For better or for worse, these moments became talking points for many who followed Jimmy Carter’s political career and personal achievements. For this list, we’ll be ranking the personal and professional moments that have helped define the legacy of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
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00:00is that he's not a man that you can predict very well."
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:06for the top 10 moments that defined Jimmy Carter.
00:09His dedication to great causes was rooted here in Plains
00:13and resonates around the world.
00:15For this list, we're ranking the personal and professional moments
00:19that have helped define the legacy of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
00:23For better or for worse, these moments became talking points for many
00:27who follow Jimmy Carter's political career and personal achievements.
00:30Were you surprised at any of these facts?
00:33Let us know in the comments.
00:35Number 10.
00:36Pardoning Draft Dodgers
00:38Jimmy Carter took over as the 39th President of the United States
00:41on January 20, 1977.
00:44He faced a sharply divided and pessimistic America,
00:47burnt out by the Vietnam War
00:49and worried about other potential adversaries abroad.
00:51And if I can exemplify the correction of some of the defects
00:55that have been brought in our government by politicians
00:57and not by the people,
00:58and help to restore the greatness of this country,
01:00then I'd like to do it.
01:01Carter attempted to alleviate some of these issues in a number of ways.
01:05One of them was the pardoning of those who had dodged
01:08the country's mandatory military draft.
01:10Of the 125,000 Americans who fled to Canada,
01:13about half returned to the U.S.
01:15when President Carter granted them amnesty in 1977.
01:19He spoke at Notre Dame University later in the year,
01:22focusing on a new foreign policy shift for the United States.
01:25But there were unbelievable foreign policy,
01:28geostrategic mountains moved during that presidency.
01:32Carter's agenda focused its energies on human issues,
01:36as opposed to attacking saber-rattlers of communism
01:39on the world stage.
01:40Number 9.
01:41Strike-busting
01:43No presidential career is perfect,
01:45nor has any commander-in-chief succeeded
01:47at pleasing all of the people all of the time.
01:49Just to go to the political problems,
01:51he could not unify the Democratic Party.
01:54And that challenge by Ted Kennedy from the left in the 1980 primaries,
01:58that was very hurtful to Jimmy Carter.
02:00Jimmy Carter was no different in this respect,
02:02occasionally angering certain demographics of Americans
02:05who disagreed with his policies.
02:07Labor unions in particular were dismayed at Carter's
02:10invoking of the Taft-Hartley Act in March of 1978.
02:13Hard choices are necessary
02:15if we want to avoid consequences that are even worse.
02:18I intend to make those hard choices.
02:20He did so in order to try and stop a coal industry strike,
02:24instigated by the United Mine Workers of America.
02:26This decision was controversial
02:28and highly unpopular with union leaders and organizers,
02:32many of whom faced fines or jail time for ignoring the invocation.
02:36Many of these proposals will be unpopular.
02:40Some will cause you to put up with inconveniences
02:42and to make sacrifices.
02:43Number 8.
02:44The Carter Center
02:46It's well known that the Carter administration
02:48endeavored to shift their foreign policy goals
02:50to reflect a commitment to human rights.
02:52Well, our first hope at the Carter Center
02:54was to have like a small Camp David here
02:56so I could negotiate peace agreements
02:58between countries that were at war
03:00or likely to go into armed conflict.
03:03And we still do that, as a matter of fact.
03:05The president wasn't just blowing smoke in this regard,
03:07as he would double down on this mission in 1982
03:10with the establishing of the Carter Center.
03:13The non-profit came into existence
03:14shortly after Carter's exit from the White House
03:17and dedicated its resources
03:18to improving the quality of life for various communities.
03:21When Jim was involuntarily retired from the White House,
03:25there was still a lot of things we wanted to do.
03:27The Carter Center has offered medical aid,
03:29mental health counseling,
03:30and even election monitoring services,
03:33proving that both Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn
03:35remained committed to helping people
03:37long after leaving the executive branch.
03:40On shores a world away,
03:42the president's men pinned themselves to feet.
03:45To slay the serpent come what may,
03:47so they built a team to complete the deed.
03:50The task seemed simple, make the waters clean.
03:55Collaborating with the Carter Center
03:57wasn't the only time First Lady Rosalynn Carter
03:59would work alongside her husband.
