For most of the men who have held the office of the Presidency of the United States, a few are the exceptions to the norm. One of whom is Jimmy Carter, who died recently on December 29, 2024.
Very few knew who Carter was when he announced that he was running for president on December 12, 1974. Most who were alive back then thought California Governor Jerry Brown or Washington Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson would be the Democratic party nominee, but Carter won as a dark horse candidate. Despite having a term as Governor of Georgia, Carter mostly advertised himself as a peanut farmer, leading to him getting the nickname Mr. Peanut. The Nation, recently scarred by Watergate and the failure in Vietnam, was attracted to an outsider like Carter.
Carter’s presidency is considered by historians to be less than successful. Due to an inability to work with Congress, little got done during his presidency, an ongoing oil crisis continued through his terms, and at the end of his final term, a hostage crisis with Iran led to him becoming unpopular. Actor and former Governor of California Ronald Reagan won in a landslide in 1980 in the succeeding election.
There were, of course, some successes from the Carter administration. Most famously was the Camp David accords. This brought peace between Israel and Egypt which is a treaty that has lasted to this day. The creation of the Department of Education, which has standardized U.S education to a degree, was another success. Some other notable achievements include the Panama Canal being given full control to Panama and Carter installing the first solar panels on the White House.
Carter, mainly, is remembered by his work as a great humanitarian. He worked with Habitat for Humanity well into his 90s, building homes for the poor and needy. Along with his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who was his greatest ally, they founded The Carter Center with a goal to advance human rights and end human suffering. The organization continues to do election monitoring, try to eradicate diseases, build democratic institutions and mediate conflicts. This foundation, specifically, led Jimmy Carter to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. It’s because of this that Carter’s poor reputation–whose approval rating was as low as 34%– changed to a popular former or acting president in these modern times.
In many ways this marks the end of an era. He is one of the last Cold War leaders and members of the Greatest Generation. To quote his campaign song “Why Not the Best,” “Once in for all, why not the best.”
Farewell Jimmy.
