1976 ELECTION OF JAMES EARL CARTER

 

James Earl Carter was elected 39th President of the United States. He was born in October 1924 in Plains Georgia. His father was a public official and a farmer and his mother was a registered nurse and a Peace Corps volunteer.  He helped out his family by working in the fields with his father.  He was one of four children.  He married Elanor Rosalyn Smith and had four children.  He had a significant military education.  He enlisted in the Navy from 1946-1953.  He was a student of the submarine school.  He also studied nuclear physics and served as an engineering officer on the first atomic submarine.  He left the Navy in 1953 when his father died and returned to the family business.

              His political career consisted of him becoming a member of the Georgia State Senate from 1963-1967.  In 1971 he became Govenor of Georgia.  In 1976 Jimmy Carter ran for presidency against President Gerald Ford.  His platform was trying to gain back trust after the Watergate Scandal.  He won with 297 out of 538 electorial votes.  His presidency ended in 1981 when he lost to Ronald Regan. 

               On his first day as President, all those who dodged the draft in Vietnam War were pardoned. As a result of the Three Mile Island incident Nuclear energy plants required stricter regulations therefore creating the Department of Energy.  In 1978 President Carter began the Camp David Peace talks by inviting Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for talks.  The talks led to a formal Peace Treaty in 1979. 

          Following his presidency he returned back to Georgia and was involved with Habitat for Humanity. He also assisted with obtaining an agreement with North Korea.   In 2002 he was receipiant of the Nobel Peace Prize.


http://americanhistory.about.com/od/jimmycarter/p/pcarter.htm
http://www.ibiblio.org/lia/president/CarterLibrary/GeneralMaterials/Biographies/JimmyCarter-bio.html
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?year=1976