04:01I thought it was necessary for me
04:03to know what was going on
04:04and why the decisions made and so forth.
04:06And so that I could explain to people in the country
04:10as I toured around.
04:11Jimmy Carter was known for including his wife
04:13in cabinet meetings,
04:14while also seeking out her counsel
04:16as a personal advisor.
04:18Additionally, President Carter's cabinet
04:20was remarkably inclusive for the time,
04:22utilizing both female and minority voices
04:25in a way that deviated from previous administrations.
04:27Carter was renowned for his diverse appointments
04:30during his presidency.
04:31During his time in office,
04:32Carter appointed more women and minorities
04:35to the federal judiciary
04:36than all of his predecessors combined.
04:39One of these cabinet members was Andrew Young,
04:41the 55th mayor of Atlanta
04:43and the first African-American to be appointed
04:45as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
04:48He has no fear of what's coming,
04:52that he has, you know, he has done his job.
04:56After several political controversies, however,
04:58Young was asked to step down.
05:03The decision of any country
05:05to boycott the Olympic Games
05:06can make headline news.
05:08It's another thing, however,
05:09when that country is the United States.
05:11I can't say at this moment
05:16what other nations will not go
05:20to the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
05:24Ours will not go.
05:25While in late 1979,
05:27there was talk of boycotting
05:29the 1980 Summer Olympics,
05:30which would be held in Moscow,
05:32this stance was only officially announced
05:34in March of 1980.
05:36This decision came
05:37after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan
05:39and was an effort to persuade Soviet troops to retreat.
05:42Soviet troops arrived on Christmas Eve of 1979
05:45to back the counterinsurgency
05:47and dug in for war.
05:48Soviet troops were all over the place
05:50in Afghanistan today.
05:52The action was met with condemnation
05:53from all around the globe.
05:55While other countries joined the boycott,
05:57little was accomplished politically in the end.
05:59The Soviet Union would respond
06:01with an embargo of their own
06:02for the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
06:05The announcement, which came from Moscow
06:07late this afternoon,
06:08blamed the commercialization of the Games
06:10and the lack of security measures,
06:12violations in the eyes of the Russians
06:14of the Olympic Charter.
06:16Number 5.
06:17Winning the Nobel Peace Prize
06:19Jimmy Carter's commitment to humanity
06:21didn't end after his presidency did.
06:23He continued to promote democracy
06:25at a global level.
06:26I applaud the Interparliamentary Union
06:28for coming together to raise public awareness
06:31about the first International Day of Democracy
06:33and about our collective responsibility
06:35to protect the citizens' rights
06:37to vote, to be elected,
06:39and to participate freely
06:40in the public affairs of our country.
06:42One such exploit was under President Clinton
06:44in an attempt to open productive dialogue
06:47with North Korea's Kim Il-sung.
06:48And I got reluctant approval
06:51from President Bill Clinton.
06:52I went over and negotiated
06:54with Kim Il-sung successfully,
06:56and the United States eventually put that
06:58into an official agreement
06:59by negotiating in Geneva.
07:01Carter also collaborated
07:02with Nelson Mandela
07:04and visited countries like Darfur,
07:06Cyprus,
07:06and more on humanitarian missions.
07:08The former president also worked
07:10to help others with housing,
07:11specifically by volunteering
07:13with Habitat for Humanity.
07:15He continued to do so into his 90s
07:17and even won the Nobel Peace Prize
07:19for his work in 2002.
07:21We can choose to work together for peace.
07:25We can make these changes.
07:29And we must.
07:30Number 4.
07:31Habitat for Humanity.
07:33Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit
07:35founded in Carter's home state of Georgia.
07:37His commitment to building homes
07:39remained steadfast for decades.
07:41I never dreamed at that point
07:43that it might become an annual affair
07:46that has just enriched our lives
07:48in many ways.
07:49Where he initially built a relationship
07:51with the organization during the 1980s,
07:53he continued to foster that relationship
07:55throughout his life.
07:56He's funny,
07:58and he is one hard worker.
08:01He's the first one on the site in the morning,
08:03and very often the last one to leave
08:05by the end of the day.
08:06A news story from 2019
08:08even demonstrated how a 95-year-old Carter,
08:11who had recently suffered
08:12from a fall requiring stitches,
08:14still made it out to a scheduled
08:15Habitat for Humanity appointment.
