Jimmy Carter

By Ali H. Kilinc

A hero is someone who has already accomplished all my hopes and dreams yet still keeps

his integrity. To me a hero is someone who is ambitious, dedicated to his goals, hard working and

honest person. Jimmy Carter has all the characteristics that I believe a hero should have.

Therefore I picked Jimmy Carter to be my hero.

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr., who rarely went by his full name, is a very ambitious man.

He was born on October, 1, 1924, (he was the first U.S. president to be born in a hospital) in the

small farming town of Plains, Georgia. At a very young age he moved to a farm in the nearby

community of Archery, GA when he was around 4 years old. His father, James Earl Carter, Sr.,

who simply went by "Earl", was a farmer and a businessman. His mother, Lillian Gordy, was a

registered nurse. Jimmy Carter didn’t have the ‘luxuries’ of life at his farm house like, basic

plumbing and electricity, but that didn’t stop him from living a wonderful life. [1] (White House)

Jimmy Carter had many African American friends and playmates in Archery, GA despite the

heavy segregation at that time. He was a farmer’s boy who went to public school, and unlike

many U.S Presidents, went to the local State colleges; which were: Georgia Southwestern College

(currently known as: Georgia Southwestern State University) and Georgia Tech (Georgia Institute

of Technology). Shortly after he graduated, he married Rosalynn Smith. All things for the "average

Joe", but not for long. After completing his graduate studies, he continued onto the U.S. Navy,

quickly rising to the ranks of Lieutenant Senior Grade when his military career was cut short by the

death of his father.

After his father’s death, Jimmy Carter moved back to Plains, GA. He inherited his father’s

business, and turned it into a very successful, profitable, general-purpose seed and farm supply

operation. To fully fill his father’s shoes and more, Jimmy Carter decided that he should serve his

community. So, he started small; as the Chairman of the local county's school board, then he

became the first president of the Georgia Planning Association. Jimmy Carter knew

that the south was divided in many ways because of the heavy segregation. He

knew this from his father's farm, the farm which he now owned and operated. He also

knew that he had to do something about it. So, he ran for senate in 1962, his main

goal was to abolish racial segregation in Georgia, or at least remove it from the U.S.

Government. Jimmy Carter was faced with a tough opponent in his 1962 senate run. His

opponent did some awful things; he registered and voted for dead people. His opponent also took

random people, who never intended on voting, and did a mass voting (accidentally voting for them

in alphabetical order; exposing the election fraud). Jimmy Carter was a determined man, he won

the '62 elections, and even served a second term as senator of Georgia.

Jimmy Carter is a hard-working man. In 1966 Jimmy Carter decided to run for U.S. House of

Representatives, but when his rival, Lester Maddox, dropped out of the race for congress and

decided to run for Governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter did not want to see a republican Governor in

his state. Hence, Jimmy Carter also wanted to run for Governor. He eventually ended up losing his

first race of '66. Jimmy Carter is a hard-working man; after losing his first run, he went through a

period of reflection and he said that he was "born again". He made an enormous campaign, for

governor of 1970, making over 1,800 speeches throughout the state. He won the '70 elections. He

was a very successful Governor and achieved many of his goals he set out to do. He made

government efficient by merging about 300 state agencies into 30 agencies, he increased the

number of African American state employees by 40 percent and hung portraits of Martin Luther

King Jr. and other notable black Georgians in the state capitol and other great things while

Governor of Georgia.

Since Georgia law didn't allow a Governor to serve two terms at that time, Jimmy carter

decided to run for president of the U.S.A. Even though when he started his campaign he only had a

name recognition of 2%, and as late as January 1975, only 4%, he was able to win the heart of the

voters and become president in 1976. Throughout his term, President Carter sought to coordinate

a national policy of energy conservation to reduce America's reliance on imported oil. At the same

time, he pursued deregulation of transportation, communications, and finance. Many of the Carter

administration's most noteworthy accomplishments came in the field of foreign affairs. President

Carter established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and made good on a

long-standing American promise to return control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians. The

outstanding achievement of the Carter presidency was the peace settlement between Israel and

Egypt (Camp David Accords). Over 13 days of meetings at Camp David, Carter persuaded

President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel to end the 31-year

state of war between their countries. Egypt was the first of Israel's Arab neighbors to make peace

with the Jewish state. Israel ended its occupation of the Sinai peninsula and returned control of the

territory to Egypt. [2] (WIKIPEDIA)

Jimmy Carter was a determined man, determined for world peace. Since leaving office,

Jimmy Carter has been the most active of any ex-President. In 1982, he became University

Distinguished Professor at Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, and in partnership with the

University, founded the Carter Center to resolve conflict, protect human rights, and prevent disease

around the world. Since 1989, observers from the Carter Center have monitored more than 60

elections in 25 countries, to promote democracy. Jimmy Carter's personal diplomacy has also

helped him to defuse international crises in hot spots from North Korea to Haiti. In 2002, he was

awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his tremendous efforts towards world peace. [3] (Nobel Prize)

With Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, he is in the elite few of only three U.S. presidents

to have been so honored. The Nobel committee cited Jimmy Carter "for his decades of untiring

effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights,

and to promote economic and social development." [4] (Academy of Achievement)

Most ex-presidents publish a volume of memoirs or two, but Jimmy Carter has carried on an

impressive career as an extremely prolific and successful author. As of January 2007, he has

written about about 22 books. He also started writing before he became president, and was the

first U.S. president to write a book in FICTION! Also he started writing books before he became

president which is usually not typical. U.S. presidents usually write books after they become

presidents, to make money, but since Jimmy Carter started writing books before he became

president, I believe making money was not the only objective. He writes about many subjects,

some auto-biographical, some on his views and even some in fiction. I believe some of the books

he wrote were factored into his Nobel Peace Prize. He still writes today. His most recent book

won a Grammy.

Jimmy Carter inspires me. He is one of few people in the world who is continually striving

for World Peace. Many people admire him, but he is also an inspiration and hope for many people

in the world. I wish there were many more Jimmy Carters in the world.

Bibliography

[1] White House "Jimmy Carter"

<http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jc39.html>

[2] WIKIPEDIA "Jimmy Carter"

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_carter>

[3] Nobel Prize "The Nobel Peace Prize 2002"

<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2002/>

[4] Academy of Achievement "Jimmy carter Biography"

<http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/car0bio-1#cooliris>.