Politician Jimmy Carter has had the career every American dreams of. He went from a simple farmer to the White House, remained in US history, but did not deserve much love from the population, and was unable to retain the presidency. However, Carter played a certain role in world history, and his life path deserves interest.
Formative years
Jimmy Carter was born into a wealthy farmer's family on October 1, 1924. Nothing foreshadowed a brilliant political career, although the parents gave the child an excellent education: he studied at Southwestern State College and Georgia Technological University. But he did not plan to go into politics, but dreamed of becoming a military man. Therefore, he enters the US Naval Academy, hoping to achieve his dream. For 10 years, he successfully pursued a career in the navy, served in the nuclear submarine fleet, and became a senior officer.
But in 1953, family circumstances required his resignation from the army. His father died, and all the worries of managing the farm fell on Jimmy's shoulders. He was an only son and his sisters were unable to farm peanuts, so Jimmy took over the farm. His family had strict rules, his father professed Baptistism and raised his children in religious traditions. Jimmy inherited a certain conservatism from his father. But his mother passed on his high level of social activity. She was involved in a lot of social activities and, even at an advanced age, did not give up her activities and worked, for example, in the Peace Corps in India.
Jimmy ran his business so successfully that he soon became a millionaire and began to engage in social activities.
The path of the politician
In 1961, Jimmy Carter embarked on a political path, he became a member of the county board of education, then went to the Georgia State Senate. In 1966, Carter nominated himself for the post of governor of the state, but lost the race, but did not deviate from his intended goal and took this peak four years later. His election program was based on the elimination of racial discrimination, this idea was his guiding star in all elections in Georgia, it was organic to the character and views of the politician. Carter was a member of the Democratic Party and hoped that he would get into the vice-presidential position during the D. Ford administration, but he was bypassed. Then Jimmy has the idea of becoming president himself.
Election race
The situation in the United States has contributed to the fact that people will become disillusioned with the Republicans and the Democratic Party, including Carter, will have more chances in the fight for the presidency. Carter made an incredible leap; he quickly flew into the elite of American politics, going from an outsider of the race to its clear leader in 9 months.
His election campaign took place immediately after the adoption of a law on public financing of all such events, this equalized the candidates' chances and helped Carter. The Watergate scandal also played in his favor; after Nixon’s machinations, Americans no longer wanted to trust professional politicians who had discredited themselves. The Democratic Party took advantage of this by nominating candidates from the people, which Carter was considered to be. Jimmy was supported by the leaders of the movement to protect the rights of the black population, this provided him with the majority of the votes. At the beginning of the race, Carter was ahead of D. Ford by about 30%, but in the end his advantage was always two percent. He was still hampered by his pronounced southern accent, and in media coverage he did not look as advantageous as his opponent. Carter did not have a good rapport with the political elites, he was perceived as a political amateur, and this would hinder him not only during the election, but also during the presidency.
America's No. 1 Man
On November 2, 1976, world news agencies reported: Jimmy Carter is the President of the United States. The election fight is over, but for Carter difficult times they were just advancing. During this period, it was depleted by the Vietnam War, as well as by a severe oil crisis, which was new to the country. New, radical measures were needed that would help restore the economy. The president had to fight high inflation, look for ways to restore economic growth, he makes an unpopular decision and raises taxes, which does not give the desired economic effect, but turns people against government policy.
As gasoline and other goods become more expensive in the country, Jimmy Carter is looking for ways to overcome the problems. In addition, he tries his best not to be like Nixon, the infamous president who resigned early. Carter refuses many benefits that are due to the first person of the state: he does not want to ride in a limousine on the day of the inauguration, he carries his own suitcases, he sells the presidential yacht. At first the population likes this, but later they realize that there is no content behind these actions, but only a formality.
To overcome arrogance political elites, Carter recruits young employees into the government who worked with him back in Georgia, the only intermediary between the president and the state elite is Vice President Walter Mondale.
Jimmy Carter, internal and inconsistent, tried to realize the best intentions, but he did not always succeed. He quickly became the object of ridicule and caricature. For example, the story of the rabbit that allegedly attacked Carter while fishing turned into a satirical pamphlet illustrating the president’s weakness and indecisiveness.
Peace-loving President
Jimmy Carter's foreign policy was characterized by protection of US interests, as well as a desire to reduce global tension. In his inauguration speech, the president said that he would do everything possible to strengthen peace on the planet. But he did not succeed in everything. Carter's reign was marked by the deterioration of US relations with the USSR. He is making progress in agreements to limit strategic weapons, but all this does not stop the Soviet government from sending troops into Afghanistan. Carter responds by boycotting the Moscow Olympics. Relationships are deteriorating. Congress does not ratify the SALT II treaty, and Carter's love of peace does not find real embodiment in the country's politics. It was under Carter that a doctrine appeared that declared the US right to protect its interests by any means, including military. Ultimately, he was forced to increase spending to maintain the country's defense capabilities, and this exacerbated the difficult financial situation USA.
The President manages to resolve the problem of the Egyptian-Israeli conflict over the Sinai Peninsula, but problems with the Palestinians remain unresolved. He also reached an agreement on the sovereignty of the Panama Canal territory.
Carter's biggest foreign policy problem was the complication of relations with Iran. The United States has stated that this region is a sphere of its interests, which it is ready to defend. During Carter's reign, a revolution occurs there, Ayatollah Khomeini declares the United States the “great Satan” and calls for a fight against this country. The conflict reached its peak when 60 American embassy employees were taken hostage in Tehran. This put a final end to Carter's hopes of becoming president for a second time. This acute conflict with Iran is not over to this day.
USA under Jimmy Carter
The country expected the new president to solve its problems. A severe energy crisis, a large state budget deficit, inflation - these were tasks that needed to be urgently addressed. Jimmy Carter, the US President, who left the country in a difficult state, tried to overcome the US energy dependence, but the reform program was blocked by Congress. He failed to curb rising prices within the country, and this caused serious discontent among the population.
Jimmy Carter's domestic policy was inconsistent and weak, he had many good intentions, he planned to carry out reform social security country, wanted to reduce prices for medical care, but these projects also did not find support in Congress. The idea of a radical transformation of the bureaucratic apparatus did not find the proper response and remained a project. Carter failed to keep his election promises to reduce inflation and reduce unemployment in the country due to the difficult economic situation. AND domestic politics Carter's election turned out to be ineffective and only deepened voters' disdain for him. The media accused Jimmy of being helpless and faceless; they complained to him that he could not answer most of the challenges of the time.
Assassination attempt
President Jimmy Carter, like many of his White House colleagues, did not escape the attack. This incident was not reported by the media, as the security service was able to prevent shots being fired. So, in 1979, during the president’s trip to California, at a speech before a Latin American public, an armed attack on the president was planned. But two participants in the conspiracy were detained in a timely manner: Osvaldo Ortiz and Raymond Lee Harvey, who were supposed to make noise with pistol fire so that other participants would shoot Carter with a rifle. The names of the conspirators immediately refer to the name of the killer and raise many doubts. Some journalists even accused the president of staging an assassination attempt in order to lure voters to his side. The process did not receive publicity or judicial development; the potential killers were released on bail. And all this was another drop in the patience of voters and Carter’s political opponents.
