The Jimmy Carter presidency began at noon EST on January 20, 1977, when Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democrat, took over the office after defeating the current President of the Republic of Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. His presidency ended with his defeat in the 1980 presidential election by Republican candidate Ronald Reagan.
Carter served during the "stagflation" period, as the economy experienced a combination of high inflation and slow economic growth. Its budget policy focuses on taming inflation by reducing government deficits and expenditures. In response to the energy concerns that had taken place during the 1970s, his government enacted a national energy policy designed to promote energy conservation and the development of alternative resources. Despite Carter's policies, the country was hit by the energy crisis in 1979, followed by a recession in 1980. Carter sought reforms for the welfare of the state, health care, and tax systems, but largely unsuccessful, partly because of a poor relationship with Congress. He led the establishment of the Department of Energy and the Department of Education.
Taking office in the midst of the Cold War, Carter changed the orientation of US foreign policy toward an emphasis on human rights. Taking office in a relatively warm period of relations with China and the Soviet Union, Carter continued his predecessor's peace policy. He normalizes relations with China and continues Strategic Arms Restrictions Talks with the Soviet Union. In an effort to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, he helped organize the Camp David Treaty between Israel and Egypt. Through the Torrijos-Carter Agreement, Carter guaranteed the transfer of the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999. After the start of the Soviet-Afghan War, he threw out his policy of conciliation with the Soviet Union and started a period of military development.
The last fifteen months of Carter's presidency were marked by major crises, including the Iranian hostage crisis, serious fuel shortages, and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. His low approval rating drew challenges from Ted Kennedy, a prominent Democratic liberal figure who protested Carter's opposition to the national health insurance system. Encouraged by public support for his policies in late 1979 and early 1980, Carter came together to defeat Kennedy in the Democratic primaries in 1980. In the election, Carter faced Reagan, a conservative former California governor. Although polls taken on election night showed a close race, Reagan won a decisive victory. In polls of historians and political scientists, Carter is usually classed as below-average president.
Video Presidency of Jimmy Carter
Presidential Election in 1976
Carter was elected Governor of Georgia in 1970, and for four years in power he gained a reputation as a progressive and racial Southern governor. Observing the success of George McGovern in the 1972 Democratic preliminary election, Carter became convinced that he could win the Democratic presidential nomination nomination in 1976 by working as an outsider unrelated to politicians in Washington, DC Despite less support from party leaders, McGovern won the 1972 Democratic nomination by winning a delegate in the primary election, and the Carter campaign will be taking a similar course. Carter declared his candidacy for the nomination of the Democratic presidential nominee in December 1974. As Democrat leader such as the 1939 Hubert Humphrey nominee, Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota, and Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts refused to enter the race, there was no clear favorite in the preliminary Democratic elections. Mo Udall, Srigent Shriver, Birch Bayh, Fred R. Harris, Terry Sanford, Henry M. Jackson, Lloyd Bentsen and George Wallace are all looking for nominations, and many of these candidates are better known than Carter.
Carter attempted to appeal to various groups within the party; his defense to cut back on defense spending and curbing the CIA appealed to the liberals, while his emphasis on the removal of government waste appealed to conservatives. Iowa held the first contest of the primary season, and Carter campaigned a lot in the state, hoping that the victory would show that he had a great chance of winning the nomination. Carter won the most votes from any candidate in the Iowa caucus, and he dominated media coverage in front of a New Hampshire primer, which he also won. Carter's subsequent defeat of Wallace in Florida and North Carolina primary elections eliminated Carter's main rival in the South. Black voters' support was a key factor in Carter's success, especially in the Southern primaries. With victory over Jackson in primary Pennsylvania, Carter established himself as a clear front-runner. Despite the late arrival of Church Sen. Frank and Governor Jerry Brown to the race, Carter earned a nomination on the final day of the primaries. The 1976 Democratic National Convention went harmoniously and, after interviewing several candidates, Carter chose Mondale as his partner. The selection of Mondale was well received by many liberal Democrats, who were skeptical of Carter.
Republicans have a contested convention that ultimately nominates President Gerald Ford, who succeeded in becoming president in 1974 after Richard Nixon's resignation over his last involvement in the Watergate scandal. With Republicans split badly, and with Ford facing questions about his presidential competence, a poll taken in August 1976 showed Carter with a 15-point advantage. In an election campaign, Carter continues to promote the centrist agenda, trying to define the new Democrat position after a tumultuous 1960s. Above all, Carter attacked the political system, defining himself as an "outsider" who would reform Washington in the post-Watergate era. In response, Ford attacked Carter who was considered "obscure", arguing that Carter was not clear on major issues. Carter and President Ford were confronted in three televised debates during the 1976 election, the first debate since 1960. Ford was generally seen as the winner of the first debate, but he made a big mistake in the second debate when he declared there was "no Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe. "Madness ended Ford's final momentum, and Carter helped his own campaign with a strong performance in the third debate. Polls conducted just before election day showed a very close race.
Carter won elections with 50.1% of popular votes and 297 electoral votes, while Ford won 48% of popular votes and 240 electoral votes. The 1976 presidential election was the victory of a single Democratic presidential election between the 1964 and 1992 elections. Carter fared very well in Northeast and South, while Ford swept the West and won most of the Midwest. In concurrent congressional elections, Democrats increase their majority in the House and Senate.