08:17Well, I always put Habitat first
08:19and when I possibly can.
08:22We haven't missed a Habitat project
08:24in 36 years,
08:25so I didn't want to miss this one.
08:27This has been special for us.
08:28His dedication to improving communities
08:31on a local level helped cement him
08:33as one of Georgia's most well-known
08:34and respected individuals.
08:39Camp David was the site of one
08:41of President Carter's greatest achievements,
08:43as well as perhaps his greatest misstep.
08:45The Camp David Accords
08:47were a pair of peace agreements
08:48signed by Israeli Prime Minister
08:50Menachem Begin
08:51and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt,
08:53overseen by Jimmy Carter.
08:58However, that same setting
09:10would also serve as the backdrop
09:11for Carter's infamous Malay speech of 1979.
09:15The American people were concerned
09:17with rising inflation and the energy crisis,
09:19two issues the president addressed
09:21with his calling for synthetic fuel alternatives
09:23and limiting imported oil.
09:29However, there was also a focus
09:32on what Carter claimed
09:33was a, quote,
09:34crisis of confidence
09:35and a lack of community.
09:37This, coupled with some
09:38disliked administrative decisions,
09:40set the stage for what would eventually
09:42become Carter's downfall.
09:43The confidence that we have always had
09:47as a people is not simply
09:49some romantic dream or a proverb
09:53in a dusty book that we read
09:55just on the 4th of July.
10:00President Carter would label Iran
10:02a, quote,
10:02island of stability
10:03during a 1977 speech in Tehran.
10:06Two years later,
10:07Tehran would be the site
10:09of the longest hostage situation
10:11in recorded history.
10:13Iran must recognize
10:14the gravity of the situation
10:18which it has itself created
10:21and the grave consequences
10:23which will result
10:24if harm comes to any of the hostages.
10:2852 American diplomats
10:30were held at the American embassy
10:31for over 440 days,
10:33held by Iranian students
10:35who saw the U.S. as a key player
10:37in undermining the Iranian revolution.
10:39Carter ordered a military operation
10:41dubbed Operation Eagle Claw
10:43and failed to rescue the hostages.
10:45It is an indelible image
10:47of American military failure,
10:49the wreckage of the disastrous attempt
10:51to rescue American hostages
10:53from Iran 40 years ago.
10:55The Iran hostage crisis
10:57would officially come to an end
10:58with the signing of the Algiers Accords
11:00in January of 1981,
11:02by which time Carter had already lost
11:04his bid for re-election.
11:06The hostages were flown first to Algeria,
11:08where they were greeted by cheering crowds.
11:10Then they continued to West Germany,
11:12where they would be met
11:13by former President Jimmy Carter,
11:15who had spent most of his presidency
11:16trying to free him.
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11:33Number 1.
11:34The Energy Crisis
11:36Jimmy Carter was a one-term president.
11:38The love of liberty
11:41is a common blood
11:43that flows in our American veins.
11:46The battle for human rights
11:48at home and abroad
11:49is far from over.
11:50He lost to Ronald Reagan
11:52on November 4, 1980.
11:54But this didn't mean
11:55that Carter's presidency was in vain.
11:57The Department of Energy
11:58was established under Carter's watch,
12:00as was a cabinet-level
12:01Department of Education.
12:03However, it's the former
12:04that needs support more than ever.
12:07Carter's moral equivalent
12:08of war speech from 1977
12:10predicted the current
12:11climate change discussion
12:12by over 50 years.
12:14The heart of our energy policy is,
12:17the heart of our energy problem is,
12:19that we have too much demand for fuel.
12:23It keeps going up too quickly
12:26while production goes down.
12:28The president called on Americans
12:29to make sacrifices
12:30with their homes and vehicles
12:32and sought to promote conservation
12:34and invest in clean energy.
12:35It turned out to be
12:36remarkably prescient stuff,
12:38but not without controversy.
12:40To head off a new crisis,
12:42Carter appealed directly to Americans
12:44to rally around a new program.
12:46All of us must learn
12:48to waste less energy.
12:50Carter's American constituents
12:52were struggling
12:53and wanted immediate answers,
12:55not long-term energy solutions.
12:57Now, however,
12:58might be a good time
12:59to revisit his idea
13:01about creating a more
13:02eco-friendly world.
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