Defeat
Carter's entire presidential path is a path of mistakes, weakness and unresolved problems. Jimmy Carter's policies were not strong, and therefore defeat by Ronald Reagan was quite expected. The latter's election headquarters very cleverly took advantage of the hostage situation in Iran, as well as all the miscalculations of the current president. There is a version that George W. Bush, a member of the Reagan team, conspired with Iranian militants, convincing them to hold hostages until the election results were announced. One way or another, Ronald Reagan’s victory was expected, and on January 20, 1981, Jimmy Carter resigned as president and within five minutes the terrorists in Iran released the hostages who had spent 444 days in captivity.
Life after the White House
The election defeat was a great disappointment for Carter, but he found the strength to return to social activism. After completing his presidential career, Carter plunged into teaching, he became a professor emeritus at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrote a number of books. He later opens the Center in his name, which deals with national and international problems of American politics.
Jimmy Carter, whose biography returned to normal life after his presidency, found himself in charitable and social activities. He is involved in resolving various conflicts, protecting human rights, justice and democracy, and preventing the spread of deadly diseases. This activity allowed Carter to realize his ideas about the correct world order, although, of course, he was not able to solve all the problems. But among his achievements is his contribution to the establishment of peace in Bosnia, Rwanda, Korea, Haiti, and he was an active opponent of airstrikes against Serbia. For his peacekeeping activities, 39 US President Jimmy Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, this is the only time that a retired president receives such a significant prize. In addition, Carter was awarded the UNESCO Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His efforts to combat Africa's deadly disease, dracunculiasis, have received worldwide recognition. In 2002, Carter became the first high-ranking American to break the official blockade of Cuba and visited the country on peace initiatives. He is a member of the Elders, a community of independent leaders organized by Nelson Mandela. This organization is involved in resolving acute international conflicts; in particular, its members came to Moscow in search of a solution to the problems provoked by the annexation of Crimea to Russia. In 2009, a small airport in Carter's hometown received his name.
Carter Jimmy became the record holder among retired US presidents for the longest life after the White House. He is also one of the six longest-living former presidents who have reached the age of 90.
Privacy
Carter is a very loyal and reliable husband; he married Rosalie Smith, a friend of his youth, back in 1946, and they are still together. Jimmy Carter, whose photo appeared in every newspaper during his presidency, did not leave his wife when he ascended Olympus. She was with him at all moments of his life. The couple had four children, and today there are already several grandchildren. After the Carters left White House, in their family, according to their assurances, a new one has begun. Today the whole family lives amicably in Plains - Carter’s hometown, where he bequeathed to be buried. In 2015, the media began to sound the alarm about Jimmy's health; he was diagnosed with liver cancer. He successfully underwent surgery and chemotherapy and in December 2015 personally told reporters that he was completely cured.
2) Naval Academy in Annapolis
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James Earl (Jimmy) Carter Jr.(English) James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr.; genus. October 1, 1924) - 39th President of the United States (1977-1981) from the Democratic Party. Winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.
Early years
Born to James Earl Carter Sr. and Lillian Carter. The father was engaged in business by growing peanuts. James has been a Baptist since childhood. He had a brother, Billy (1937-1988), and two sisters: Gloria (1926-1990) and Ruth (1929-1983). He graduated from Georgia Tech and the Naval Academy and served for seven years as a submarine officer in the Pacific and Atlantic fleets. Admiral Hyman Rickover selected Lieutenant Carter for the nuclear submarine program. Carter completed his service as chief of the acceptance team of the nuclear submarine Seawolf (SSN-575).
Election as President
During the 1976 election campaign, it became clear that Carter's best chance of gaining national recognition and support was a landslide victory over J. Wallace in the South. Carter began by publicly breaking with his rival and began to subject him to increasingly harsh attacks. He managed to narrowly defeat Wallace in the Florida primary, and after winning in North Carolina, he knocked him out of the game. Over time, Carter won every primary in the Southern states except Alabama and Mississippi.
Carter's image as the candidate of the "new South" was cemented by the support of prominent black leaders such as Rep. E. Young of Georgia and Detroit Mayor C. Young. Ahead of the Democratic National Convention, Carter secured the support of at least 1,100 delegates. On July 14, 1976, in the first round of voting at the convention, he was nominated as the Democratic Party's candidate for the presidency of the United States. Carter chose W. Mondale, a liberal senator from Minnesota, as his running mate.
Soviet-American relations deteriorated sharply, SALT II was not ratified by Congress, and the United States boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Carter hosted Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky at the White House.
The Carter administration saw the Islamic Revolution in Iran; Ayatollah Khomeini declared the United States the “Great Satan” (or “Great Devil”), and in 1979, employees of the American embassy in Tehran were taken hostage. The negotiations were unsuccessful. On April 24, 1980, the United States attempted to conduct a military operation to free the hostages, but it ended in complete failure.
In the late 1970s, the United States did not support the Nicaraguan dictator Somoza, who was overthrown during the Sandinista Revolution. Carter imposed a ban on CIA operations in Central America, which gave rise to leading North American media to talk about “the complete collapse of US Central American policy” and even about “a lost battle that will lead to defeat in the global confrontation between the USA and the USSR.” This vacuum was filled by the Argentine Videlas, who declared themselves "the only fighter against communism in the Western Hemisphere", SIDE and the 601st Battalion took on the task of training Nicaraguan Contra guerrillas.
On January 23, 1980, Jimmy Carter delivered his annual State of the Union address, in which he announced a new foreign policy doctrine. The Persian Gulf region was declared a zone of US interests, for the protection of which the United States is ready to use armed force. In accordance with the Carter Doctrine, attempts by any power to establish control over the Persian Gulf region were declared in advance by the American leadership as an encroachment on important US interests.
Domestic policy
Carter's positions were predominantly liberal democratic. He argued that it was possible to reduce unemployment to 4.5% and reduce inflation to an annual rate of 4%. He promised to thoroughly review the federal tax system, which he called “a disgrace to the human race.” He stated that he would try to introduce a unified federal social security system and reduce the cost of treatment in medical hospitals. Carter also promised a complete reorganization of the federal bureaucracy and the creation of an “open government.” From the very beginning, the president paid visits to small provincial towns, where he held meetings with the local public. He answered questions from fellow citizens on the radio program “Ask President Carter.” He declared an amnesty for those who evaded conscription for the Vietnam War, introduced two women into the cabinet (more than anyone before him), and found responsible political positions for representatives of national minorities.
Carter's presidency coincided with “soaring oil prices.” Against this backdrop, unemployment and inflation were higher than ever, and by 1979 the United States was on the brink of economic disaster.