Maps Presidency of Jimmy Carter
Inauguration
In his inaugural address, Carter said, "We've learned that more is not necessarily better, that even our big country has a recognized limit, and that we can not answer all questions or solve all problems." Carter has campaigned with the promise to remove the "Imperial Presidency" trap, and begin to take action according to the promise on the Day of Inauguration, in violation of recent history and security protocols by walking on Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House in his book. the prime march. His first steps in the White House went a step further in this direction: Carter reduced staff size by one-third, revoked government-funded support for cabinet members, and also placed USS Sequoia, president of cruise ships, for sale. He also fulfilled a campaign promise by issuing an executive order stating an unconditional amnesty for the bearers of the Vietnam War concept.
Administration
Although Carter had campaigned against Washington, most of the people appointed as Carter prime ministers had served in previous governments or knew Carter in Georgia; the only exception to this rule is Ray Marshall's Secretary of Labor. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Defense Secretary Harold Brown, and Finance Minister W. Michael Blumenthal are high-ranking officials in the Kennedy and Johnson governments. Other important appointments include Charles Schultze as Chairman of the Economic Advisory Board, former Defense Secretary James R. Schlesinger as assistant president on energy issues, federal judge Griffin Bell as Attorney General, and Patricia Roberts Harris, the first African-American woman to serve in the cabinet, as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
After his 1976 election victory, Carter offered the White House Chief of Staff position to his two advisers, Hamilton Jordan and Charles Kirbo, but both refused. Instead of offering a position to others, Carter chose not to have a chief of staff, but to implement a system in which cabinet members would have more direct access to the president. Carter appointed several close associates from Georgia to the President's Executive Office staff. Bert Lance was chosen to lead the Office of Management and Budget, while Jordan became assistant and key adviser. Other recipients from Georgia include Jody Powell as White House Press Secretary, Jack Watson as cabinet secretary, and Stuart E. Eizenstat as head of the Domestic Policy Officer. To oversee the government's foreign policy, Carter relied on several members of the Trilateral Commission, including Vance and National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski. Brzezinski emerged as one of Carter's closest advisers, and Carter made use of the National Security Council and the Vance State Department in developing and implementing foreign policy. Vice-President Mondale served as the main advisor on both foreign and domestic affairs, and First Lady Rosalynn Carter emerged as an important voice in government.
Carter shook the White House staff in mid-1978, bringing advertising executive Gerald Rafshoon to serve as White House Communications Director and Anne Wexler to lead the Public Liaison Office. Carter implemented extensive personnel changes at the White House and cabinet in mid-1979. Five cabinet secretaries left the office, including Blumenthal, Bell, and Joseph Califano, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. Jordan was elected chief of first administrative staff, while Alonzo L. McDonald, formerly of McKinsey & amp; The company, being the White House staff director. Federal Reserve chairman G. William Miller succeeds Blumenthal as Treasury Secretary, Benjamin Civiletti serving as Attorney General, and Charles Duncan Jr. become Secretary of Energy. After Vance resigned in 1980, Carter appointed Edmund Muskie, a respected Senator with whom Carter had developed friendly relations, to serve as Secretary of State.
Legal promise
Among presidents who served at least a full period, Carter was the only one who never made a pledge to the Supreme Court. Carter appointed 56 judges to the United States Court of Appeals, and 203 judges to the US district court. Two people appointed by the circuit court - Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg - were then appointed to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton. Carter was the first president to make demographic diversity a top priority in the election of a judge. During the Carter presidency, the number of female circuit court judges increased from one to twelve, the number of non-white circuit judges increased from six to thirteen, the number of female district court judges increased from four to 32, and the number of male- whites increased from 23 to 55. Carter appointed the first African-American women court judge, Amalya Lyle Kearse, first Hispanic circuit court judge, Reynaldo Guerra Garza, and the first Hispanic women district court judge Carmen Consuelo Cerezo.
domestic affairs
Relationship with Congress
Carter successfully campaigned as a Washington "outsider" critical of President Gerald Ford and the Democratic Congress; as president, Carter continues this theme. However, this refusal was done by Washington's rules, which contributed to Carter's difficult government relationship with Congress. After the election, Carter demanded the power to reorganize the executive branch, alienating powerful Democrats like Tip O'Neill Speaker and Jack Brooks. During Nixon's reign, Congress passed a series of reforms that wiped out the power of the president, and most members of Congress refused to restore that power even with a Democrat now in office. Non-return phone calls, verbal humiliations, and reluctance to trade political bids worsened much on Capitol Hill and affected the president's ability to enforce his agenda. In many cases, this communication failure does not come from a deliberate neglect, but from a poor organization of the congressal government liaison function. Carter sought to seduce O'Neill, Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, and other Congress members through personal involvement, but he was generally unable to win rally support for his program through these meetings. Carter also mistakenly focuses on too many priorities at once, especially in the first months of his presidency.
A few months after his tenure began, and thought he had the support of some 74 congressmen, Carter issued a "list of targets" of 19 projects he claimed to be a "barrel of pork" expenditure. He said that he would veto the law containing the projects in this list. Congress responded by passing a bill combining several projects that Carter objected to Carter's economic stimulus measures. Carter chose to sign the bill, but his criticism of the "barrel of pig" project made him support it in Congress. This struggle determines Carter's presidential pattern, and he often clashed with Congress for the remainder of his term.
Budget policy
While taking over the office, Carter proposed an economic stimulus package that would give tax breaks of $ 50 to every citizen, cut corporate taxes by $ 900 million, and increase spending on public works. The limited spending involved in the package reflects Carter's fiscal conservatism, as he is more concerned with avoiding inflation and balancing the budget than dealing with unemployment. Carter's resistance to higher federal spending attracted attacks from many of its own party members, who wanted to lower the unemployment rate through a federal public works project. Carter signed several measures designed to address unemployment in 1977, including the extension of the Labor and Comprehensive Training Act, but he continued to focus primarily on reducing deficits and inflation. In November 1978, Carter signed the Revenue Act of 1978, a $ 18.7 billion tax cut.
