Jimmy Carter, 39th Democratic President of the United States, served from 1977 to 1981.
About family
James Earl Carter (b. 10/01/1924) - originally from the south of Georgia, from the small town of Plains. My father was a peanut grower, my mother was a nurse, an intelligent, educated woman, not indifferent to the fate of people so much that even at a very old age she went to India for two years to work in the Peace Corps. It was she who subsequently influenced the political activity of her son. Jimmy was born in 1924.
Youth
From 1943 to 1946, Carter studied at the Naval Academy, immediately after graduation, he married. His wife was Rosalia Smith, a friend of her early youth from her hometown. She has always been a strong support to her husband throughout their lives. When Carter's father died, the son, who so dreamed of becoming a naval officer, was forced to take over his father's business, successfully organized it, and as a result became a millionaire.
Start of political activity
Carter entered politics gradually. First, he defended the rights of African Americans in his homeland, then - already at the regional level, being elected to the Senate of pcs. Georgia. As head of the state administration, he still bet on the eradication of racial discrimination. His work in this direction gave certain results and paved the way for the further growth of his political career. On the eve of the next presidential election (1972), Carter planned to take the post of vice president, but was refused.
Then he decided that he would put forward his candidacy for the highest state post in the 1976 elections. Everything worked out well. The law on state financing of the entire election campaign was introduced in the country, so that presidential candidates acted on equal terms. Carter's main rival was President Ford, who was running for a second presidential term. As a result of a fair fight, Carter won by a small margin, becoming the 39th president of America.
In the presidency
He was considered almost an amateur in politics. He was forced to seek cooperation with experienced specialists in domestic and foreign policy, but there were also many young employees who surrounded him during the governorship. But the backbone was still Vice President Walter Mondale.
Domestic politics
The presidency of Jimmy Carter fell on difficult times for the country. The economy was severely weakened by the Vietnam War, the first oil crisis in US history, the highest level inflation and other factors. In order not to increase the budget deficit, Carter had to resort to unpopular measures, such as raising interest rates, which, however, were ineffective.
There was an acute shortage of gasoline in the country, everything went up in price, and this, of course, caused discontent among the population. Carter tried to orient the country towards energy savings so that the States would free themselves from dependence on imported energy. But even this attempt was unsuccessful: the program was not supported by Congress.
Didn't find support social programs Carter, as they were supposed to be accompanied by higher taxes. In particular, Senator Edward Kennedy strongly discouraged these programs. Few of Carter's proposals came to fruition: the deregulation of air travel and some environmental measures.
Foreign policy
Carter's campaign messages sounded the idea of the need to fight for human rights in and third world countries. But it has remained a promise. He had to deal with problems not completed by his predecessors. With great difficulty, at the cost of serious compromises, Carter managed to draw up a contract for the return of the Panama Canal before the end of this century.
A successful foreign policy project was the participation of the United States in the settlement Middle East conflict between Israel and Egypt. Carter's role in this was fundamental and decisive. For thirteen days he negotiated with the heads of these states in his country residence, as a result of which a peace agreement between the countries was nevertheless concluded (September 1978). This gave hope for a solution to the problem of Palestine.
The merit of Carter in the development of the peace process in the region is undeniably enormous. As for relations with the Soviet Union, things were even more complicated here. The fact is that Carter sought an agreement with the Kremlin on mutual control of arms and the strengthening of human rights in the USSR. These two goals were incompatible and practically unrealistic. But nevertheless, with incredible efforts, Carter managed (June 1979) to sign an agreement with the Kremlin SALT - 2 on limiting nuclear weapons.
The policy of détente caused controversy in the highest echelons of power in the country. The ratification of the treaty was in jeopardy, so Carter went for a massive increase in the defense budget. This move again dropped the rating of the president, who actually promised to cut military spending. The Soviet Union violated all plans for detente,. Despite the sanctions (refusal to sell grain, boycott of the Olympics), Moscow did not make concessions, and SALT-2 was never ratified.
At the end of the presidency
On November 4, 1979, an incredible scandal occurred: the American embassy was seized in Tehran. Its 60 employees were held hostage for 444 days. Carter's efforts to free them were unsuccessful. The hostages returned to their homeland only after the resignation of Carter, just on the day of the inauguration of the new President Ronald Reagan. Jimmy Carter continues to be active as public figure.