Rabbit attack
In the spring of 1979, Carter visited his hometown of Plains in Georgia to relax and go fishing. On April 20, while fishing, a wild water rabbit swam up to his boat. According to press reports, the rabbit hissed threateningly, gnashed its teeth and tried to climb into the boat. Reflecting the attack, the president used his oar, after which the rabbit turned around and swam to the shore. After some time, the story leaked to the press. Newspaper The Washington Post came out with the headline “The President is attacked by a rabbit,” then other media picked up the news. In the interpretation of Carter's critics, this incident became a metaphor for his unsuccessful and weak policies, as well as a symbolic harbinger of Carter's crushing defeat by Reagan in the 1980 elections.
The episode with the “killer rabbit” only strengthened Americans in the opinion that Carter was too weak and eccentric for his post.
During his presidential campaign Reagan described the state of the American economy with the word “depression”. depression), which drew criticism from Carter, who pointed out that the Republican candidate was using the term incorrectly. In response, Reagan stated the following opinion: “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose your job, and an economic recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job.”
Retired
In August 2015, Carter announced at the offices of his organization, The Carter Center, in Atlanta that he had a liver melanoma removed on August 3, but the cancer had metastasized to other parts of the body. December 6, 2015 former president announced his full recovery.
Peacekeeping activities
For his later peacekeeping activities, in 2002 he received the Nobel Peace Prize with the wording “for his efforts to peacefully resolve conflicts around the world and the fight for human rights.”
In particular, as a human rights activist, Jimmy Carter achieved the release of an American citizen from a North Korean prison. On January 25, 2010, American Aijalon Gomez tried to enter the territory of the DPRK from China and was detained by Korean border guards. Subsequently convicted of illegal border crossing, sentenced to 8 years of correctional labor and a fine of 700 thousand US dollars. Former President Jimmy Carter arrived in Pyongyang on August 25 for a private visit and achieved Gomez's release through negotiations with the authorities. Carter and Gomez left Pyongyang on August 27, 2010.
Carter is also known for his work in African countries to combat dracunculiasis. Thanks to Carter's efforts, today there are only 1,700 people left with this disease, while there were 3.5 million.
The ex-president is being treated for dracunculiasis. This disease has been known since biblical times. The worm enters the body when drinking stagnant water, grows inside a person, reaching a meter in length, and bores out through the skin. When Carter left the White House, 3.5 million people in 20 countries were suffering from guinea worm disease.
In October 2015, Carter sent Putin maps of Syria made in the United States with the positions of the Islamic State marked on them so that Russian aircraft could carry out precision strikes on ISIS positions. This gesture, which was perceived as humorous in America, was assessed by the Russian Foreign Ministry as “joining efforts in the fight against terrorism and concern about the fate of the Syrian people.”
Awards
Honorary Fellow of Oxford Mansfield College.
Named after him
See also
- "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid" (Book by Carter)
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Jimmy Carter in Wikiquote
Cabinet Jimmy Carter
Vice President Secretary of State Minister of Finance Minister of Defense Minister of Justice Minister of the Interior Minister of Agriculture Minister of Commerce Minister of Transport Minister of Energy Excerpt characterizing Carter, Jimmy
“They probably found out that I’m French by name,” said m lle Bourienne, blushing.
Princess Marya, with a paper in her hand, stood up from the window and, with a pale face, left the room and went to the former office of Prince Andrei.
“Dunyasha, call Alpatych, Dronushka, someone to me,” said Princess Marya, “and tell Amalya Karlovna not to come to me,” she added, hearing the voice of m lle Bourienne. - Hurry up and go! Go quickly! - said Princess Marya, horrified by the thought that she could remain in the power of the French.
“So that Prince Andrei knows that she is in the power of the French! So that she, the daughter of Prince Nikolai Andreich Bolkonsky, asks Mr. General Rameau to provide her with protection and enjoy his benefits! “This thought terrified her, made her shudder, blush and feel attacks of anger and pride that she had not yet experienced. Everything that was difficult and, most importantly, offensive in her position, was vividly imagined to her. “They, the French, will settle in this house; Mr. General Rameau will occupy the office of Prince Andrei; It will be fun to sort through and read his letters and papers. M lle Bourienne lui fera les honneurs de Bogucharovo. [Mademoiselle Bourien will receive him with honors in Bogucharovo.] They will give me a room out of mercy; soldiers will destroy their father's fresh grave to remove crosses and stars from him; they will tell me about victories over the Russians, they will feign sympathy for my grief... - Princess Marya thought not with her own thoughts, but feeling obligated to think for herself with the thoughts of her father and brother. For her personally, it didn’t matter where she stayed and no matter what happened to her; but at the same time she felt like a representative of her late father and Prince Andrei. She involuntarily thought with their thoughts and felt them with their feelings. Whatever they would say, whatever they would do now, that is what she felt necessary to do. She went to Prince Andrei’s office and, trying to penetrate his thoughts, pondered her situation.
The demands of life, which she considered destroyed with the death of her father, suddenly arose with a new, still unknown force before Princess Marya and overwhelmed her. Excited, red-faced, she walked around the room, demanding first Alpatych, then Mikhail Ivanovich, then Tikhon, then Dron. Dunyasha, the nanny and all the girls could not say anything about the extent to which what M lle Bourienne announced was fair. Alpatych was not at home: he had gone to see his superiors. The summoned Mikhail Ivanovich, the architect, who came to Princess Marya with sleepy eyes, could not say anything to her. With exactly the same smile of agreement with which he had been accustomed for fifteen years to respond, without expressing his opinion, to the old prince’s appeals, he answered Princess Marya’s questions, so that nothing definite could be deduced from his answers. The old valet Tikhon, who was called in, with a sunken and haggard face, bearing the imprint of incurable grief, answered “I listen with” to all the questions of Princess Marya and could hardly restrain himself from sobbing, looking at her.
Finally, the elder Dron entered the room and, bowing low to the princess, stopped at the lintel.
Princess Marya walked around the room and stopped opposite him.
“Dronushka,” said Princess Marya, who saw in him an undoubted friend, the same Dronushka who, from his annual trip to the fair in Vyazma, brought her his special gingerbread every time and served her with a smile. “Dronushka, now, after our misfortune,” she began and fell silent, unable to speak further.
“We all walk under God,” he said with a sigh. They were silent.
- Dronushka, Alpatych has gone somewhere, I have no one to turn to. Is it true that they tell me that I can’t leave?
“Why don’t you go, your Excellency, you can go,” said Dron.
“They told me it was dangerous from the enemy.” Darling, I can’t do anything, I don’t understand anything, there’s no one with me. I definitely want to go at night or early tomorrow morning. – The drone was silent. He glanced at Princess Marya from under his brows.
“There are no horses,” he said, “I told Yakov Alpatych too.”
- Why not? - said the princess.
“It’s all from God’s punishment,” said Dron. “Which horses there were were dismantled for use by the troops, and which ones died, what year it is today.” It’s not like feeding the horses, but making sure we don’t die of hunger ourselves! And they sit like that for three days without eating. There is nothing, they are completely ruined.