The all-time federal budget deficit Carter remained around the $ 70 billion level achieved in 1976, while down as a percentage of GDP from 4% to 2.5% in the fiscal year 1980-81. US national debt increased about $ 280 billion, from $ 620 billion in early 1977 to $ 900 billion by the end of 1980. However, as economic growth surpassed growth in nominal debt, federal government debt as a gross percentage of domestic product declined slightly, from 33, 6% in early 1977 to 31.8% by the end of 1980.
Energy
National Energy Act
In 1977, energy policy was one of the biggest challenges facing the United States. Oil imports have risen 65% annually since 1973, and the US consumes twice as much energy, per capita, as other developed countries. In 1973, during the Nixon Administration, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reduced the available supply of oil to the world market, partly because the dollar deflation they received as a result of Nixon abandoned the gold standard and partly in reaction to US arms shipments to Israel during the Yom War Kippur. This triggered the 1973 Oil Crisis and forced oil prices to rise sharply, spurring price inflation across the economy and slowing growth. The United States continued to face energy problems in the following years, and during the winter of 1976-1977 the shortage of natural gas forced the closure of many schools and factories, which caused temporary layoffs of hundreds of thousands of workers.
After taking over the office, Carter asked James Schlesinger to develop a plan to tackle the energy crisis. Carter also won congressional approval for the establishment of the Department of Energy, and he named Schlesinger as the department's first head. Schlesinger presented an energy plan containing 113 provisions, the most important being taxes on domestic oil production and gasoline consumption. The plan is also provided for tax credits for energy conservation, low fuel efficiency car taxes, and a mandate to convert from oil or natural gas to coal power. The House approved many of Carter's plans in August 1977, but the Senate passed a series of water-billed energy bills that included Carter's proposals. Negotiations with Congress were dragged into 1978, but Carter signed the National Energy Act in November 1978. Many of Carter's original proposals were not included in the law, but the act of deregulating natural gas and encouraging energy conservation and renewable energy development through tax credits.
energy crisis 1979
Another energy shortage hit the United States in 1979, and some American motorists were forced to wait in line for more than an hour to refuel. In response, Carter asked Congress to deregulate domestic oil prices. At that time, domestic oil prices were not determined by the world market, but by the complex price controls of the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). Oil companies are very fond of price deregulation, because it will increase their profits, but some members of Congress fear deregulation will contribute to inflation. Carter paired a deregulation proposal with an unexpected profit tax, which would return about half of the company's new oil profits to the federal government. Carter used the EPCA provision for a phase in oil control, but Congress balked at applying the proposed tax.
In July 1979, when the energy crisis continued, Carter met with a number of business, government, labor, academic and religious leaders in an attempt to reform his government policy. His patroller, Pat Caddell, told him that the American people are facing a crisis of confidence stemming from the killing of the great leaders of the 1960s, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal. Although most other top advisers urged him to continue to focus on inflation and energy crises, Carter captured Caddell's idea that the great crisis facing the country was a crisis of confidence. On July 15, Carter delivered a nationally televised speech in which he requested long-term restrictions on oil imports and the development of synthetic fuels. But he also stated, "all the rules of the world can not fix what is wrong with America, what is lacking is the confidence and sense of the community." The speech came to be known as his "malaise" speech, although Carter never used the word in speech.
The initial reaction to Carter's remarks was generally positive, but Carter was mistaken by forcing some cabinet members, including Energy Secretary Schlesinger, then in July. Nevertheless, Congress approved a $ 227 million fortune income tax and ratified the Energy Security Act. The Energy Security Act established the Synthetic Fuels Corporation, which is in charge of developing alternative energy sources. Despite the legislative victory, in 1980 Congress overturned Carter's approval of additional costs on imported oil, and rejected the proposed Energy Mobilization Council, a government body designed to facilitate the construction of a power plant. Nevertheless, Kaufman and Kaufman wrote that the policies enacted under Carter represent "the most exciting energy laws in the nation's history." Carter's policy contributed to a decline in per capita consumption energy consumption, which was down 10 percent from 1979 to 1983. Oil imports, which had hit a record 2.4 billion barrels in 1977 (50 percent of supply), declined by half from 1979 to 1983.
Economy
Carter served during the "stagflation" period, as the economy experienced high inflation and low economic growth. The US has recovered from the 1973-75 recession, but the economy, and especially inflation, continues to be a major concern for many Americans in 1977 and 1978. The economy has grown by 5% in 1976, and has continued to grow at the same pace during 1977 and 1978. Unemployment declined from 7.5% in January 1977 to 5.6% in May 1979, with over 9 million new clean jobs created during that period, and the average household income grew 5% from 1976 to 1978 In October 1978, responding to worsening inflation, Carter announced the beginning of "phase two" of the anti-inflation campaign on national television. He appointed Alfred E. Kahn as Chairman of the Board on Wage and Price Stability (COWPS), and COWPS announced price targets for the industry and implemented other policies designed to reduce inflation.
The 1979 energy crisis ended a period of growth; inflation and interest rates rose, while economic growth, job creation, and consumer confidence declined sharply. The relatively loose monetary policy adopted by Federal Reserve Board Chairman G. William Miller has contributed to somewhat higher inflation, up from 5.8% in 1976 to 7.7% in 1978. Doubling the price of crude- arrived by OPEC forcing inflation to double the digit rate, averaging 11.3% in 1979 and 13.5% in 1980.
