2.  Born Oct. 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia  Father – James Earl Carter Sr. was a farmer and businessman  Mother – Lillian Gordy Carter was a nurse  Graduated from Plains High School in 1942  Attended Georgia Southwestern College and Georgia Tech  Graduated in 1946 from U.S. Naval Academy  That same year, married Rosalynn Smith

3.  Served on submarines in both Atlantic and Pacific fleets  Chosen to work on nuclear subs, he did graduate work in reactor technology and nuclear physics  Was senior officer on the crew of the Seawolf, the second nuclear submarine

4.  Carter’s father died in 1953, and he resigned from the navy to return to Georgia.  He took over the family farm and Carter’s Warehouse, a seed and farm supply store  He got into local politics by serving on the school, hospital authority, and library boards.

5.  1962 – elected to Georgia Senate  Lost his first campaign for governor in 1966  Won 1970 election and took office in 1971.  Consolidated an oversized government from 65 agencies and 200 boards and bureaus into 20 agencies.  Reformed education to provide funds for vocational education, reduce class size and equalize school funding

6.  Elected president in 1976 – the only President from Georgia  People were attracted to his honesty and saw him as a political newcomer  Came along at the end of Watergate, the nation’s worst political scandal that resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon  Seen as more casual and down-home than previous presidents

7.  Nationally, high inflation and unemployment had stagnated the economy.  Carter created 2 new cabinet depts. (Energy and Education), and appointed a record number of women and minorities to federal gov’t. offices  Internationally, two events scarred Carter’s term: the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan and the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran, Iran.

8.  Iran had an Islamic revolution and kicked out its leader, the Shah.  As part of the Revolution, Islamic radicals stormed the U.S. embassy and took 52 Americans hostage.  They remained hostages for 444 days and were not released until Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.  This was seen as Carter’s biggest failure.

9.  After returning to Georgia, he founded the Carter Center.  The Center focuses on human rights issues around the world  It has monitored elections, resolved conflicts, and worked to control diseases around the world  He worked to establish Habitat for Humanity  He won the Nobel peace Prize in 2002