Princess Marya listened carefully to what he told her.
- Are the men ruined? Do they have no bread? – she asked.
“They’re dying of starvation,” said Dron, “not like the carts...”
- Why didn’t you tell me, Dronushka? Can't you help? I will do everything I can... - It was strange for Princess Marya to think that now, at such a moment, when such grief filled her soul, there could be rich and poor people and that the rich could not help the poor. She vaguely knew and heard that there was master's bread and that it was given to the peasants. She also knew that neither her brother nor her father would refuse the needs of the peasants; she was only afraid of somehow making a mistake in her words about this distribution of bread to the peasants, which she wanted to dispose of. She was glad that she was presented with a pretext of care, one for which she was not ashamed to forget her grief. She began asking Dronushka for details about the needs of the men and about what was lordly in Bogucharovo.
– After all, we have the master’s bread, brother? – she asked.
“The Lord’s bread is all intact,” Dron said proudly, “our prince did not order it to be sold.”
“Give him to the peasants, give him everything they need: I give you permission in the name of my brother,” said Princess Marya.
The drone said nothing and took a deep breath.
“You give them this bread if it is enough for them.” Give everything away. I command you in the name of my brother, and tell them: what is ours is also theirs. We will spare nothing for them. So tell me.
The drone looked intently at the princess while she spoke.
“Dismiss me, mother, for God’s sake, tell me to accept the keys,” he said. “I served for twenty-three years, I didn’t do anything bad; leave me alone, for God's sake.
Princess Marya did not understand what he wanted from her and why he asked to dismiss himself. She answered him that she never doubted his devotion and that she was ready to do everything for him and for the men.An hour after this, Dunyasha came to the princess with the news that Dron had arrived and all the men, by order of the princess, gathered at the barn, wanting to talk with the mistress.
“Yes, I never called them,” said Princess Marya, “I only told Dronushka to give them bread.”
“Only for God’s sake, Princess Mother, order them away and don’t go to them.” It’s all just a lie,” Dunyasha said, “and Yakov Alpatych will come and we’ll go... and if you please...
- What kind of deception? – the princess asked in surprise
- Yes, I know, just listen to me, for God’s sake. Just ask the nanny. They say they do not agree to leave on your orders.
- You're saying something wrong. Yes, I never ordered to leave... - said Princess Marya. - Call Dronushka.
The arriving Dron confirmed Dunyasha’s words: the men came on the orders of the princess.
“Yes, I never called them,” said the princess. “You probably didn’t convey it to them correctly.” I just told you to give them the bread.
The drone sighed without answering.
“If you order, they will leave,” he said.
“No, no, I’ll go to them,” said Princess Marya
Despite the dissuading of Dunyasha and the nanny, Princess Marya went out onto the porch. Dron, Dunyasha, the nanny and Mikhail Ivanovich followed her. “They probably think that I am offering them bread so that they remain in their places, and I myself will leave, abandoning them to the mercy of the French,” thought Princess Marya. – I will promise them a month in an apartment near Moscow; I’m sure Andre would have done even more in my place,” she thought, approaching the crowd standing in the pasture near the barn in the twilight.
The crowd, crowded, began to stir, and their hats quickly came off. Princess Marya, with her eyes downcast and her feet tangling in her dress, came close to them. So many different old and young eyes were fixed on her and there were so many different faces that Princess Marya did not see a single face and, feeling the need to suddenly talk to everyone, did not know what to do. But again the consciousness that she was the representative of her father and brother gave her strength, and she boldly began her speech.
“I’m very glad that you came,” Princess Marya began, without raising her eyes and feeling how quickly and strongly her heart was beating. “Dronushka told me that you were ruined by the war.” This is our common grief, and I will not spare anything to help you. I’m going myself, because it’s already dangerous here and the enemy is close... because... I give you everything, my friends, and I ask you to take everything, all our bread, so that you don’t have any need. And if they told you that I am giving you bread so that you can stay here, then this is not true. On the contrary, I ask you to leave with all your property to our Moscow region, and there I take it upon myself and promise you that you will not be in need. They will give you houses and bread. - The princess stopped. Only sighs were heard in the crowd.
“I’m not doing this on my own,” the princess continued, “I’m doing this in the name of my late father, who was a good master to you, and for my brother and his son.”
She stopped again. No one interrupted her silence.
- Our grief is common, and we will divide everything in half. “Everything that is mine is yours,” she said, looking around at the faces standing in front of her.
All eyes looked at her with the same expression, the meaning of which she could not understand. Whether it was curiosity, devotion, gratitude, or fear and distrust, the expression on all faces was the same.
“Many people are pleased with your mercy, but we don’t have to take the master’s bread,” said a voice from behind.
- Why not? - said the princess.
No one answered, and Princess Marya, looking around the crowd, noticed that now all the eyes she met immediately dropped.
- Why don’t you want to? – she asked again.
Nobody answered.
Princess Marya felt heavy from this silence; she tried to catch someone's gaze.
- Why don’t you talk? - the princess turned to the old man, who, leaning on a stick, stood in front of her. - Tell me if you think anything else is needed. “I’ll do everything,” she said, catching his gaze. But he, as if angry at this, lowered his head completely and said:
- Why agree, we don’t need bread.
- Well, should we give it all up? We don't agree. We don’t agree... We don’t agree. We feel sorry for you, but we do not agree. Go on your own, alone...” was heard in the crowd from different directions. And again the same expression appeared on all the faces of this crowd, and now it was probably no longer an expression of curiosity and gratitude, but an expression of embittered determination.
“You didn’t understand, right,” said Princess Marya with a sad smile. - Why don’t you want to go? I promise to house you and feed you. And here the enemy will ruin you...
But her voice was drowned out by the voices of the crowd.
“We don’t have our consent, let him ruin it!” We don’t take your bread, we don’t have our consent!
Princess Marya again tried to catch someone's gaze from the crowd, but not a single glance was directed at her; the eyes obviously avoided her. She felt strange and awkward.
- See, she taught me cleverly, follow her to the fortress! Destroy your home and go into bondage and go. Why! I'll give you the bread, they say! – voices were heard in the crowd.
Princess Marya, lowering her head, left the circle and went into the house. Having repeated the order to Drona that there should be horses for departure tomorrow, she went to her room and was left alone with her thoughts.For a long time that night Princess Marya sat open window in her room, listening to the sounds of men talking coming from the village, but she did not think about them. She felt that no matter how much she thought about them, she could not understand them. She kept thinking about one thing - about her grief, which now, after the break caused by worries about the present, had already become past for her. She could now remember, she could cry and she could pray. As the sun set, the wind died down. The night was quiet and fresh. At twelve o'clock the voices began to fade, the rooster crowed, the full moon began to emerge from behind the linden trees, a fresh, white mist of dew rose, and silence reigned over the village and over the house.
