The Best Former President: Jimmy Carter

James Earl Carter, better known as Jimmy Carter, was the thirty-ninth president of the United States of America. Carter was born in Plains, Georgia on October 1, 1924. He was born into a simple farm family consisting of his parents: James Earl and Lillian Gordy, and his three siblings: Gloria, Ruth, and William Alton. As a young adult Carter began to show his leadership through academics when he not only became the first person to graduate from high school on his father’s side but also became the valedictorian of his class at Plains High School in 1941.
A few years after graduating high school and attending Georgia Southwestern College, Jimmy Carter began to take an interest in the Navy and was accepted to a Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1943. Around the same time Carter began to rekindle a relationship with an old friend named Rosalynn Smith, whom he later married in July 1946. During his career in the navy, Carter mainly served on ships and submarines, until his Admiral assigned him to assist with the creation of the U.S. nuclear submarine program in 1952. After attaining the rank of a naval officer, Carter had to leave the navy in order to care for his mother and the farm when his father died of pancreatic cancer.
Before and after James Earl returned to Georgia his family began to grow and by 1967 he had four children. John William “Jack”, James Earl III “Chip”, Donnel Jeffery “Jeff”, and Amy Lynn. Once he returned to Georgia he began teaching Sunday school and became a deacon at Plains Baptist Church, being that he was raised in a very religious family and wanted to continue the religiousness of the Carter Family. Shortly after saving the farm and establishing a home for his family in Georgia, Carter became infect...

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... to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” (Hochman 1) James Earl Carter can still be found today teaching Sunday school in Plains, Georgia and actively serving every year with Habitat for Humanity alongside Rosalynn.

Works Cited

Hochman Steven H. “Jimmy Carter – 39th President of the United States and Founder of The Carter Center.” The Carter Center. 13 March 2014. Web. 10 May 2014.
"Jimmy Carter." The Biography.com. 2014. Web. May 10 2014.
Kaufman, Burton. “The Carter Years.” New York: Facts on File. 2006. Print.
Kent, Deborah. “Jimmy Carter: Encyclopedia of Presidents.” Chicago: Children’s Press. 2005 Print.
Strong, Robert A. “Jimmy Carter: A Life in Brief.” Miller Center, University of Virginia. Web. 10 May 2014.
Zelizer, Julian E. “Jimmy Carter.” New York: Times Books. 2010. Print.