- Jimmy Carter health: As of his last years, Jimmy Carter faced health challenges but remained active in public service.
- Was Jimmy Carter a good president: Public opinion is mixed; praised for peace efforts and criticized for economic challenges.
- How old was Jimmy Carter? He became 100 years old
Jimmy Carter Famous Works
- 2018 Faith: A Journey For All (Book)
- 2015 A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety (Book)
- 2006 Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid (Book)
- 2001 An Hour Before Daylight (Book)
- 1998 The Virtues of Aging (Book)
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