One after another, pictures of the close past appeared to her - illness and her father’s last minutes. And with sad joy she now dwelled on these images, driving away from herself with horror only one last image of his death, which - she felt - she was unable to contemplate even in her imagination at this quiet and mysterious hour of the night. And these pictures appeared to her with such clarity and with such detail that they seemed to her now like reality, now the past, now the future.
Then she vividly imagined that moment when he had a stroke and was dragged out of the garden in the Bald Mountains by the arms and he muttered something with an impotent tongue, twitched his gray eyebrows and looked at her restlessly and timidly.
“Even then he wanted to tell me what he told me on the day of his death,” she thought. “He always meant what he told me.” And so she remembered in all its details that night in Bald Mountains on the eve of the blow that happened to him, when Princess Marya, sensing trouble, remained with him against his will. She did not sleep and at night she tiptoed downstairs and, going up to the door to the flower shop where her father spent the night that night, listened to his voice. He said something to Tikhon in an exhausted, tired voice. He obviously wanted to talk. “And why didn’t he call me? Why didn’t he allow me to be here in Tikhon’s place? - Princess Marya thought then and now. “He will never tell anyone now everything that was in his soul.” This moment will never return for him and for me, when he would say everything he wanted to say, and I, and not Tikhon, would listen and understand him. Why didn’t I enter the room then? - she thought. “Maybe he would have told me then what he said on the day of his death.” Even then, in a conversation with Tikhon, he asked about me twice. He wanted to see me, but I stood here, outside the door. He was sad, it was hard to talk to Tikhon, who did not understand him. I remember how he spoke to him about Lisa, as if she were alive - he forgot that she died, and Tikhon reminded him that she was no longer there, and he shouted: “Fool.” It was hard for him. I heard from behind the door how he lay down on the bed, groaning, and shouted loudly: “My God! Why didn’t I get up then?” What would he do to me? What would I have to lose? And maybe then he would have been consoled, he would have said this word to me.” And Princess Marya said out loud the kind word that he said to her on the day of his death. “Darling! – Princess Marya repeated this word and began to sob with soul-easing tears. She now saw his face in front of her. And not the face that she had known since she could remember, and which she had always seen from afar; and that face - timid and weak, which on the last day, bending down to his mouth to hear what he said, she examined up close for the first time with all its wrinkles and details.
“Darling,” she repeated.
“What was he thinking when he said that word? What is he thinking now? - suddenly a question came to her, and in response to this she saw him in front of her with the same expression on his face that he had in the coffin on his face tied with a white scarf. And the horror that gripped her when she touched him and became convinced that it was not only not him, but something mysterious and repulsive, gripped her now. She wanted to think about other things, wanted to pray, but could do nothing. She looked with large open eyes at the moonlight and shadows, every second she expected to see his dead face and felt that the silence that stood over the house and in the house shackled her.
- Dunyasha! – she whispered. - Dunyasha! – she screamed in a wild voice and, breaking out of the silence, ran to the girls’ room, towards the nanny and girls running towards her.On August 17, Rostov and Ilyin, accompanied by Lavrushka, who had just returned from captivity, and the messenger hussar, from their Yankovo camp, fifteen miles from Bogucharovo, went horseback riding - to try a new horse, bought by Ilyin, and to find out if there was any hay in the villages.
Bogucharovo had been located for the last three days between two enemy armies, so that the Russian rearguard could have entered there just as easily as the French vanguard, and therefore Rostov, as a caring squadron commander, wanted to take advantage of the provisions that remained in Bogucharovo before the French.
Rostov and Ilyin were in the most cheerful mood. On the way to Bogucharovo, to the princely estate with an estate, where they hoped to find large servants and pretty girls, they either asked Lavrushka about Napoleon and laughed at his stories, or drove around, trying Ilyin’s horse.
Rostov neither knew nor thought that this village to which he was traveling was the estate of that same Bolkonsky, who was his sister’s fiancé.
Rostov and Ilyin released the horses for the last time to drive the horses into the drag in front of Bogucharov, and Rostov, having overtaken Ilyin, was the first to gallop into the street of the village of Bogucharov.
“You took the lead,” said the flushed Ilyin.
“Yes, everything is forward, and forward in the meadow, and here,” answered Rostov, stroking his soaring bottom with his hand.
“And in French, your Excellency,” Lavrushka said from behind, calling his sled nag French, “I would have overtaken, but I just didn’t want to embarrass him.”
They walked up to the barn, near which stood a large crowd of men.
Some men took off their hats, some, without taking off their hats, looked at those who had arrived. Two long old men, with wrinkled faces and sparse beards, came out of the tavern and, smiling, swaying and singing some awkward song, approached the officers.
- Well done! - Rostov said, laughing. - What, do you have any hay?
“And they are the same...” said Ilyin.
“Vesve...oo...oooo...barking bese...bese...” the men sang with happy smiles.
One man came out of the crowd and approached Rostov.
- What kind of people will you be? he asked.
“The French,” Ilyin answered, laughing. “Here is Napoleon himself,” he said, pointing to Lavrushka.
- So, you will be Russian? – the man asked.
- How much of your strength is there? – asked another small man, approaching them.
“Many, many,” answered Rostov. - Why are you gathered here? - he added. - A holiday, or what?
“The old people have gathered on worldly business,” the man answered, moving away from him.
At this time, along the road from the manor's house, two women and a man in a white hat appeared, walking towards the officers.
- Mine in pink, don’t bother me! - said Ilyin, noticing Dunyasha resolutely moving towards him.
- Ours will be! – Lavrushka said to Ilyin with a wink.
- What, my beauty, do you need? - Ilyin said, smiling.
- The princess ordered to find out what regiment you are and your last names?
- This is Count Rostov, squadron commander, and I am your humble servant.
- B...se...e...du...shka! - the drunk man sang, smiling happily and looking at Ilyin talking to the girl. Following Dunyasha, Alpatych approached Rostov, taking off his hat from afar.
“I dare to bother you, your honor,” he said with respect, but with relative disdain for the youth of this officer and putting his hand in his bosom. “My lady, the daughter of General Chief Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, who died this fifteenth, being in difficulty due to the ignorance of these persons,” he pointed to the men, “asks you to come... would you like,” Alpatych said with a sad smile, “to leave a few, otherwise it’s not so convenient when... - Alpatych pointed to two men who were running around him from behind, like horseflies around a horse.
- A!.. Alpatych... Eh? Yakov Alpatych!.. Important! forgive for Christ's sake. Important! Eh?.. – the men said, smiling joyfully at him. Rostov looked at the drunken old men and smiled.
– Or perhaps this consoles your Excellency? - said Yakov Alpatych with a sedate look, pointing at the old people with his hand not tucked into his bosom.
“No, there’s little consolation here,” Rostov said and drove off. -What's the matter? he asked.
“I dare to report to your excellency that the rude people here do not want to let the lady out of the estate and threaten to turn away the horses, so in the morning everything is packed and her ladyship cannot leave.”
1924
July 7 1946 1953
1962 1970 1976
Having taken office in 1977
1979
1980 1980
1980
↓Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter) is a politician, public figure and the thirty-ninth President of the United States of America.
