Above all, Carter attacked the political system, defining himself as an "outsider" who would reform Washington in the post-Watergate era. Our AJC colleague Jim Denery drew up this incomplete list of some of Carter’s biggest accomplishments, arranged as well as possible in chronological order: 1. GDP is calculated for the calendar year. Federal Reserve Chairman G. William Miller replaced Blumenthal as Secretary of the Treasury, Benjamin Civiletti took office as Attorney General, and Charles Duncan Jr. became Secretary of Energy. To the disappointment of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and organized labor, the final act did not include a provision authorizing the federal government to act as an employer of last resort in order to provide for full employment. 182–183, 214, All figures, except for debt percentage, are presented in billions of dollars. Jimmy Carter .

[154] CIA officials had tracked the deployment of Soviet soldiers to the Afghan border, but they had not expected the Soviets to launch a full-fledged invasion. He said that he would veto any legislation that contained projects on this list. [49] However, because economic growth outpaced the growth in nominal debt, the federal government's debt as a percentage of gross domestic product decreased slightly, from 33.6% in early 1977 to 31.8% in late 1980. [111], Early in his term, Carter worked to fulfill a campaign promise to teachers' unions to create a cabinet-level Department of Education. [118] In a 1977 address to Congress, Carter submitted that penalties for cannabis use should not outweigh the actual harms of cannabis consumption. Reagan won a decisive victory. Congress rescinded the surcharge by passing a joint resolution over Carter's veto. [216] Polls taken in September, after the conclusion of the party conventions, showed a tied race between Reagan and Carter. [90] This "V-shaped recession" and the malaise accompanying it coincided with Carter's 1980 re-election campaign, and contributed to his unexpectedly severe loss to Ronald Reagan. [35] British historian Iwan Morgan argues: Carter successfully campaigned as a Washington "outsider" critical of both President Gerald Ford and the Democratic Congress; as president, he continued this theme. ", Iwan Morgan, "Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and the new Democratic economics. The plan would also extend Medicaid to the very poor without dependent minor children, and would add catastrophic coverage to Medicare. In November 1978, Carter signed the Revenue Act of 1978, an $18.7 billion tax cut. [146] At the same time, he criticized the Soviet Union's record with regard to human rights, partly because he believed the public would not support negotiations with the Soviets if the president seemed too willing to accommodate the Soviets. Drawing inspiration from his work on the Camp David Accords, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter founded the Carter Center in 1982 in partnership with Emory University. The income, outlay, deficit, and debt figures are calculated for the, Represents the national debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP, Jeff Bloodworth, " 'The Program for Better Jobs and Income': Welfare Reform, Liberalism, and the Failed Presidency of Jimmy Carter.

The Refugee Act, signed earlier in the year, had provided for annual cap of 19,500 Cuban immigrants to the United States per year, and required that those refugees go through a review process. [172] Iranian Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan ordered the militants to release the hostages, but he resigned from office after Khomeini backed the militants. Under the agreement, Israel agreed to return Egyptian territory conquered during the 1973 war, and Egypt in return extended full diplomatic recognition to Israel. With Carter's support, the United Nations passed Resolution 418, which placed an arms embargo on South Africa. Carter became President by narrowly defeating an uninspiring, unelected chief executive heir to the worst presidential scandal in history. Carter was elected as the Governor of Georgia in 1970, and during his four years in office he earned a reputation as a progressive, racially moderate Southern governor.

