Jimmy Carter

Background A different type of leader  Went by “Jimmy” instead of James  Former peanut farmer & Gov. of Georgia  Walked through the parade route instead of riding in limo  Tried to show he wasn’t “above” others  Wouldn’t play “Hail to the Chief” upon his arrival at events  Succeeded at creating an image of a down-to-earth, honest man  Promised “I’ll never lie to you”

Domestic Policies Domestic objective  Help the nation heal  Ex: pardoned thousands of American males who avoided the draft Economy  Inflation & unemployment were high  Carted added new jobs but was unable to decrease inflation  Inflation got worse

Domestic continued Energy  Because of the oil crisis in the 1970s, Carter set goals of decreasing our dependence on foreign oil through energy conservation, developing new energy sources (solar & wind), & loosening gov’t regulations on American oil industries  Carter created a new cabinet – Dept. of Energy  He asked Americans to conserve fuel (turn down heat/air, drive less), buy fuel efficient  U.S. automakers offered incentives to meet fuel efficient standards  Taxes were reduced for those who installed energy-saving equipment

Domestic - Environment Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act  Protected 100 million acres of land & doubled the size of the national park & wildlife refugee system 3-Mile Island  A nuclear power plant nearly melted down threatening a massive release of radiation  I7VymjSho I7VymjSho Love Canal, NY  Long-buried chemicals began seeping up through the ground water causing birth defects & disease from polluted ground water  4/ 4/

3-Mile Island Love Canal

Foreign Policy Human Rights  *Focus of Carter’s foreign policy  Despite critics of the USSR for human rights violations, Carter & Brezhnev signed SALT II (1979)  Strategic Arms Limitation Talks – limited US & USSR on certain nuclear weapons China  Carter continued Nixon’s efforts by formally recognizing the People’s Republic of China (communist)

Foreign Policy continued Panama Canal  Agreed to let Panama take control of the canal in 1999  To Americans, this represented a decline of American global power Camp David Accords  *Greatest foreign policy achievement  After Six Day & Yom Kippur Wars, Israel occupied Egyptian territory on the Sinai Peninsula.  Egypt didn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist  In 1978, Carter invited Egyptian Pres. Anwar el-Sadat & Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David  Camp David Accords: agreement to resolve issues about Palestinian’s future; negotiate peace treaties; recognize each other 

Iran Hostage Crisis Ayatollah Khomeini (religious leader) led the overthrow of Iran’s Shah  Shah had been supported by U.S. After the overthrow, we allowed the Shah to come to the U.S. for cancer treatment.  A mob stormed the U.S. Embassy in Iran taking prisoners for 444 days  Carter appeared powerless (especially after a mechanical problem led to a helicopter crash that was on its way to a rescue mission)  This hurt Carter’s chance for re- election  Ex. Argo  v=gGUI7kDLsQo v=gGUI7kDLsQo

Crisis of Confidence Presidential election in 1980  The Iran Hostage Crisis situation dragged on during the election  Events in Iran disrupted oil so prices in the U.S. increased, as did inflation  U.S. economy struggled Crisis of Confidence speech:  “It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart & soul & spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our lives & in the loss of a unity & purpose for our nation.”

International Crises Soviet’s invade Afghanistan  In 1978, the USSR invaded Afghanistan because the communist gov’t was weak  Soviet experience was similar to our experience in Vietnam  To protest Soviet actions, Carter blocked grain supplies to USSR & boycotted the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow  These two actions were unpopular at home & actually hurt the U.S. just as much  tch?v=1IlRVy7oZ58 tch?v=1IlRVy7oZ58

Short Answer Response: Respond to the following using complete sentences, proper grammar, etc. What was Carter like as a president? Include information on how his style & personality helped & hurt him (pgs 681 – 686)