Jimmy Carter was born on October 1st 1924 years in Plains (Georgia), in the family of farmer and businessman James Carter. He received his education at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Naval Academy. After that, he served on a submarine for about seven years in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets of the United States. At the time of his retirement, Jimmy Carter held the rank of executive officer.
July 7 1946 year married his beloved Rosalyn Smith, their marriage continues to this day. The couple had four children. WITH 1953 year (after the death of his father, James Carter Sr.), the family moved to their own peanut farm in Plains.
Jimmy Carter began his political career in 1962 year, being elected senator from the state of Georgia. Gradually, Carter's career went up, his popularity grew, and at the same time the political ambitions of the newly minted politician increased. IN 1970 year he becomes governor of Georgia. Already in 1976 he runs for President of the United States and wins the election.
Having taken office in 1977
year, Jimmy Carter proclaimed a course to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, calling on all countries to unite and begin fruitful cooperation in the face of the nuclear threat. The first steps in this direction were taken almost immediately: already in 1979
year, Carter continued negotiations with representatives of the Soviet Union, at which issues of limiting strategic nuclear weapons were raised, and even signed with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR L.I. corresponding agreement. But literally immediately all the results of these negotiations were neutralized due to the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan.
Soviet-American relations immediately became tense, and the previous dialogue could not be restored. The United States even ignored the Olympics 1980 years spent in Moscow. WITH 1980 In 2010, President Carter proclaimed a new US foreign policy course: the Persian Gulf was now declared the main area of interest of the state. This period coincides with a sharp increase in energy prices, due to which the United States of America is in a state of economic crisis. Unemployment is rising and the standard of living of the population is declining.
For this reason, many Americans today recognize Carter's reign as an unsuccessful period in the country's history. Jimmy Carter's ratings dropped significantly during his presidency, so 1980 year he loses the presidential election to Reagan, the Republican candidate.
Plan
Introduction
1 Beginning of the biography
2 Governor of Georgia
3 Election as President
4 Foreign policy
5 Domestic policy
6 Defeat by Reagan
7 Peacekeeping activities
8 Rabbit Attack
9 Named After Carter
References
Introduction
Jimmy Carter (English) Jimmy Carter, full name James Earl Carter Jr. James Earl Carter Jr.; October 1, 1924) - 39th President of the United States (1977-1981), from the Democratic Party.1. Beginning of the biography
Born into the family of a farmer and entrepreneur involved in growing peanuts. He has been a Baptist since childhood. He graduated from Georgia Tech and the Naval Academy and served for seven years as a submarine officer in the Pacific and Atlantic fleets. Lieutenant Carter was selected by Admiral Hyman Rickover for the nuclear submarine program, and Carter ended his service as executive officer on the USS Seawolf.2. Governor of Georgia3. Election as President
In his first inauguration speech, Jimmy Carter said:“We are committed to being persistent and wise in our pursuit of limiting the world's weapons arsenals to those necessary to ensure each country's own security. The United States alone cannot rid the world of the terrible specter of nuclear annihilation, but we can and will work with others to do so.”
4. Foreign policy
In 1978, at the Camp David summit chaired by Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed on peace, mutual recognition and the transfer of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt; this ended a series of four Egyptian-Israeli wars.Carter continued negotiations on strategic arms limitation with the USSR and in 1979 signed the SALT-2 treaty with L.I. Brezhnev. However, already in the same year, the policy of détente in relations with the USSR came to naught after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. Soviet-American relations deteriorated sharply, the SALT II treaty was not ratified by Congress, and the United States boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Carter received Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky at the White House.
During Carter's reign, the Islamic Revolution took place in Iran; Ayatollah Khomeini declared the United States the “Great Satan” (or “Great Devil”), and in 1979, employees of the American embassy in Tehran were taken hostage. The negotiations were unsuccessful. On April 24, 1980, the United States attempted to conduct a military operation to free the hostages, but it ended in complete failure.
On January 23, 1980, Jimmy Carter delivered his annual State of the Union address, in which he announced a new foreign policy doctrine. The Persian Gulf region was declared a zone of US interests, for the protection of which the United States is ready to use armed force. In accordance with the Carter Doctrine, attempts by any power to establish control over the Persian Gulf region were declared in advance by the American leadership as an encroachment on important US interests.
5. Domestic policy
Carter's presidency coincided with "soaring oil prices." Against this backdrop, unemployment and inflation were higher than ever, and by 1979 the United States was on the brink of economic disaster.6. Defeat by Reagan
In the November 1980 presidential election, Carter, running for a second term, was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan. Five minutes after Carter's presidency expired and Reagan took the oath of office on January 20, 1981, the Iranians released the hostages.“A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a crisis is when you lose your job, and an economic recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job” - US President Ronald Reagan.
7. Peacekeeping activities
For his later peacekeeping activities, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.Jimmy Carter secured the release of an American citizen from a North Korean prison. On January 25, 2010, American Aijalon Gomez tried to enter the territory of the DPRK from China and was detained by Korean border guards. Subsequently convicted of illegal border crossing, sentenced to 8 years of correctional labor and a fine of 700 thousand US dollars. Former President Jimmy Carter arrived in Pyongyang on August 25 for a private visit and secured Gomez's release through negotiations with the authorities. Carter and Gomez left Pyongyang on August 27, 2010.
8. Rabbit Attack
In the spring of 1979, Carter visited his hometown of Plains in Georgia to relax and go fishing. On April 20, while fishing, a wild swamp rabbit swam up to his boat. According to press reports, the rabbit hissed threateningly, gnashed its teeth and tried to climb into the boat. Reflecting the attack, the president used his oar, after which the rabbit turned around and swam to the shore.After some time, the story leaked to the press. Newspaper The Washington Post came out with the headline “The President is attacked by a rabbit”, then the news was picked up by other media. In the interpretation of Carter's critics, this incident became a metaphor for his unsuccessful and weak policies, as well as a symbolic harbinger of Carter's crushing defeat by Reagan in the 1980 elections.
9. Named after Carter
- On October 11, 2009, Jimmy Carter Airport opened in the United States. The name of the 39th president was given to a regional airport 30 km from the city of Plains, where Carter was born.
- Seawolf-class submarine USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23).
References:
James Earl Carter Jr. - 39th President of the United States- Born October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. President of the United States from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981.
James Earl Carter Jr. as Jimmy Carter was elected as the 39th President of the United States of America. He remained “Jimmy” even when he became president. This choice of name is symbolic of the secret of his success. But it also helps explain his downfall as president. Jimmy Carter promised Americans to lead them politically and psychologically out of the abyss of humiliation into which they found themselves after Nixon's Watergate and the inglorious end of the Vietnam War during Ford's presidency. Why not the best? - this was his appeal to voters. Why not elect a president who is morally pure, honest, and free from prejudice, and who will set the nation's destiny on a new path defined by traditional American values and virtues? Why not Jimmy Carter, a simple, unpretentious man of the people, not yet corrupted by Washington and big politics? Why not Jimmy, the religious peanut farmer of the deep South, who has not yet possessed anything typically political and who is therefore trustworthy to deliver the nation from its difficulties? In the bicentennial year, when the United States proudly celebrated the 200th anniversary of its independence, Americans were receptive to such treatment.
