Today, Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981, turns 100. He is the longest-living U.S. President in history, and the first one to ever reach 100. This is remarkable considering he has spent over 19 months and counting in hospice care. The countdown to October 1, 2024, has been marked by celebrations in Carter’s small hometown of Plains, Georgia, and Atlanta, Georgia, as well as other places across the U.S.
Carter at the 1976 Democratic National Convention. Source: Getty Images
Carter’s longevity is remarkable considering he has lived for 40% of U.S. history. Born a few years after the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, Carter served in the U.S. Navy during the 1940s, working on submarines. After his military stint, he went back home and worked in the family’s peanut business. He entered politics as a Democrat when he entered the Georgia State Senate in 1963 and was elected Governor of Georgia in 1970. In 1976, Carter ran a dark-horse campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination and won, later narrowly defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in that year’s general election.
For all the love he receives today, Carter’s one-term presidency was by all accounts below average. While the well-meaning Carter had some successes in his term such as the Camp David Accords establishing peace between Egypt and Israel in 1978, establishing the Departments of Energy and Education, and deregulating airlines, his presidency was ultimately overshadowed by the Iran hostage crisis, a subsequent oil crisis, and the not-so-good economy. Americans booted him out of office in a landslide in the 1980 election, handing the White House to Republican Ronald Reagan.
In the more than forty years since his presidency ended, Carter’s reputation underwent a rehabilitation. He founded the Carter Center in 1982, dedicated to monitoring elections worldwide and eradicating diseases such as Guinea worm. For this, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Carter has also actively participated in Habitat for Humanity, a volunteer organization that builds affordable housing. He has written numerous books, including two books on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and long taught Sunday school at his local church. With most Americans having been born after Carter’s presidency, the ex-president has garnered a positive image as an old, elder statesman and humanitarian.
As Carter advanced into his late nineties and his activities slowed down, close attention was paid to his health. He kept defying the odds, though. Carter survived brain cancer in 2015 and had suffered a series of falls in 2019. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter has mostly become confined to his home in Plains. Another health scare came after it was announced in February 2023 that he was being taken into hospice care, with his family members stating that the “end was near”. The same sentiments were shared when the ex-president’s wife Rosalynn, to whom Jimmy had been married for 77 years, died in November 2023. But Carter persisted. Recently, it was reported that he said he was only staying alive just to vote for Kamala Harris.
Jimmy Carter’s kindness and endless devotion to public service have truly earned him his rehabilitation in history’s eyes. Regardless of politics, it would be hard-pressed to say that he has not conducted himself with grace and honor. In a polarized America, he represents the decency that we must all adhere to. On that note, happy birthday Mr. President.
Emil Ordonez, a rising college freshman, is the founder and editor-in-chief of Polinsights. He has been deeply passionate about politics and history since learning every U.S. President at the age of five. He was compelled to start this blog after meeting many people who were misinformed or had become apathetic about how society worked. He hopes to provide factual knowledge and insights that will encourage people, especially the young, to get more engaged in their respective communities. In his free time, he edits for Wikipedia and makes maps for elections. He aspires to work in Congress or even the White House in the future.
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