", Alex Thomson, "The Diplomacy of Impasse: the Carter Administration and Apartheid South Africa. In 1971, on his second try, Carter became Georgia’s governor, and in 1976, he won election to become the 39th president of the United States. [88] In March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to its lowest level since mid-1976, and the following month unemployment rose to seven percent. [132], Carter believed that previous administrations had erred in allowing the Cold War concerns and Realpolitik to dominate foreign policy. Jimmy Carter’s Naval Service. 38, 70-71, 85–87, 129–131, J. William Holland, "The Great Gamble: Jimmy Carter and the 1979 Energy Crisis,", Kaufman and Kaufman, 2006, pp. Carter signed several measures designed to address unemployment in 1977, including an extension of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, but he continued to focus primarily on reducing deficits and inflation. As a lieutenant in the Navy in 1952, Carter served under the legendary Adm. Hyman Rickover, helping to develop a nuclear-powered Navy. [220] Developments of the 1970s, including the Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade and the withdrawal of Bob Jones University's tax-exempt status, convinced many evangelical Protestants to become engaged in politics for the first time. Five cabinet secretaries left office, including Blumenthal, Bell, and Joseph Califano, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. [81], The 1979 energy crisis ended a period of growth; both inflation and interest rates rose, while economic growth, job creation, and consumer confidence declined sharply. [186] After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Carter allowed the sale of military supplies to China and began negotiations to share military intelligence. 2. In the general election, Carter faced Reagan, a conservative former governor of California. [142] Despite human rights concerns, Carter continued U.S. support for Joseph Mobutu of Zaire, who defeated Angolan-backed insurgents in conflicts known as Shaba I and Shaba II. [180] Conservatives formed groups such as the Committee to Save the Panama Canal in an attempt to defeat the treaties in the Senate, but Carter made ratification of the treaties his top priority. "[67] Carter's policies contributed to a decrease in per capita consumption energy consumption, which dropped by 10 percent from 1979 to 1983. Other appointees from Georgia included Jody Powell as White House Press Secretary, Jack Watson as cabinet secretary, and Stuart E. Eizenstat as head of the Domestic Policy Staff. He appointed Alfred E. Kahn as the Chairman of the Council on Wage and Price Stability (COWPS), and COWPS announced price targets for industries and implemented other policies designed to lower inflation. [9] With the Republicans badly divided, and with Ford facing questions over his competence as president, polls taken in August 1976 showed Carter with a 15-point lead. Through the Carter Center, the former president launched a fight against Guinea worm disease, a devastating tropical infection that incapacitates its victims. [175] Carter was dealt another blow when Vance, who had consistently opposed the operation, resigned. "[a] The gaffe put an end to Ford's late momentum, and Carter helped his own campaign with a strong performance in the third debate. He instead called for an "open convention", in which delegates would be free to vote for the candidate of their choice regardless of the result in the primaries. The sudden doubling of crude oil prices by OPEC[84] forced inflation to double-digit levels, averaging 11.3% in 1979 and 13.5% in 1980. Habitat for Humanity has honored the former president’s efforts for the charity by holding an annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. [187] In January 1980, Carter unilaterally revoked the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty with the Republic of China (ROC), which had lost control of mainland China to the PRC in the Chinese Civil War, but retained control the island of Taiwan. President Nixon had created inflation by ending the gold standard in 1971. [200] Carter became the first sitting president to testify under oath as part of an investigation of that president.

[82] The relatively loose monetary policy adopted by Federal Reserve Board Chairman G. William Miller, had already contributed to somewhat higher inflation,[83] rising from 5.8% in 1976 to 7.7% in 1978. [154], On taking office, Carter decided to attempt to mediate the long-running Arab–Israeli conflict. [169] Carter, Vance, and Brzezinski all viewed Iran as a key Cold War ally, not only for the oil it produced but also because of its influence in OPEC and its strategic position between the Soviet Union and the Persian Gulf. [149] Five years later, Communists under the leadership of Nur Muhammad Taraki seized power. [54] In an address to the nation of April 18, 1977, Carter the energy crisis as, apart from preventing war, "the greatest challenge that our country will face during our lifetime."

The establishment of an NHI plan was the top priority of organized labor and many liberal Democrats, but Carter had concerns about cost, as well as the inflationary impact, of such a system.

: A history of resistance to the creation of national parks in Alaska" (PhD dissertation Washington State University, 2010).