Student Essay on Jimmy Carter

Mr. James Earl Carter, the 39th President of the United States, was born on October 1st, 1924. Carter grew up in Plains, Georgia, and graduated in 1964 from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He later married Rosalynn Smith. Carter and his wife had three sons named John William, James Earl II, and Donnel Jeffrey. They also had one daughter named Amy Lynn. Before becoming involved in politics, Carter served as a naval officer for seven years. In 1962, he returned to Plains and began his political career.

Carter was elected as the governor of Georgia in 1972. He stood out among other southern governors, because his platform emphasized ecology, government efficiency, and the removal of racial barriers. Carter announced his candidacy for President in December of 1974. He was officially nominated at the Democratic National Convention, and chose William F. Mondale as his running-mate. Mondale was a Senator from Minnesota. Carter campaigned against the Republican nominee, Gerald Ford. He appealed to the people of the United States, because he promised to bring integrity back to the White House. After the Watergate scandal, this was just what Americans were looking for. Carter won the election of 1976, with 297 electoral votes, as compared to Ford's 241.

When Carter became President in 1977, the United States was facing a major energy crisis. Carter considered this crisis to be the greatest concern of the nation at the time. He urged the Americans to conserve fuel, and he presented more than 100 proposals regarding energy conservation to Congress. Many people resisted these proposals. All of this eventually lead to the passage of the National Energy Act. The National Energy Act enacted several measures to help subdue the energy crisis, including placing a tax on vehicles that used a lot of fuel, removing price-controls on U.S.-produced fuel oil, and expanding tax credits for the development of alternative energy sources.

As President, Jimmy Carter also faced a changing economy. The problems he faced stemmed from long-term economic trends. The number of manufacturing jobs had decreased, due to the rise of automation and foreign competition, while industries such as communications, transportation, and retail were on the rise. This meant that many American workers had lost their manufacturing jobs. Many were now unable to find service jobs, because they required more education than manufacturing jobs.

Another factor that caused a change in America's economy was the growing overseas competition. Countries such as West Germany, Japan, and Taiwan had thriving economies, which were beginning to cut into U.S. markets. Industries in the U.S. (such as iron, steel, rubber, and automobiles) were forced to lay-off employees, curtail production, or even shutdown altogether.

Along with domestic issues, Jimmy Carter was forced to deal with many international affairs, such as conflicts in the Middle East. When peace talks between Anwar el-Sadat, the Egyptian president, and Menachem Begin, the Prime Minister of Israel stalled, Carter invited them both to have a meeting at Camp David. This meeting took place from September 5 - 17, 1978. During this time, a framework for peace in the Middle East, appropriately titled the Camp David Accords, was drafted. Although many issues were still left unresolved, Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula, while Egypt agreed to formally recognize Israel's right to exist. Under the agreement, other Middle Eastern countries are also invited to join in on peace negotiations.

Although Jimmy Carter was confronted with many domestic and foreign problems while he was President, he developed solutions to all of them. He began the long process of reuniting a nation that was still divided after the Watergate scandal. His policies helped to move the nation forward, instead of forcing Americans to dwell on the blunders of the last administration.