The Smiling President: Jimmy Carter

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On October 1, 1924, Jimmy Carter was born in Plains, Georgia which is a small little farm town with a population of about 600. Jimmy grew up in the great depression, although his family was one of the more wealthy families as his dad was a very successful farmer and businessman. Growing up during segregation Jimmy’s dad was a strong believer of the system his mother, however, was an outspoken iconoclast and didn’t believe in segregation. Jimmy took after his mother and did not believe in segregation. His favorite sport stars were Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis. This kind of belief made Jim very special and showed his unique perspective on the world. At the age of 18 Jimmy joined the navy in the footsteps of his favorite uncle. Jimmy stood out at the Naval Academy graduating in the top third of his class. The summer before Jim’s final year at the Naval Academy he started dating Rosalynn Smith who was a life- long friend of Jim’s youngest sister. Within a few months they were engaged and in June of 1946, they tied the knot. Over the next few years Rosalynn gave birth to three sons John William, James Earl, and Donnel Jeffrey. In his final year at the Naval Academy Jim did an outstanding job, earning a reputation as a hard worker and as a very intelligent man. After several years of this hard work he earned himself a spot in Admiral Hyman Rickover’s elite nuclear submarine program. In 1952 the Carters moved to Schenectady, New York where Jimmy Carter built the reactor for the navy’s first ever nuclear submarine, ‘The Seawolf’. Less than a year after building the submarine Jim received bad news he found out that his dad, Earl Carter, had cancer. After a trip to visit his father, Carter was overwhelmed by the love and support the family...

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...nion invaded Afghanistan. The election of 1980 was wild. Carter barley won against the Democratic nomination Edward Kennedy. The republic nomination Ronald Reagan won the presidential election over Carter by 10% or 6 states.
Since his presidency Carter and Rosalynn have developed several nonprofit organizations including The Carter Center next to his presidential library in Atlanta. He has also authored over twenty books. In 2002 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to peace, democracy and human rights throughout the world.

Works Cited

Balmer, Randall. The Redeemer. New York, NY: Basic Books
2014. Hardcover and paperback

Brinkley, Douglas G. The Unfinished Presidency. New York, NY: Penguin Books
1999. Hardcover and paperback and audio book

Zelizer, Julian. Jimmy Carter. New York, NY: Times Books.
2010. Hardcover and Kindle edition

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