After the cabinet in mid-1979, Carter appointed Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Volcker pursues a tight monetary policy to reduce inflation, but this policy also has the effect of slowing economic growth further. Carter enforces austerity program by executive orders, justifies these steps by observing that inflation has reached a "crisis stage"; inflation and short-term interest rates reached 18 percent in February and March 1980. In March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to its lowest level since mid-1976, and next month's unemployment rose to seven percent. The economy has entered a recession, and the economic times are difficult to continue as unemployment rises to 7.8 percent. The economy was in a V-shaped recession that coincided with Carter's reelection campaign, and it contributed to its tremendous loss. GDP and total employment returned pre-recession levels in the first quarter of 1981.
Health care
During the 1976 presidential campaign, Carter proposed a health care reform plan that included key features of the bipartisan bill, sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy, provided for the establishment of a national universal health insurance system (NHI). Although most Americans have health insurance through Medicare, Medicaid, or personal plans, about ten percent of the population has no coverage in 1977. The establishment of the NHI plan is a top priority of organized workers and many liberal Democrats, but Carter has concerns about costs, as well the effects of inflation, of such systems. He postponed health care considerations until 1977, and finally decided that he would not support Kennedy's proposal to build an NHI system that included all Americans. Kennedy met repeatedly with Carter and White House staff in an attempt to form a compromise health care plan, but the negotiations failed in July 1978. Although Kennedy and Carter had previously been in good shape, differences over health insurance led to an open gap between the two Democratic leaders.
In June 1979, Carter proposed a more limited health insurance reform - an employer's mandate to provide private disaster health insurance. The plan will also extend Medicaid to the very poor without dependent children, and will add disaster coverage to Medicare. Kennedy rejected the plan as not enough. In November 1979, Senator Russell B. Long led a conservative majority of the Senate Finance Committee to support the employer's mandate to provide disaster coverage and disaster coverage to Medicare. These efforts were abandoned in 1980 due to budget constraints.
Welfare and tax reform proposals
Carter seeks a thorough reform of welfare programs to provide more cost-effective assistance. Proposals contemplated by the Carter administration include guaranteed minimum income, federal employment benefits for unemployment, negative income taxes, and direct cash payments to assist recipients. In early 1977, Califano Secretary presented Carter with several options for welfare reform, all of which Carter rejected as they increased government spending. In August 1977, Carter proposed a major employment program for well-off welfare recipients and "decent income" for those unable to work. Carter could not win support for his welfare reform proposal, and they never received a vote in Congress. In October 1978, Carter helped convince the Senate to pass the Humphrey-Hawkins Employment Act, which the federal government commits to low inflation goals and low unemployment. For the disappointment of the Congregational Caucus Black (CBC) and organized labor, the final act does not include provisions authorizing the federal government to act as the last employer to provide full employment.
Carter also sought tax reform to create a simpler and more progressive tax system. He proposes a capital gains tax as regular income, removes tax shelters, limits detailed tax breaks, and increases standard deductions. Carter's tax proposal was rejected by Congress, and no major tax reform bill was passed during Carter's presidency. Carter signed a law known as the Social Security Amendment of 1977, which raised the Social Security tax and reduced Social Security benefits. The action corrected technical errors made in 1972 and ensured the short-term solvency of Jamsostek.
Environment
Carter supports many of the goals of the environmental movement, and he signed several bills designed to protect the environment. In 1977, Carter signed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, which regulates strip mining. In 1980, Carter signed the Alaska National Landscape Conservation Law Act, which doubled the amount of public land set aside for national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. In the same year, he signed a law establishing Superfund, a federal program designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous materials.
Education
Early in his tenure, Carter worked with Congress to help fulfill the campaign's promise to create a cabinet-level education department. In his February 28, 1978 speech at the White House, Carter argued, "Education is too important to disseminate little by little among government departments and agencies, often busy with sometimes dominant problems." In October 1979, Carter signed the Act of the Department of Education Organization into law, establishing the United States Department of Education. Carter also expanded Head Start program with an additional 43,000 children and families. During his tenure, the insufficient percentage of dollars spent on education doubled.
Other initiatives
Carter took a position to support the decriminalization of marijuana, citing laws passed in Oregon in 1973. In a 1977 speech to Congress, Carter proposed that the punishment for the use of marijuana should not exceed the actual danger of cannabis consumption. Carter retained Robert Du Pont's (Nixon-era) Nixon-era adviser, and appointed the British pro-decriminalisation doctor Peter Bourne as his drug advisor (or "drug czar") to head the newly formed Drug Abuse Policy. However, law enforcement, conservative politicians, and grassroots parent groups are opposing this step. The net result of the Carter administration is the continuation of the Drug War and the restriction of marijuana, while at the same time consumption of marijuana in the United States has reached historically high levels.
Carter was the first president to discuss the topic of gay rights, and his government was the first to meet a group of gay rights activists. Carter opposed the Briggs Initiative, the size of a California ballot that would ban gay and gay rights advocates from becoming a public school teacher. Carter supported an affirmative action policy, and his administration filed a brief amicus curiae to the Supreme Court when he heard of the case of the Univ Regent. from Cal. v. Bakke. The ownership of the Supreme Court, presented in 1978, upholds the constitutionality of affirmative action but prohibits the use of racial quotas in college admissions. First Lady Rosalyn Carter publicly campaigned for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and the president endorsed the extension of the ratification period for the amendment.
Carter led the deregulation of several industries, which supporters hope will help revive a sluggish economy. The Airline Deregulation Act abolished the Civil Aeronautical Board and gave airlines more control over their operations. Carter also signed the 1980 Transportation Law, which deregulated the trucking industry, and the Staggers Rail Act, which loosened the rules on railroads.
