Before Becoming President:
James Earl Carter Jr. was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. His parents were James Earl Carter and Bessie Lillian Gordy. Carter attended Plains High school where he spent his time reading, playing basketball, or doing things for the FFA organization. He went to college in Americus at Georgia Southwestern College, and he also studied at Georgia Tech and the United States Naval Academy. He served two terms on the Georgia Senate. Carter was the 76th Governor of Georgia. Carter was also into civil rights and rights for African Americans. He did not approve of abortion but supported legalized abortion. Jimmy Carter was for life in prison ov
er the death penalty.
President:
Carter ran in the 1976 Presidential Election against President Ford. Jimmy Carter joined as a part of the Democratic Party. His strategy for winning the election had two parts to it: the South and the North. In the North, he tried to get to as many regions as he could before other candidates could get there and sway their opinions. In the South, he proved himself to be a spent force. Before other candidates even made announcements of their plans to join the race, Carter had already spoken in thirty-seven states and travelled fifty thousand miles. He had also given well over two hundred speeches. When compared to other Democratic candidates running, Carter appeared to be the only one who was "truly national". Carter barely beat Ford, but he officially won the election on November 2, 1976. Carter was the first President since 1848 who had been elected from the Deep South. Jimmy Carter was the thirty-ninth president of the United States. During his presidency, Carter had to deal with inflation, the current energy crisis, and also the recession. He bailed out Chrysler Corporation and had all intentions of "deregulating" the airports of the country. Carter tried to help the country be 
less dependent on imported oil. He took away extra money from the military because of inflation. Carter broke up what they currently had in the cabinet (The Department of Health, Education, and Warfare) into two new things (The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education). The Department of Energy was also created at this time.
He also put in solar pannels on the White House and turned down the heat, wearing more layers of clothing. He had to deal with conflicts in the Middle East along with problems with the Panama Canal and the Soviets. He made a life-long promise to allow the Panamanians to control the Panama Canal, and we became friends with China. The big thing that Carter did while he was President was settle the thiry-one year war going on between Egypt and Israel. The SALT II never went into effect because the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, but it was supposed to limit arms. Carter eventually was able to secure the Iranian government and rescue hostages there as well.
In 1980, Carter ran against Ronald Reagan, John B. Anderson, and Ted Kennedy. This campain and path to election was by far the biggest challenge for Carter. He ended up losing to Ronald Reagan, partially because of the already highly inflated economy.
As all presidents before him and to follow him, Carter had his own mistakes that he made. No one is perfect, but overall, I think he accomplished some great things, including programs of Health and Human Services and others as well. He settled the Egytian-Isralian dispute, which may have taken much longer to resolve without his help. I think that our country has gained a great deal from his presidency and that he has contributed a lot to our country in and out of the White House.
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