But Jimmy Carter was not unquestionably the best for the post-Vietnam and Watergate era. Political system, reacting to painful experience, began to establish the boundaries of presidential power. A more experienced politician with an overwhelming mandate from voters was needed to act successfully in the dramatically changed conditions. This contradiction - because of Watergate, to elect a political amateur to the post of president, and the position required, again because of Watergate, an excellent politician - became the central dilemma of Carter's presidency. This explains his difficulties as president, which forced him to experience the ups and downs of a political rollercoaster in quick succession. In the end, the “deliverer” turned into an almost pitiable figure of little Jimmy, as political caricaturists portrayed him.
Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, southern Georgia, and grew up in a small town in a relatively wealthy family. His father was a politically conservative peanut farmer, his mother - in the Southern style known only as Miss Lilly - was for her time and region an extremely enlightened person, a nurse by profession who, at the age of 68, worked for two years in India in the Peace Corps. Carter learned political activism from her. He assigned her the prominent role of “first mother” during his presidency.
Growing up in the second world war, an ambitious young man in 1943, successfully entered the Naval Academy in Annapolis. He graduated in 1946 and immediately afterward married Rosalia Smith, a childhood friend from Plains. Rosalia Carter was a reliable support for her husband in the difficult times that followed. As "First Lady" she gained position, although her unusually close relationship with her husband was observed with a degree of skepticism.
Jimmy Carter initially aspired to a career as an officer in the Navy, but his career as a submarine navigator was cut short in 1953 when his father died and he decided, against the wishes of his wife, to take over the peanut business in Plains. There he became a millionaire and still found time for political and social activities. He experienced a religious conversion and publicly identified himself as a “born-again” Christian.
Spurred by the bitter debate over black civil rights, Carter first became politically active locally in the area of education. In 1963, a step into regional politics followed. In the Georgia State Senate, he represented a predominantly liberal position. However, when he ran for Democratic governor in 1970, he tactically sought the support of opponents of the civil rights movement. Upon taking office, he attracted national attention when he declared, “The days of racial discrimination are over.” The new governor did a lot in subsequent years to eliminate the worst consequences of racial discrimination in Georgia. His opponents took note of the opportunistic methods by which Carter paved his political path.
In the run-up to the 1972 election, Carter, as a representative of the "new" enlightened and industrialized South, aspired to the vice presidency, but was coldly turned down by presidential candidate George McGovern's men. In response to this, Carter decided to run for president from the Democratic Party in 1976.
Three factors were decisive for the success of the obvious underdog. Frightened by Nixon's machinations, Americans did not trust their professional politicians. The Democratic Party institutionalized the need for a man of the people by dramatically increasing the number of primaries, dividing the votes won proportionally among candidates. To eliminate the disastrous influence big money during the presidential elections in 1976, state financing of the election campaign was introduced (with simultaneous restrictions on donations and expenses). These factors allowed the previously unknown governor of the southern states to successfully participate in the elections.
After his nomination, Carter led President Ford by 30% among voters. In the end he won by 2%. Carter, relatively powerless and with less exposure through the media, disadvantaged by his distinctly Southern dialect, and trying to avoid conflict on serious issues, was increasingly viewed with skepticism. Ultimately, he won because doubts about Ford were even greater, he was still haunted by Nixon's pardon, and he made a blunder in a crucial televised foreign policy debate. However, the election results did not represent an overwhelming mandate for the first Southern president since Zachary Taylor (1848).
Even before he took office on January 20, 1977, Carter faced the central dilemma of his presidency. Elected as an amateur, he had to seek cooperation with the traditional political elite. At the same time, he soon came under the threat of betraying his image and his ideals, that is, pursuing “politics as usual.”
This became obvious already when, when filling important posts, he was forced to use well-known figures of the establishment, primarily in the field of domestic and foreign policy. But in the White House, he surrounded himself almost exclusively with young staff, inexperienced in national politics, familiar to him from his days as governor. The bridge, obviously, was to serve as Vice President Walter Mondale, who later really turned out to be the support of the administration.
Carter's style of government was a conscious reaction to the excesses of the "imperial" Nixon administration. On Inauguration Day, instead of riding in a limousine, he walked from the Capitol to the White House, the presidential yacht was sold, the playing of the presidential anthem was stopped, the president carried his own suitcases, and the menu at state receptions was no longer prepared on French. At first, Carter gained a certain popularity with these symbolic gestures. Later, the public lacked substance behind this form and rivals vying for power and influence were not so easily persuaded or pressured due to the lack of presidential representation.
Another obstacle was the refusal of the chief of staff in the White House (a position that Nixon's chief of staff, Haldeman, had discredited). Carter wanted to introduce a kind of cabinet government, but otherwise keep all the reins of government in his own hands. Cabinet discipline is not characteristic of the American system and very quickly collapsed in this case as well. The President, although undoubtedly intellectually competent and diligent in the performance of his duties, was unable to cope with this, and his staff became bogged down in position battles and all sorts of scandals. When Carter reorganized the White House towards the end of his presidency, a return to the traditional exercise of power (including advertising and information campaigns) could no longer restore his cracked authority.
to his unusual style Carter also challenged Congress. True, the Senate and House of Representatives were in the hands of the Democrats, but the leading politicians of the Democratic Party did not so easily go over to the president’s line. Added to this was the fact that Congress, based on the reforms carried out after Watergate, became more despotic and could better assert its independence from the president.
Perhaps everything would not have been so problematic if Carter had not taken on heavy domestic and foreign policy mortgages, which almost immediately required a quick solution. The economy was badly shaken after the Vietnam War and the first oil crisis. The double-digit inflation index indicated the seriousness of the situation. Conservative regarding tax policy, Carter did not want to pursue a deficit budget policy. So all that remained was to greatly increase the loan interest rate, which was also ineffective. Meanwhile, a new “oil shock” with a shortage of gasoline and sharp rises in prices caused domestic political discontent, which plunged Carter in the summer of 1979 into the deepest crisis of his presidency. By this time, his pro-austerity energy policy, which was supposed to make the United States independent of energy imports, had already failed due to resistance in Congress. Likewise, his advocacy for radical reforms in health care and social security found virtually no support among his party friends. First of all, Senator Edward Kennedy succeeded in blocking Carter's reforms with far-reaching demands that, because of the tax increases they entailed, were even less conducive to agreement. Thus, Carter's domestic policies, with the exception of deregulation of air traffic and some measures to protect the environment, were generally ineffective. Overlaying domestic policy were pressing foreign policy factors. During the election campaign, Carter, with almost missionary zeal, placed human rights in the Soviet Union and the Third World at the center of his foreign policy. But first he had to complete a number of intentions that his predecessors had begun to implement. The results achieved, however, were so controversial that they brought little approval to the president. First of all, this related to the return of the Panama Canal, a goal that, due to its anti-imperial symbolism, was especially close to Carter’s heart. Just six months later, he managed to present a completed agreement, which provided for the return of the canal to Panama by the end of the century. Ratification in Congress proved extremely difficult and came at the cost of delaying other plans.