The 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr. / James Earl Carter, Jr., Jimmy) was born on October 1, 1924 in the American city of Plains, Georgia. His father, James Earl Carter Sr., was a farmer and businessman, and his mother, Lillian Gordy Carter, worked as a nurse.
Jimmy Carter graduated from a local school, Georgia Southwestern College, then Georgia Tech.
In 1946 he received a bachelor's degree from the United States Naval Academy.
He served as a submarine officer in the Pacific and Atlantic fleets.
In 1953, he resigned on the death of his father and moved to Plains to take over the family farm business.
In the 1950s, Carter became a member of the Sumter County Educational Administration and later its chairman.
In 1962, Carter was elected to the Georgia State Senate.
From 1971-1975 he served as governor of Georgia.
On December 12, 1974, he announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States from the Democratic Party.
From January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981, he served as President of the United States of America.
Carter's foreign policy success as president is considered to be the conclusion in 1978, with his mediation of the Camp David Peace Agreement between Egypt and Israel. On June 18, 1979, he signed the Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (SALT-2) between the USSR and the USA.
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. In accordance with the "Carter Doctrine", the attempts of any power to establish its control over the Persian Gulf region were declared in advance by the American leadership an encroachment on important US interests.
In September 1980, "Presidential Directive No. 59" was approved, dedicated to the possible nuclear war against the USSR.
Carter's popularity plummeted after the 1979 Iranian hostage of American citizens. Attempts to free the hostages ended in failure.
1980 Election Carter to Republican Ronald Reagan.
Since 1982, Carter has been teaching at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. In the same year, he founded the non-governmental institute Carter Center.
Carter led peacekeeping efforts in Ethiopia, North Korea, Haiti, Bosnia, Uganda, Sudan and other countries, together with the staff of his center acted as an observer at elections in various states. One of Carter's last missions was to Nepal, where
Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter Jr.) - 39th President of the United States, member of the Democratic Party, Nobel Peace Prize winner "for his great contribution to the peaceful resolution of international conflicts, strengthening democracy and human rights."
Carter was born on October 1, 1924 in the family of a wealthy farmer in Plains, Georgia, where he spent his entire childhood. He was educated at Georgia Southwestern College and Georgia Institute of Technology. In 1943 he entered the US Naval Academy, after graduating from which he served on warships in 1947, and later transferred to the nuclear submarine fleet. Carter wanted to devote his entire life to serving in the Navy, but circumstances turned out differently, preventing him from realizing his plans. In 1953, Carter's father died and he was forced to resign and return to his native city Plains to put the family farm in order.
Carter's political career begins in the 1950s: he becomes chairman of the Sumter County Administration for Education. In 1962 and 1964 was elected to the Georgia State Senate. In 1966, he ran for governor of Georgia, but did not receive enough support in the elections, and in 1970 he still managed to take this post, having won a decisive victory over his opponent. In the 70s political career Carter moves to the next stage, in 1976 he runs for president. Originally from the Deep South, little known outside of his home state, Carter did not win support and popularity among voters at first. According to a public opinion poll conducted in early 1976, Carter's candidacy for the presidency was supported by no more than 4% of the population. But in the Southern primaries, Carter did his best to win over his political rival J. Wallace, which he succeeded quite successfully. Carter also managed to win the support of some prominent African-American leaders and a significant number of delegates at the upcoming Democratic national convention. As a result, on July 14, 1976, he was nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Carter adhered to liberal democratic views, supported the civil rights movement, opposed racial discrimination. During his election campaign, he promised to lower unemployment and inflation, reduce the bureaucracy, improve the tax system, and introduce a unified federal social security system. Carter condemned the foreign policy pursued by Secretary of State H. Kissinger and believed that the basis of the foreign policy course should be the provision of human rights, which was one of the most important priorities and ideals of both Carter's domestic and foreign policy.
The Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation, the inglorious end of the Vietnam War, and other political setbacks and scandals have all undermined the people's faith in their government. And one of the main contributing factors to Carter's presidential election was his image as a common man of the people, hailing from the Deep South; an honest, religious farmer, far removed from Washington's corruption and political scandals and untainted by big politics. Thus, Jimmy Carter managed to defeat the candidate of the Republican Party, J. Ford.
The start of Carter's presidency was marked by a number of successful initiatives. On the day of his inauguration, he walked all the way from the Capitol to the White House, rather than driving in a limousine, as was customary. The presidential yacht was sold. After taking the presidency, Carter made a number of trips to small towns, where he met with the local community. He paid considerable attention to interacting with citizens, answering their questions on the "Ask President Carter" radio program. Declared an amnesty for those who evaded the draft for the war in North Vietnam. By these actions, Carter gained great popularity among the people. But all these democratically successful undertakings were subsequently crossed out.
In general, the president's policy was contradictory. Inflation, which Carter promised to fight fiercely, while noting that this fight would not be at the cost of "economic recession, unemployment, monetary restrictions and high interest rates," increased significantly (in 1978, inflation was 5.2%, but to 1980 increased to 16%), and it was these measures that became the fundamental economic instruments in the presidential administration. Promising to cut the bureaucracy, Carter created two more ministries (the Department of Education and the Department of Energy), which greatly increased the number of government officials. Also, Carter's promises regarding the reduction of the military budget by 5-7 billion were not fulfilled, which, on the contrary, increased significantly every year. Postponing the plan for a new bomber, which required a significant financial outlay, Carter replaced it with the development of an even more expensive missile system. The promise to reduce unemployment to 4.5% turned into its growth to 7.6%. The budget deficit, which Carter promised to cut to zero, by 1980 amounted to $59 billion.
A feature of Carter's presidency was an extremely difficult, tense relationship with Congress, despite the fact that at that time the majority in Congress belonged to Carter's party members, the Democrats. In 1980, for the first time in a long time, Congress overrode the veto of a Democratic president and rejected Carter's bill on tariffs on oil imports. The President's proposals for tax reform and uniform regulation of the cost of treatment in hospitals were not accepted. Carter paid considerable attention to the energy program for saving oil and natural gas by deregulating energy resources from the state. He managed to pass through Congress a law to increase the tax on excess profits of oil companies, and Carter also initiated a program to create synthetic fuel.
With regard to foreign policy, Carter made a number of positive decisions. He managed to get Senate approval of a proposal to transfer the Panama Canal to Panama by the year 2000. One of the most important foreign policy successes was the conclusion of a peace agreement between the Israeli prime minister and the Egyptian president, which was negotiated through the mediation of Carter in his country residence. A foreign policy commitment to human rights and democratic principles prompted Carter not to interfere in the affairs of Nicaragua when a dictator beneficial to US interests was overthrown there in 1979. Under Carter, diplomatic recognition of China was finally completed. Relations with the Soviet Union were not easy. Carter's goals were to conclude an arms control treaty and change the Soviet government's human rights policy, which was for Carter, as an ardent supporter of human rights, one of the fundamental priorities. In 1979, the second Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (SALT-2) was signed with the USSR. But soon Soviet-American relations again became tense, which was associated with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It was as a result of this that Carter decided to refrain from submitting the SALT-2 treaty to the Senate, and also banned the supply of wheat from the United States to the USSR and boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow.
In the spring of 1979, Carter went to his hometown to relax and go fishing. On April 20, while fishing, a wild, aggressive swamp rabbit unexpectedly swam up to the president's boat, hissing menacingly and intending to get into the boat. To defend against such an unforeseen attack, Carter used an oar, after which the rabbit swam to the shore. This strange incident was quickly leaked to the media. In one of the newspapers of the time, The Washington Post, the headline "President attacked by a rabbit" was striking. In the interpretation of Carter's critics, this story has become a kind of symbol of the president's unsuccessful and weak policies, as well as a harbinger of Carter's defeat in the next presidential election.
The departure of President Carter from the US political arena as President was preceded by a very unpleasant incident. On November 4, 1979, violent Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran and took hostages. After the Iranian authorities, belligerent towards Carter because of his support for the ousted Iranian ruler, refused to enter into negotiations for the release of the hostages, Carter severed diplomatic relations with Iran and on April 25 sent a military task force to free the hostages. However, this group suffered a disaster, never reaching their destination.
Also, the end of Carter's presidential term was marked by serious domestic political crises in the presidential administration and political scandals. After the failed operation in Tehran, Secretary of State S. Vance resigned, who initially did not support this initiative of the president. Also, the administration was left by its other members, dismissed by President Carter: Minister of Health J. Califano, Secretary of Transportation B. Adams, Secretary of the Treasury M. Blumenthal, Minister of Energy J. Schlesinger, Minister of Justice G. Bell. In addition, Carter demanded that members of the White House administration and senior officials periodically take polygraph tests in order to ensure greater loyalty. Cases of financial fraud in the presidential administration were revealed. B. Lance, the first director of the Office of Management and Budget and a close friend of Carter, resigned because of allegations of financial impropriety. The second finance minister, J. Miller, was put on trial for taking bribes, but was later acquitted. In 1980, the President's brother Billy Carter also admitted to taking large bribes.
Despite low popularity, Carter still managed to win the primary, as he once did in 1976, which allowed him to run for a second term. Carter's main rival was Ronald Reagan. During the election campaign, one of the main issues was the release of hostages in Tehran. The Iranian authorities have made it clear that there can be no question of any release of American hostages as long as Carter remains the US president.
As the election approached, the criticism of Carter across the country grew harsher and more vexing. He was accused of being unable to lead the country in a difficult situation. The economic difficulties of the state and recent unfortunate events have sharply reduced the chances of winning the election of Carter, whose popularity in the country has been steadily declining. As a result, the 1980 presidential election was won by Reagan, who inflicted a crushing defeat on Carter. Immediately after Reagan was sworn in, the hostages in Iran were released.
Difficulties haunted the President throughout his time in office. The period of Carter's presidency is considered unsuccessful. At the end of his presidential term, he turned into a figure to be deplored and ridiculed, and became one of the most popular cartoon characters of the time.
Carter was deeply hurt by such a sad end to his presidential term and a serious defeat in the elections. But he soon left these upheavals and began to continue an active political life, created the presidential library in Atlanta, founded the Carter Center, in which the former president and his assistants are actively trying to solve international problems. Carter is actively involved in providing social assistance to the poor, building apartments for them, fighting diseases in Africa. In 1994, he participated as an intermediary in Haiti, where he advocated the reinstatement of the deposed president. In 1995 he was a mediator in the Bosnian conflict. He also acted as a mediator in resolving conflicts in other countries. For his peacekeeping work, Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
political authority former president leaves much to be desired. Despite the fact that Carter's presidential term is considered unsuccessful, he still managed to achieve some success, and in some cases he was even ahead of his time: energy issues, welfare reform and health care are on the agenda in the modern administration of President B. Obama. Carter may not have succeeded as president, but his promising political projects and activities, even if not implemented, certainly deserve attention and respect.
Rating 5.00 (1 Vote)1924
July 7 1946 1953
1962 1970 1976
Taking office in 1977
1979
1980 1980
1980
↓Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter) is a politician, public figure and thirty-ninth President of the United States of America.
Jimmy Carter was born on October 1st 1924 years in the city of Plains (Georgia), in the family of a farmer and businessman James Carter. Educated at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Naval Academy. After that, he served on a submarine in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets of the United States for about seven years. At the time of his retirement, Jimmy Carter held the rank of chief officer.
July 7 1946 years married his chosen one Rosalynn Smith, their marriage lasts to this day. The couple had four children. WITH 1953 year (after the death of his father, James Carter Sr.), the family moves to their own peanut farm in the Plains.
Jimmy Carter began his political career in 1962 year, when he was elected Senator from the State of Georgia. Gradually, Carter's career went up, his popularity grew, and at the same time political ambitions newly minted politician. V 1970 he becomes governor of the state of Georgia. Already in 1976 year he runs for President of the United States and wins the election.
Taking 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
In the year Carter continued negotiations with representatives of the Soviet Union, which raised issues of limiting strategic nuclear weapons, and even signed with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR L.I. the relevant contract. But literally immediately all the results of these negotiations were leveled 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 President Carter proclaims a new US foreign policy: now the Persian Gulf is declared the main zone of state interests. This period coincides with the moment of a sharp rise in energy prices, in connection with 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 the Carter administration as an unfortunate period in the history of the country. Jimmy Carter's approval rating has declined significantly during his presidency, so in 1980 He loses the presidential election to Reagan, the Republican nominee.
James Earl Carter Jr. was born October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. Graduated from local high school, Georgia Southwestern College and Georgia Institute of Technology. In 1943 he was sent to the US Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1947. After serving on two warships, he moved to the submarine fleet, and then to the nuclear submarine fleet. He intended to devote his entire life to a naval career, however, when his father died in 1953, he resigned and returned to Plains to take care of the family's declining farm.
In the 1950s, Carter became a member of the Sumter County Educational Administration and later its chairman. He was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1962 and 1964. He ran for governor of Georgia in 1966, but was defeated in the election. He won a landslide victory in the 1970 elections. Since 1972, he began to prepare for the fight for the nomination in 1976 as a presidential candidate from the Democratic Party. The first success on the way to the White House was his appointment in 1973 as chairman of the election commission of the Democratic National Committee. When Carter entered the presidential race in 1976, most observers did not take him seriously. He was from the Deep South, last running for President in 1848 (Z. Taylor of Louisiana). No one knew Carter outside of Georgia. Nationwide public opinion polls conducted in January 1976 showed that Carter's candidacy was supported by only 4% of Democratic voters. Nor did he have influential allies in the leadership of the Democratic Party.
During the 1976 election campaign, it became clear that Carter's main chance to win recognition and support on a national scale was a convincing victory over J. Wallace in the South. Carter began by publicly breaking with his rival and attacking him more and more harshly. He managed a narrow victory over Wallace in the Florida primaries, and after winning in North Carolina, knocked him out of the game. Over time, Carter won every Southern primary except Alabama and Mississippi.
Carter's image as a candidate for the "new South" was reinforced by the support of well-known African-American leaders such as Rep. A. Young of Georgia and Detroit Mayor C. Young. In the run-up to the Democratic National Convention, Carter secured the support of at least 1,100 delegates. July 14, 1976 in the first round of voting at the convention, he was nominated by the Democratic Party for President of the United States. Carter chose W. Mondale, a liberal senator from Minnesota, as his running mate.
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 revise 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. Criticizing the style of H. Kissinger's diplomacy, carried out for eight years, Carter called for an end to the "secret foreign policy of a lone cowboy." Human rights, he argued, should be the leitmotif of foreign policy; American military forces should be withdrawn from Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Japan.
Carter also promised a complete reorganization of the federal bureaucracy and the creation of an "open government." He left the Democratic convention with a significant lead over President George Ford in the national polls. But after Ford narrowly won the Republican nomination and the campaign began, Carter's lead waned markedly. Both candidates, by all accounts, had equal success (or failure) in the three televised debates and were level by election day. However, in the elections, Carter and Mondale still prevailed over Ford and his partner R. Dole. 40.8 million voters voted for them, or 51% of the total number of voters (and 297 electors against 241).
From the very beginning, President Carter paid visits to small provincial towns, where he held meetings with the local community. He answered questions from fellow citizens on the "Ask President Carter" radio program. He declared an amnesty for those who evaded the draft for the Vietnam War, introduced two women to the cabinet (more than anyone before him), and found responsible political posts for representatives of national minorities.
At the same time, plans to achieve a balanced budget by fiscal year 1981 were thwarted by relentless inflation, rising from 5.2% in 1976 to 13.4% in 1979 and 16% in the first half of 1980. In 1976, Carter promised that he would not fight inflation at the cost of "economic recession, unemployment, monetary restrictions and high interest rates", but by 1980 these were the main economic instruments of his administration.
Carter promised to downsize "the worst, most intricate, bloated, and ruinous bureaucracy ever created by human beings," but added two new departments—Energy and Education—and increased the total number of federal employees. His proposals to regulate the cost of hospital treatment and reform the tax system were never adopted. Carter attached great importance to the energy program of conserving oil and natural gas by deregulating the prices of these energy carriers and, consequently, by raising them sharply. Inflation has risen, but consumption has indeed fallen and oil imports have declined. The President persuaded Congress to impose a tax on excess profits of oil companies associated with the removal of price controls, initiated a program to create synthetic fuel.
During the first two years of his presidency, Carter did not focus on military matters. He did not fulfill his promise to cut the defense budget by $5-7 billion; even adjusted for inflation, military spending increased quite substantially each year. Rejecting the plan for a new B-1 bomber because of the high cost, Carter later gave the go-ahead for an even more expensive new MX missile system. The volume of arms exports also increased. In 1980, the president proposed that all 19-20-year-old boys in the country be registered for mobilization.
Difficult, sometimes hostile relations with Congress were characteristic of the entire period of the Carter administration. In 1980, for the first time in nearly thirty years, Congress overrode a veto by a Democratic president and rejected Carter's oil tariff proposal. That same year, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected for the first time in 42 years a man nominated by the president for district judge. