The Life and Service of President Jimmy Carter

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter on their wedding day, July 7, 1946.

Carter, Jimmy, circa 1950

Street view of Rylander Theatre, Americus, Ga (President Carter's theatre during his youth).

Mon Tue Bette Davis Rylander Theatre street view

Looking at Jimmy Carter's presidential diary, you will seldom encounter a date where he and First Lady Rosalynn Carter didn't tuck in with a movie. President Carter's thirst for cinema began at the historic Rylander Theatre in Americus, Georgia. 

Coverage in Georgia Historic Newspapers

All instances of "Jimmy Carter" in Georgia historic newspapers from 1924-2022 

1974 UGA Law Day Luncheon

• Jimmy Carter spoke to the University of Georgia School of Law at its annual "Law Day" luncheon on May 4, 1974. 

This event attracted the likes of Hunter S. Thompson, who was on the presidential campaign trail as a Rolling Stone magazine correspondent, to pen the article "Jimmy Carter and the Great Leap of Faith" as an endorsement for Carter's campaign.

Thompson had been following Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy, who was also in the running as a presidential candidate for the Democratic party.

 However, Carter's speech, delivered to the University of Georgia School of Law faculty and the usual dignitaries, moved Thompson to describe it as a "king hell bastard of a speech that rang every bell in the room." 

• A link to the photo of that event is available here

Campaign ads

• Newspaper advertisement “Elect Jimmy Carter Georgia’s First President” as seen in the Griffin Daily News (Griffin, Ga.), May 3, 1976, page 16

Pardoning of Vietnam War draft evaders

• President Carter Kept a Campaign Promise and Pardoned Vietnam Draft Evaders (January 20, 1977) 

• Man-on-the-street coverage of public opinion on Carter's pardon. 

Egypt–Israel peace treaty

• Carters, Begins, and Sadats (March 26, 1979 )

• A triumphant moment on March 26, 1979, for Prime Minister Begin and Presidents Carter and Sadat with their First Ladies. From left to right: Aliza Arnold Begin, President Jimmy Carter, Jihan Sadat, Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Rosalynn Carter, President Anwar Sadat. This photo was taken after the signing of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty (Arabic: معاهدة السلام المصرية الإسرائيلية, romanized: Mu`āhadat as-Salām al-Misrīyah al-'Isrā'īlīyah; Hebrew: הסכם השלום בין ישראל למצרים, Heskem HaShalom Bein Yisrael LeMitzrayim) signed on 26 March 1979, in Washington, D.C., United States following the 1978 Camp David Accords. 

• The Nobel Peace Prize 1978 was awarded jointly to Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat and Menachem Begin "for jointly having negotiated peace between Egypt and Israel in 1978," it should be said that Jimmy Carter played a sustaining role by mediating this negotiation. 

• Both the New York Times and the Nobel Institute report that the technicality of President Carter not having been placed on the formal list of nominees by the prize deadline.  

• President Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter visiting the Pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza in the Al Giza Desert with President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and First Lady of Egypt Jihan Sadat on March 10, 1979.

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II)

• Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) with the Soviet Union Arms Control Decision Process (directive issued by President Carter) 

Establishing the Department of Education

• Establishing the Department of Education

(daily diary entry of October 17, 1979, where President Carter participates in a signing ceremony for a bill creating the Department of Education.

Archival collections and reference resources with a national scope that provide insight on President Carter's lifelong engagement with civil rights 

Habitat for Humanity

• President Jimmy Carter with candidate Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Tipper Gore during a Habitat for Humanity project, 1992 

Nobel Prize, 2002

• Press release, Dec. 13, 2002 (Governor Sonny Perdue congratulates Jimmy Carter on his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize)

Jimmy Carter National Historic Site 

• Jimmy Carter National Historic Site & Preservation District, Plains, Sumter County, GA

• Oral history interview with President Jimmy Carter, 1993 May 4

In this oral history interview, James Earl "Jimmy" Carter discusses being born in the small Georgia town of Plains on October 1, 1924. His family was solidly middle class and he attended local schools before an appointment to the United States Military Academy. He graduated in 1946 and served in the Navy until his father's 1953 death brought him home to run the family farm and business. Carter immediately got involved in civic and political affairs, and was elected to the state senate in 1962 as a Democrat. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1966, but won in 1970 and was seen as one of a group of more moderate Southern governors. In 1976, he ran for president as a Washington outsider and won a close election over President Gerald Ford. After one term plagued by a poor economy, controversy over the Panama Canal Treaty, and the Iran Hostage Crisis, Carter lost by a large margin to Ronald Reagan. The Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt are probably the greatest achievement of Carter's presidency, and much of his life since has been devoted to foreign policy and human rights issues. In 1982 he established the Carter Center in Atlanta to work on these issues and currently lives in Plains with his wife of over 60 years, Rosalynn.; This interview takes place in an unmentioned location with Dr. Mel Steely on May 4, 1993.; The interview begins with a discussion on Carter's actions in the 1966 election and his relationship with Bo Calloway and Lester Maddox. He also describes his relationship with those who supported him in his race for governor, and his views on Civil Rights and how he chose to involve himself with the African American communities of Georgia. Carter answers questions in regards to his direct involvement with the legislature of Georgia by comparing himself to his predecessor, Lester Maddox. He then lists several accomplishments that he achieved during his time as governor, including expanding the state's relationship with other countries and the restructuring of the state government. He is also open with his decision not to appoint Ernest Vandiver after Richard Russell's death, which Vandiver viewed as a slight. Later, Carter descries his relationships with "big business men" like Mills Lane and Robert Woodruff. Carter concludes the interview by naming his educational reforms and his continuation of Lester Maddox's prison reform efforts.

• Jimmy Carter oral history interview, 1987 February 17.

In this oral history interview, Jimmy Carter discusses his experiences as governor of Georgia.

• 2008 oral history interview with James Earl "Chip" Carter III, conducted by Bob Short.

Chip Carter, III, 23 June 2008

In this oral history interview, James Earl Carter III ("Chip") discusses growing up in the tight-knit community of Plains, Georgia, observing his father's protestations of racism, and his memories of his father's family including siblings Ruth, Walter, and Gloria. He further talks about his personal and political relationship with his father, including campaigns for the 14th congressional district, the multiple gubernatorial campaigns, and the campaign for president. Carter speaks of the integration of Plains High School, which occurred without violence, in part, due to his father's influence in the community, including teaching Sunday school for many years. Other topics include presidential campaign strategy during his father's 1976 campaign. Carter lists his father's supporters in Washington, D.C., such as Hamilton Jordan, Bob Strauss, Bert Lance, Jack Watson, Charlie Kirbo, David Gambrell, and (questionably) Griffin Bell. He speaks of how the Iran hostage crisis influenced his father's career. Carter also discusses the ease of dating in the White House, his relationship with Secret Service agents, and his time working for the Carter Center in Sudan. 

Smiling Peanut

Visitors to Plains recognize "The Smiling Peanut," originally built in Evansville, Indiana, for a 1976 dinner where Jimmy Carter was the guest of honor. Loretta Townsend (1935-2017), who was in charge of the decorations and was inspired by the image of President Carter's smile superimposed on a peanut that had been used on earlier campaign buttons and souvenirs. With the help of two friends, Townsend sculpted the peanut out of polyurethane foam sprayed over a series of metal hoops covered with chicken wire.

(Kirby, Doug, Ken Smith, and Mike Wilkins. "Jimmy Carter Peanut." https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10409)