A significant foreign policy success was the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, which made possible the US-Egyptian rapprochement that Kissinger had been pushing for since 1973. Carter made it clear early on that he was ready to look for new opportunities to resolve the Middle East conflict. These awkwardly started efforts developed into a dialogue between Israel and Egypt, which Carter decisively accelerated by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Begin and Egyptian President Sadat to his country residence at Camp Devil. After thirteen days of negotiations, in which Carter, as mediator, played decisive role, a peace agreement was concluded in September 1978. His signing in the White House Rose Garden on March 26, 1979 was the high point of Carter's presidency. True, the hope awakened by the Camp David Agreement, thanks to the Israeli-Egyptian unification, to come to a solution to the problem of the Palestinians was initially not realized, but the further course of the peace process would have been unthinkable without Carter’s participation.
Efforts aimed at mutual understanding with the Soviet Union were even more difficult. Carter wanted to achieve two things that were practically incompatible with each other: an arms control agreement and Soviet concessions on human rights - the overarching goal of Carter's foreign policy, which, due to idealistic motives, he considered mandatory for himself and which was placed before him by Congress. Pursuing these goals, he constantly came into conflict with domestic political opponents and skeptical European allies.
Finally, in June 1979, SALT II was reached to limit strategic nuclear weapons, with reductions significantly lower than Carter originally wanted. The signing of this agreement was facilitated, on the one hand, by a certain weakening of human rights policy, on the other, by the use of the “China card”, since in December 1978 Carter achieved the normalization of relations with the People’s Republic of China (at the cost of ending diplomatic relations with Taiwan) is an extremely controversial event from the point of view of domestic policy.
SALT II and the entire policy of détente ultimately did not benefit Carter. Even within a close circle of advisers, this course led to a rift between Foreign Secretary Cyrus Vance, who strives for balance, and Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, who prefers power politics. To have any prospect of successful ratification of SALT II by the Senate at all, Carter was forced to agree to sharp increase defense budget. This contributed not only to the growing budget deficit, but also undermined Carter's credibility, since he initially advocated reducing military spending.
The Soviet Union upended all calculations when it invaded Afghanistan at the end of 1979 and completely destroyed the entire beginnings of the policy of détente. True, the Carter administration immediately provided covert support for the Afghan resistance and imposed a series of sanctions (including stopping the sale of grain to the Soviet Union and a boycott of the Moscow Olympics in the summer of 1980), but these measures were not enough to induce the Soviet An alliance to make concessions or salvage Carter's authority, SALT II was not ratified (but its provisions were silently observed).
In the spring of 1979, Carter visited his hometown of Plains to relax and go fishing. On April 20, while fishing, a wild swamp rabbit swam up to his boat. As the press reported, the rabbit hissed threateningly, gnashed its teeth and tried to climb into the boat. Reflecting the attack, the president used his oar, after which the rabbit turned around and headed towards the shore. Later, this story hit the press. The Washington Post ran the headline “President Attacked by Rabbit,” and other media outlets picked up the news. In the interpretation of Carter's critics, this incident became a metaphor for his unsuccessful and weak policies, as well as a symbolic harbinger of Carter's crushing defeat by Reagan in the 1980 elections.
The end of Carter's presidency began, however, in Tehran, where on November 4, 1979, militant supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini took 60 American embassy employees hostage. This event was preceded by the overthrow of the Shah, whom Carter had previously considered the democratic support of American politicians in this war-torn region. When the cancer-stricken Shah was admitted to the United States for treatment at the end of November, Iranian anger found relief in the seizure of the US embassy. His first muted reaction was received with understanding by the public. But the longer the embassy staff were held hostage, the greater the dissatisfaction with the helplessness of American policy. True, the president, in his address to Congress on January 23, 1980, tried to initiate what was later called the “Carter Doctrine” turn in American foreign policy. In it, he branded every attempt by any third power to gain influence in the Persian Gulf region as a violation of the vital interests of the United States, which, if necessary, could respond militarily. But when in April, at the very beginning, an attempt to free the hostages in Tehran by military force ignominiously failed and this led to the resignation of Foreign Secretary Vance, the mood in the country changed dramatically. The taking of hostages in Tehran became the dominant theme of the election campaign. Carter found himself caught in pincers. In the Democratic primary, he was challenged by perennial rival Edward Kennedy. Carter was able to defeat this representative of the liberal wing only at the cost of a deep split in the party. In the main election battle, his opponent, conservative Republican Ronald Reagan, deftly rhetorically touched on the president’s weaknesses: “Should the United States continue to tolerate “great dictators” like Brezhnev, or “petty criminals” like terrorists who captured hostages, treated the USA like a third-rate power? And are things going better for Americans after 4 years of Carter’s presidency than before?”
Carter's sharp objection that Reagan was a danger to the world and would destroy Social Security was of little help. The president, who, because of the hostage scam, abandoned an energetic election campaign and, in the hope of an official bonus, retired to the White House, suffered a bitter defeat: Reagan won 51% of the popular vote and 489 votes of members of the electoral college. The Americans, disappointed by their acquaintance with the amateur amateur, sent him into comfortable retirement. It was not until the day of his successor's inauguration that American diplomats returned to the United States, 444 days after being taken hostage.
Carter, and even more so his wife, were deeply hurt by the voter withdrawal. But they soon recovered from their defeat and began life as a former presidential couple, which brought them respect and even love. Carter created a presidential library in Atlanta, which is not only a repository for his documents and memoirs. At the Carter Center, the former president and his staff are trying to solve international problems. As a mediator, Jimmy Carter can chalk up some successes. At the end of September 1994, during a diplomatic mission to Haiti, he advocated for the reinstatement of ousted President Aristide to his former position. In early 1995, he mediated in the Bosnian conflict. He also attracted attention as an active assistant in projects for the construction of apartments for the poor.
The political authority of the Carter presidency remains negligible. Nothing proves this better than the painstaking efforts of the next Democratic President, Bill Clinton, to avoid any resemblance to Carter. This negative assessment seems exaggerated and unfair, especially in comparison with his successors, who left the country with huge mortgages (and almost four times the mountain of debt). Carter in difficult conditions took on difficult tasks. However, he did achieve some long-term successes. In other matters he was ahead of his time: the energy program, health care reform, and social security reform are again on the political agenda. In foreign policy on the issue of human rights, democratization and normalization of relations with adversaries in the Cold War brought late results. Perhaps Carter did not succeed as president. But as an initiator of promising political events, he deserves respect, despite his presidency.
In preparing the material, we used Gerhard Schweigler’s article “The Outsider as President.”