Facts About The Long Life Of Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States of America, began life a poor peanut farmer. He worked hard to support his wife and his four children, and eventually, he began a career in politics. He became the governor of Georgia, and eventually, he won the 1976 election.
Jimmy Carter died a humble man. Back in his day, he hoped to abolish racism and end segregation. Things have certainly progressed since the ’70s, but we have a long way to go before America is as inclusive as Carter would have liked it to be. Keep reading to find out more about his incredible life.
Jimmy Carter’s Slow-Paced Lifestyle
Every Saturday, when former President Jimmy Carter was in Plains, Georgia, he and his late wife, Rosalynn, would take a stroll. Jimmy and Rosalynn would walk for about a half-mile to Jill Stucky’s house. Jill Stucky is one of their oldest friends.
Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter were both born in Plains, Georgia. They looked like any other retired couple in Georgia, only they had secret service agents that followed them around.
The Carters Enjoyed A Simple Life
When Jimmy Carter and his wife would get to Jill Stuckey’s house, Stuckey would often serve them a delicious homecooked meal. There wouldn’t be any fine wines or gourmet hors d’oeuvres. After Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter left the White House behind, they no longer had servants who tended to their every need, and they liked it that way.
This couple preferred to live life simply like they did before Jimmy became the leader of the free world.
They Enjoyed Food And Quality Time With Close Friends
While at the White House, the president dined on caviar and expensive cheeses. At Stuckey’s house, the Carters would likely be served a simple meal like Southern barbecue or a casserole with green beans and noodles.
There would be no fancy china or silverware. The couple would eat on regular plates (possibly even paper plates), and they’d drink water right from the tap. For the Carters, this was way better and more familiar than any banquet dinner.
Jimmy Carter Lived In A Modest $167,000 House
Jimmy lived in the home he built himself in 1961. The two-bedroom ranch house was estimated to be worth $167,000, below the median home price in Georgia.
Alternatively, former president Barack Obama purchased a $8.1 million mansion in Washington when he left office.
He Could Have Chosen A Life Of Luxury
Other presidents live like multi-millionaires after they vacate the highest office in the country. Carter could have done just that. He and his wife could have lived a life of luxury.
Former presidents can earn thousands of dollars for delivering a single speech at a prestigious event. He could have taken advantage of his position as a former president and cashed in big time. That wasn’t in Carter’s nature though. He was never after wealth in that way.
The Former President’s Early Years
Let’s take a look back at how this man became the person that he was.
Jimmy Carter was born on October 1st, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. His mother, Bessie, was a nurse, and his father, James Earl Carter Sr, was a successful businessman who ran a local general store. Jimmy Carter’s paternal grandfather was an immigrant from England.
His Relation To Cotton Farmers
Jimmy Carter, who was originally from Georgia, could trace his heritage back to generations of cotton farmers in the state. His father must have gotten his entrepreneurial spirit from somewhere.
When Carter was younger, his family moved around a lot. Eventually, they settled down in Archery, Georgia, which was a poor town that was just a few miles from Plains. Archery was known for being a place where poor people lived. Maybe that’s why Jimmy Carter liked living below his means.
He Was A Budding Businessman
Entrepreneurship seems to run in Jimmy Carter’s family. When he was a teenager, he too became something of a businessman. Jimmy lived in Archery with his three younger siblings for most of his childhood. When he got a bit older, he inherited a little plot of land.
Jimmy took that land and turned it into a profitable peanut farm. He even packed the peanuts and sold them himself. Jimmy was able to turn that crop into something legendary.
Carter’s Early School Days
Jimmy Carter attended Plains High School. He graduated in 1941 and then enrolled at Georgia Southwestern College in Americus. While in college, Carter studied engineering. After a year of studying engineering, he moved on to Atlanta’s Georgia Institute of Technology.
Carter liked engineering, but what he really wanted to do was serve his country. In 1943 he was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy near Annapolis, Maryland. Becoming a Navy officer was a dream come true for Carter.
