 |
James Earl Carter, Jr.
b. 1 Oct 1924, Plains, Georgia |
| Title: |
President of the United States |
| Term: |
20 Jan 1977 - 20 Jan 1981 |
| Chronology: |
6 Jan 1977,
election to the office of President of the United States is declared upon counting electoral votes (cast 13 Dec 1976),
joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [1] |
|
20 Jan 1977,
commencement of term |
|
20 Jan 1977,
took an oath of office as President of the United States, inaugural ceremony, East Portico, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [2] |
|
20 Jan 1981,
expiration of term |
| Names/titles: |
Also known as Jimmy Carter |
| Biography: |
| Son of a farmer and businessman; educated in the Plains public schools; attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology; received a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946; did graduate work in nuclear physics at Union College; during his naval career he lived in many parts of the United States and served around the world, including the Far East; rose to the rank of lieutenant (senior grade), working on development of the nuclear submarine program; resigned his commission (1953) and returned to Plains; in addition to working his own farm, he continued a small business of his father's, selling fertilizer and farm supplies; his agricultural business grew into a profitable general-purpose seed and farm supply operation; became involved in the affairs of the community; served as chairman of the county school board and the first president of the Georgia Planning Association; was elected to the Georgia Senate (1962-1971); Governor of the State of Georgia (12 Jan 1971 - 14 Jan 1975); was selected him to serve as chairman of the Southern Regional Education Board, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Coastal Plains Regional Action Planning Commission, and the Southern Growth Policies Board; chairman of the Democratic National Committee campaign chairman for the 1974 congressional elections; won his party's nomination at the 1976 Democratic National Convention; elected President of the United States (20 Jan 1977 - 20 Jan 1981); used diplomacy to promote U.S. interests in South Korea, Iran, Argentina, South Africa, and Rhodesia; concluded the Panama Canal treaties (1979); succeeded in establishing the terms for a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel (Camp David Accords, 1978); established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China; negotiated the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union; utterly failed to resolve a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 U.S. diplomats were held hostage in Tehran; directed efforts against the energy crisis, though with indifferent results. |
| Biographical sources: "Jimmy Carter: A Comprehensive Biography From Plains to Post-Presidency", by Peter Bourne (New York: Scribner, 1997) |
| Elections: |
| Candidate |
Electoral vote (13 Dec 1976) |
| James Earl Carter, Jr. |
297 |
| Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. |
240 |
| Ronald Wilson Reagan |
1 |
| total number of electors appointed |
538 |
| number of votes for a majority |
270 |
|
| Source of electoral results: Congressional Record, 95th Congress, 1st Session, 319. |
| |
| [1] |
Congressional Record, 95th Congress, 1st Session, 319-320. |
| [2] |
Congressional Record, 95th Congress, 1st Session, 1861-1863. |