The Housing and Community Development Act of 1977 regulates the Urban Development Action Grants, extends the disability and old age provisions, and establishes the People's Reinvestment Act, which strives to prevent banks from denying loans and loans to the poor.
Foreign relations
Cold War
Carter served during the Cold War, a period of sustained geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the relationship between the two superpowers increased through a policy known as detente. In a reflection of the importance of the Cold War, some of Carter's contemporaries referred to him as the first post-Cold War president, but relations with the Soviet Union would continue to be an important factor in US foreign policy in the late 1970s and 1980s. Many of Carter's top government officials, including Carter himself, were members of the Trilateral Commission, which did not emphasize the Cold War. The Trilateral Commission even advocated a foreign policy focused on aid to Third World countries and enhanced relations with Western Europe and Japan. The central tension of Carter's foreign policy was reflected in the division between State Secretary Cyrus Vance, who sought better relations with the Soviet Union and the Third World, and National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, who favored confrontations with the Soviet Union on issues.
Human rights
Carter believes that the previous administration has been mistaken in allowing Cold War and Realpolitical concerns to dominate foreign policy. His government places a new emphasis on human rights, democratic values, nuclear proliferation, and global poverty. The human rights emphasis of the Carter administration was part of a broader worldwide focus on human rights in the 1970s, as non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch became increasingly prominent. Carter nominated civil rights activist Patricia M. Derian as Coordinator of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, and in August 1977, the post grew up to Assistant Secretary of State. Derian founded the American State Report on Human Rights Practices, published annually since 1977. Latin America became the center of Carter's new concern about human rights. The Carter administration ended support for the US-backed Somoza regime in Nicaragua and directed aid to the new Sandinista National Liberation Front government that took power after the overthrow of Somoza. Carter also reduced or stopped military aid to Augusto Pinochet of Chile, Ernesto Geisel of Brazil, and Jorge Rafael Videla of Argentina, all of which he criticized for human rights abuses.
Carter's UN ambassador, Andrew Young, was the first African-American to hold high-level diplomatic positions. Together with Carter, he sought to change US policy towards Africa, emphasizing human rights concerns over Cold War issues. In 1978, Carter became the first president to sit for an official state visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, a reflection of the region's new interests under Carter's foreign policy. Unlike its predecessor, Carter takes a strong stand against white minority governments in Rhodesia and South Africa. With Carter's support, the UN passed Resolution 418, which put an arms embargo on South Africa. Carter won the revocation of the Byrd Amendment, which has weakened international sanctions against the Rhodesian government, Ian Smith. He also pressured Smith to hold elections, which led to the 1979 Rhodesia election and the formation of Zimbabwe recently.
The more assertive human rights policies championed by Derian and Director of Policy Planning at the Department of Foreign Affairs Anthony Lake were paralyzed by Brzezinski's opposition. These policy disputes reached the most debated point during the fall of the 1979 Cambodian Democratic Pol Pot's destruction regime after the Vietnam invasion of Cambodia, when Brzezinski won because the government refused to recognize the new Cambodian government because of its support by the Soviet Union. Despite human rights issues, Carter continued US support for Joseph Mobutu of Zaire, who defeated Angolan-backed militants in the conflict known as Shaba I and Shaba II. His government also generally refrained from criticizing human rights abuses in the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Iran, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and North Yemen.
SALT II
Ford and Nixon have sought to reach agreement on the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), which has set limits on the number of nuclear weapons owned by the United States and the Soviet Union. Carter hopes to expand the talks by reaching an agreement to reduce, rather than just setting the upper limit on, the nuclear weapons of both countries. At the same time, he criticized Soviet records relating to human rights, partly because he believed the public would not support negotiations with the Soviets if the president seemed too willing to accommodate the Soviets. Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev reached an agreement in June 1979 in the form of SALT II, ​​but the shrinking popularity of Carter and the opposition Republican and Democratic neoconservatives made ratifying difficult. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan severely damaged US-Soviet ties and ended hopes of ratifying SALT II.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan had been out of sync during the early stages of the Cold War, but the 1973 coup had brought a pro-Western government into power. Five years later, the Communists under the leadership of Nur Muhammad Taraki seized power. The new regime - shared between the extremist factions of Khalq Taraki and the more moderate Parcham - signed a friendly treaty with the Soviet Union in December 1978. Taraki's efforts to promote secular education and redistribute land accompanied by mass executions and unprecedented political repression in history Afghanistan, sparking an insurgency by insurgents of the mujahideen. After the general uprising in April 1979, Taraki was ousted by Khalq Hafizullah Amin's rival in September. The Soviet leaders fear that the Islamic government in Afghanistan will threaten the control of the Central Asian Soviets, and, when the unrest continues, they deploy 30,000 troops to the Soviet-Afghan border. Carter and Brzezinski both saw Afghanistan as a potential "trap" that could deplete Soviet resources in a fruitless war, and the United States began to send aid to the mujahideen in early 1979. In December, the Amin government had lost control of most countries, prompting the Soviet Union to attack Afghanistan, executing Amin, and installing Parcham Babrak Karmal as president.
Carter was shocked by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, because the consensus of the US intelligence community during 1978 and 1979 was that Moscow would not forcibly intervene. CIA officials have been tracking the deployment of Soviet troops to the Afghan border, but they have not expected the Soviets to launch a full-fledged invasion. Carter believed that the Soviet conquest of Afghanistan would present a great threat to the Persian Gulf region, and he vigorously responded to what he regarded as a dangerous provocation. In a televised address, Carter announced sanctions against the Soviet Union, pledged new aid to Pakistan, and articulated Carter's doctrine, stating that the US would refuse any attempt to seize the Persian Gulf. Pakistani leader Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq previously had a bad relationship with Carter because of Pakistan's nuclear program and the execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, but the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and instability in Iran revived the Pakistan-US traditional alliance. In cooperation with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Carter increased assistance to the Mujahideen through CIA Cyclone Operations. Carter also later announced a US boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, which caused bitter controversy.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan brought significant changes in Carter's foreign policy and ended the detente period that began in the mid-1960s. Returning to detention policy, the United States reconciled with Cold War allies and increased defense budgets, leading to a new arms race with the Soviet Union. US support for mujahedeen will be accelerated under Carter's successor, Ronald Reagan, with final fees for US taxpayers of about $ 3 billion. The Soviets were unable to quell the insurgency and withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989, accelerating the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself.
Middle East
Camp David Accords
While taking over the office, Carter decided to use his influence to mediate the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict. Carter searched for a comprehensive settlement between Israel and its neighbors through the 1973 Geneva Conference meeting, but these efforts collapsed in late 1977. Although unsuccessful in holding back the conference, Carter convinced Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat to visit Israel in 1978. Sadat's visit drew criticism from other Arab League countries, but Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin each expressed openness to bilateral talks. Start looking for security guarantees; Sadat sought the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Sinai Peninsula and house rules for the West Bank and Gaza, the occupied territory of Israel that is predominantly inhabited by Palestinian Arabs. Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Six Day War, while the Sinai has been occupied by Israel since the end of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Seeking further negotiations, Carter invited Begin and Sadat to Camp David's presidential retreat in September 1978. Since direct negotiations between Sadat and Begin proved unproductive, Carter began to meet the two leaders individually. Although Begin is willing to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula, he refuses to agree on the establishment of a Palestinian state. Israel has begun building settlements in the West Bank, emerging as an important barrier to a peace treaty. Unable to reach a definitive settlement over Israel's withdrawal, both sides reached an agreement in which Israel made vague promises to allow for the creation of elected governments in the West Bank and Gaza. In return, Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize Israel's right to life. The Camp David agreement is the subject of strong domestic opposition in Egypt and Israel, as well as the wider Arab World, but each side agrees to negotiate a peace treaty under the agreement.
On March 26, 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in Washington, D.C. Carter's role in getting the deal is very important. Aaron David Miller interviewed many officials for his book The Much Too Promised Land (2008) and concluded the following: "It does not matter who I am talking to - America, Egypt, or Israel - most people say the same thing : no Carter, no peace treaty. "Carter himself regarded the agreement as his most important achievement at the office.
Iranian revolution and hostage crisis
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah Iran, has been a reliable ally of the US since the 1953 Iranian coup. During the years following the coup, the United States devoted aid to Iran while Iran served as a reliable source of oil exports. Carter, Vance and Brzezinski all view Iran as a key Cold War ally not only for the oil it produces but also because of its influence in OPEC and the strategic position between the Soviet Union and the Persian Gulf. Despite human rights violations, Carter visited Iran in late 1977 and allowed the sale of US combat aircraft. In the same year, riots broke out in several cities, and soon spread throughout the country. Poor economic conditions, the unpopularity of Pahlavi's "White Revolution", and the rise of Islam all cause an increase in anger among Iranians, many of whom also hate the United States for their support of Pahlavi and his role in the 1953 coup.
In 1978, the Iranian Revolution had broken out against the Shah's rule. Secretary of State Vance argued that the Shah should institute a series of reforms to appease the voices of discontent, while Brzezinski argues in favor of a crackdown on disagreements. The mixed messages Shah received from Vance and Brzezinski contributed to his confusion and indecision. Shah went into exile, leaving the temporary government in charge. A popular religious figure, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, returned from exile in February 1979 to popular recognition. When the unrest continued, Carter allowed Pahlavi to go to the United States for medical treatment. Carter and Vance were initially reluctant to recognize Pahlavi because of concerns about reaction in Iran, but Iranian leaders assured the Iranian government of assuring them that it would not cause any problems. In November 1979, shortly after Pahlavi was allowed into the United States, a group of Iranians stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took 66 American prisoners, who started the Iranian hostage crisis. Iranian Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan ordered the militants to free the hostages, but he resigned from his post after Khomeini supported the militants.
The crisis quickly became the subject of international and domestic concern, and Carter vowed to free the hostages. He rejected Iran's request for Pahlavi's return in exchange for the release of the hostages. His approval ratings increased as Americans gathered around his response, but the crisis became increasingly problematic for his administration as it continued. In an effort to rescue the hostages, Carter launched Operation Eagle Claw in April 1980. The operation was a total disaster, and it ended with the death of eight American soldiers. Failure of operations strengthens the position of Ayatollah Khomenei in Iran and severely damages Carter's domestic reputation. Carter got another blow when Vance, who consistently opposed the operation, resigned. Iran refused to renegotiate the hostages until Iraq launched an invasion in September 1980 With Algeria serving as an intermediary, negotiations continued until an agreement was reached in January 1981. In return for releasing 52 prisoners, Iran received more than $ 7 billion in compensation and not freeze Iranian assets in the United States. Iran waited to release detainees for several hours after Carter left office on January 20, 1981.
Latin America
Panama Canal Agreement
Since the 1960s, the Panama Canal has been the subject of a dispute between Panama and the United States, as Panama wants to renegotiate the treaty that has given US control over the Panama Canal Zone. Carter believes that restoring the Panama Canal Zone is morally correct, will strengthen US ties with Latin America, and will help prevent domestic unrest against the Panama government of Omar Torrijos. His government negotiated the Torrijos-Carter Agreement, two agreements which established that Panama would control the canal in 1999. Carter's initiative faced widespread resistance in the United States, and many in the community, especially conservative, thought that Carter "granted" important US assets. Conservatives formed groups such as the Committee to Save the Panama Canal in an effort to defeat the agreement in the Senate, and Carter made ratification of the treaty a top priority. During the ratification debate, the Senate made amendments giving the US the right to intervene militarily to keep the canal open, as agreed by the citizens of Panama after further negotiations. In March 1978, the Senate ratified both treaties by a difference of 68-to-32, narrowly passing the two-thirds of the margin required for ratification.
Cuban
Carter hopes to improve relations with Cuba while taking over the office, but the liquefaction in the relationship is prevented by the ongoing Cold War dispute in Central America and Africa. In early 1980, Cuban leader Fidel Castro announced that anyone who wanted to leave Cuba would be allowed to do so through the port of Mariel. After Carter announced that the United States would provide "an open weapon for tens of thousands of refugees seeking freedom from Communist domination," the American Cubans arranged for the transport of Mariel. The Refugee Act, signed at the beginning of the year, has provided an annual stamp of 19,500 Cuban immigrants to the United States per year, and requires the refugees to go through the review process. In September, 125,000 Cubans arrived in the United States, and many face shortages of inadequate food and housing. Carter is widely criticized for his handling of ships, especially in the electorically important state of Florida.
Asia
Compatibility with China
Continuing the restoration of relationships that began during the Nixon administration, Carter sought closer ties with the People's Republic of China (PRC). The two countries increasingly collaborated against the Soviet Union, and the Carter administration secretly approved the Chinese invasion of Vietnam. In 1979, Carter granted formal diplomatic recognition to the PRC for the first time. This decision led to an explosion in trade between the United States and the PRC, which pursued economic reforms under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Carter allowed the sale of military supplies to China and started negotiations to share military intelligence. In January 1980, Carter unilaterally lifted the Sino-American Defense Treaty with the Republic of China (ROC), which had lost control of mainland China to the PRC in the Chinese Civil War, but retained control of Taiwan's island. Carter's abortion to the treaty was opposed in court by conservative Republicans, but the Supreme Court ruled that the issue was an unjustifiable political question at Goldwater v. Carter . The US continues to maintain diplomatic ties with the ROC through Taiwan's 1979 Relations Act.
South Korea
One of Carter's first actions was to order a troop withdrawal from South Korea, which has hosted a large number of US military personnel since the end of the Korean War. Carter believes that soldiers could be better utilized in Western Europe, but the withdrawal opponents fear that North Korea will attack South Korea after the withdrawal. South Korea and Japan both protested the move, as did many members of Congress, the military, and the State Department. After a strong reaction, Carter delayed the withdrawal, and eventually only a small part of the US troops left South Korea. Carter's efforts to remove US troops from South Korea undermined South Korean President Park Chung-hee's government, which was assassinated in 1979.
International travel list
Carter made 12 international trips to 25 countries during his presidency.
Controversy
OMB Director Bert Lance resigned from his post on 21 September 1977, amid alleged improper banking activities before becoming its director. The controversy over Lance ruined Carter's position with Congress and the public, and Lance's resignation removed one of Carter's most effective counsel from his post. In April 1979, Attorney General Bell appointed Paul J. Curran as a special adviser to investigate a loan made to a groundnut owned by Carter by a bank controlled by Bert Lance. Unlike Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski who are called special prosecutors to investigate the Watergate scandal, Curran's position as a special adviser means that he will not be able to file his own demands, but will require the approval of Assistant Attorney General Philip Heymann. Carter became the first president to sit to testify under oath as part of an investigation of the president. The investigation concluded in October 1979, with Curran announcing that no evidence was found to support the allegation that funds lent from the National Bank of Georgia had been transferred to Carter's 1976 presidential campaign.
Carter's brother, Billy, produced much fame during Carter's presidency because of his colorful and often bizarre public behavior. The Senate began an investigation into Billy Carter's activities after it was revealed that Libya had given Billy over $ 200,000 for no apparent reason. The controversy over Billy Carter's relationship with Libya is known as "Billygate," and, while the president has no personal involvement in it, Billygate continues to undermine Carter's government.
1980 presidential election
In April 1978, a poll showed that Carter's approval rating had dropped dramatically, and Gallup's survey found Carter lagging behind Ted Kennedy for a Democratic nomination in 1980. By mid-1979, Carter faced an energy crisis, rampant inflation, slow economic growth, and perceptions it is widespread that his government is incompetent. In November 1979, Kennedy announced that he would challenge Carter in the 1980 Democratic presidential election. Carter polls increased following the start of the Iranian hostage crisis, and his response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan further increased his prospects in the Democratic primaries. Carter dominated the preliminary introduction, allowing him to assemble an early delegation leader. The number of Carter polls fell in March, and Kennedy won the preliminary election of New York and Connecticut. Although Carter developed an extensive lead delegation, Kennedy remained in the race after winning in Pennsylvania and Michigan. On the day of the last preliminary election, Carter has listed the lowest approval ratings in the history of the presidential election, and Kennedy won enough delegates to prevent Carter from nominating.