Where He Met The Love Of His Life
While Carter was at the Academy, he became closer to his sister’s friend, Rosalynn Smith. He and Rosalynn started dating and were got married in 1946 after Jimmy graduated from the academy.
After his first date with Rosalynn, Jimmy told his mother that he had met the woman that he was going to marry. Rosalynn didn’t know that Jimmy told his mother this until many years later. Rosalynn and Jimmy had four children together: Jack, James, Donnell, and Amy.
Carter’s Time In The Navy
Jimmy Carter served in the Navy in both the Pacific and Atlantic fleets. He helped guard a variety of locations across America including New York, Virginia, and Hawaii. As Jimmy traveled the country as part of the Navy, his wife, Rosalynn was right there by his side traveling with him.
Carter spent some time on submarines in the Navy. He even trained to serve aboard the U.S.S. Seawolf, the first nuclear submarine in America. He never ended up traveling in it, though.
The Carters Lived In Public Housing
When Jimmy and Rosalynn moved back to Plains, Georgia, they lived in public housing. No other American president has ever lived in public housing before taking office. At the time, the couple already had three of their four children. It wasn’t easy to provide for five people, especially after Carter’s first peanut crop failed.
Jimmy and Rosalynn did everything they could to make ends meet. Jimmy worked around the clock to make sure he had enough money to feed his family.
How He Managed To Get By
Jimmy Carter took out some loans from the bank and he was able to get himself and his family through those difficult years. Eventually, he left farming and started a career in politics.
In 1962, he won a seat in the Georgia Senate as a Democrat. He was elected to the senate again in 1964, and after that, he decided to run for governor. This man who started off as a poor peanut farmer was quickly gaining status and influence.
A Disappointing Loss
Jimmy Carter actually lost the first time he ran for governor. Segregationist Lester Maddox won the election and he became the governor for a time. Jimmy returned to peanut farming for a while while he regrouped for the next election.
Carter became more religious, which must have appealed to the population in Georgia because he ended up winning the 1970 Democratic nomination for governor. Jimmy Carter was well on his way to becoming a household name.
A New Era (Or So We Thought)
In 1971 when Jimmy Carter was elected to be the governor of Georgia, he made a speech that resonated with many people at the time. Carter said, “The time of racial discrimination is over… No poor, rural, weak or black person should ever have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity for an education, a job or simple justice,” he declared.
Unfortunately, the time of racial discrimination is sadly still not over, although we applaud Jimmy’s hopeful thinking.
A Decision That Changed His Life
Jimmy Carter could only serve as the governor of Georgia for four years, so after his final term was done, he turned his attention to national politics.
Jimmy Carter watched democratic candidate George McGovern lose the presidential election in 1972. Richard Nixon was the serving president, and Jimmy thought he stood a chance of beating him in the next election. That’s when he decided to run for president in 1976. We all know how that worked out.
The National Election
Carter wasn’t very well known on the national stage in 1974 when he declared that he was going to run for president. First, he had to compete in the democratic primaries. Even though he didn’t have much of a fan base to begin with, he won the primaries and went on to face Nixon in the 1976 race.
Or so he thought… A strange change of events would change the entire course of the 1976 election.
The Watergate Scandal
Jimmy Carter thought that he would be facing Richard Nixon in the 1976 election, however, when the Watergate scandal broke, Nixon stepped down as president and Gerald Ford stepped into his position.
Carter faced off against Ford in a series of debates, but experts predicted that Carter would win the presidency because people were disillusioned with the Republicans after that whole Watergate thing. Jimmy was a new face, and the people wanted a change.
Lived A Long Life
Sadly, on December 29th, 2024, Carter passed away at the age of 100 in his home in Plains, Georgia. Carter was the longest living U.S. president and the first to reach 100.
His funeral brought together the living U.S presidents, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden.
