Jimmy Carter
(1977-1981)
Election
-Democrat Jimmy Carter beat Republican Gerald Ford to win the presidency in 1976
-Carter swore he would never lie to the American public
"Our American values are not luxuries, but necessities -- not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself. "
Presidency
Humanitarian efforts:
-Rhodesia (known today as Zimbabwe) and South Africa fought for their human rights
-On September 17, 1978, Israel and Egypt signed peace accords at Camp David.
- Carter Mediated Egypt and Isreal when their relationship was strained (successful)
- Isreal with withdraw from their territory if Egypt stayed intheir own territory
-Carter wanted to return to Panama Canal and resume their good relations with China
Rising Inflation
- 1978, President Carter convinced Congress to pass an $18 billion tax cut.
- Inflation had been steadily rising, and by 1979, it was at 13%.
- due to high oil prices and Americas dependence on foreign oil
Oil Crisis
- 1974 OPEC quadrupled the price of oil
- 1979, Iran's shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi was put in place as the dictator by America
- he was overthrown by a coup and the new leader did care to have good relations with the western hemisphere so Iran stopped trading oil with the US and OPEC bumped their prices
- July 15, 1979, Carter told the people they needed to conserve natural resources ("If it's cold, turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater."),
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
- December 27, 1979 Soviet invaded Afganistan
- soviet posed a threat to Americas oil supply
- Carter placed embargo on the Soviet Union and boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow
- proposed a "Rapid Deployment Force" that could quickly respond to crises anywhere in the world
Iranian Hostage Crisis
- American hostages where held in cruel captivity while news reports showed images of Iranians burning the american flag
-Carter attempted economic sanctions to release the hostages (failure)
- 2nd attempt was commando rescue mission (aborted when two military aircraft collided)
-hostages were never released until January 20, 1981-the inauguration day of Ronald Reagan.
Iranian imbroglio
-1979, Carter signed the SALT II agreements but the U.S. senate refused to ratify it.
- November 1986, it was revealed that a year before, American diplomats had secretly arranged arms sales to Iranian diplomats in return for the release of American hostages (at least one was) and had used that money to aid Nicaraguan contra rebels.
Served 1 term