After the last preliminary election, Carter met Kennedy at the White House. Partly because Carter refused to accept a party platform calling for the creation of a national health insurance program, Kennedy refused to admit. He instead called for an "open convention," in which delegates would be free to vote for their chosen candidate regardless of outcome in the preliminary election. Allied Carter defeated Kennedy's maneuvers in the 1980 Democratic National Convention, and Carter and Vice President Mondale won re-nominations. Despite Kennedy's defeat, he has mobilized the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, which will give Carter weak support in the general election.
In 1980 the Republican presidential election quickly developed into a two-man contest between former Governor Ronald Reagan of California and former Congressman George H. W. Bush of Texas. Bush, referring to Reagan's tax-cuts proposal as a "voodoo economy," won the Iowa Caucus but then faded in the race. Reagan won the presidential nomination at the first vote of the 1980 Republican National Convention and referred to Bush as his partner. Meanwhile, Republican congressman John B. Anderson, previously seeking a Republican presidential nomination, launched an independent campaign for the president. The poll was taken in September, after the party convention ended, showing the race bound between Reagan and Carter. The Carter campaign feels confident that the country will reject the conservative views supported by Reagan, and there are signs of hope related to Iran's economic and hostage crisis. Seeking to unite the Democrats behind his election campaign, Carter decided to focus on attacking Reagan's ideological extremism rather than his own.
The main strength for Reagan is its appeal to the growing conservative movement, as exemplified by activists such as Paul Weyrich, Richard Viguerie, and Phyllis Schlafly. Although they support tax cuts and budget deficits, many conservatives focus on social issues such as abortion and homosexuality. The development of the 1970s, including the case of the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade and withdrawal of Bob Jones University's tax-free status, convinced many evangelical Protestants to engage in politics for the first time. Evangelical Protestants became an increasingly important voting bloc, and they generally supported Reagan in the 1980 campaign. Reagan also won support from the so-called "Reagan Democrats." The Reagan Democrats tend to be Northern, white, working-class voters who favor liberal economic programs but do not like policies such as affirmative action. Although he advocated a socially conservative point of view, Reagan focused much on his campaign of attacks on Carter's foreign policy, including the SALT II agreement, the Torrijos-Carter Agreement, and the lifting of the Sino-American Defense Treaty. Reagan called for increased defense spending, tax cuts, cuts in domestic spending, and the demolition of the Department of Education and the Department of Energy.
Polls remained close throughout September and October, but Reagan's performance in the October 28 debate and Carter's failure to win the release of Iranian hostages gave Reagan momentum into the election day. Reagan won 50.7 percent of popular votes and 489 electoral votes, Carter won 41 percent of popular votes and 49 electoral votes, and Anderson won 6.6 percent of popular votes. Reagan brought all but a handful of countries, and performed very well among Southern white people. The size of Reagan's victory shocked many observers, who were expecting a close range race. Voter participation has reached its lowest point since the 1948 presidential election, a reflection of the negative attitudes many people have of the three main candidates. In the election of a concurrent congress, Republicans won the Senate's control for the first time since the 1950s. Carter, meanwhile, was the first elected president to lose a re-election since Herbert Hoover in 1932.
![Jimmy Carter - by Claudia Ballester Colon [Infographic]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tAbqV2EedXxQxOLnGC3VEtEsv9KiOnzXWkdkgetmQXBex8ZqB9zfVK4d1p-Kx06OPS07o0R0v4urN2yNhV5pUU2OSE1urIIMc8ZQ9mJXykzAyJvW8nnre264jDET6FRgZ6Rt8xr7tt=s0-d "Jimmy Carter - by Claudia Ballester Colon [Infographic]")
Evaluation and inheritance
Polls historians and political scientists generally rate Carter as president below average. The 2018 poll of the American Political Science Association's President and Executive Politics section ranked Carter as the 26th best president. The C-Span Historian poll of 2017 also ranked Carter as the 26th best president. Some critics have compared Carter with Herbert Hoover, who is like "a hard-working but lackluster technocrat."
Robert A. Strong menulis:
Jimmy Carter is much more respected today than when he lost an offer re-elected in 1980. He has produced a post-presidential example, and today there is an increasing appreciation for the magnitude of the task he took in 1977, he took to deal with the crisis he faced. Carter took office just thirty months after the President left the entire federal government in a mess. He faces the epic challenges - energy crises, Soviet aggression, Iran, and above all, a deep mistrust of leadership by his citizens. He worked hard and was careful. But he often looks like a player who is not in a position, a man who is better suited to be secretary of energy than president. Carter became President by narrowly defeating an uninspired and unelected heir of the chief executive in the worst historical scandal in history. His candidacy was largely because in the decade before 1976, the Democratic leadership in the country had been destroyed by scandals, Vietnam, and assassinations.
The historian Burton I. Kaufman and Scott Kaufman wrote:
It was Carter's fate to try to navigate the nation between the traditional Democratic constituent stone and the harsh place of the emerging conservative movement whose emphasis was more on social and cultural values ​​than on the Democratic Party's economic concerns. It is also Carter's misfortune that he leads the nation at a time of staggering inflation and rising unemployment, aggravated by an oil shock where he has little control... At the same time, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Carter is an unremarkable presidency and that this mostly done alone. He's smarter than smart. He is not a careful political planner. He suffered from strategic myopia. He has good intentions but lacks knowledge. He has noble ideals, such as in the field of human rights, which have a symbolic and long-term interest, but they often blind him to political reality. He is a self-righteous person. He is a micro-managed administrator, but not good. Most importantly, he is a president who has never adequately defined the mission for his government, the purpose of the country, and the way to get there.
See also
- Jimmy Carter rabbit accident
- Raymond Lee Harvey, the murderous presidential candidate
Note
References
The work cited
Further reading
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments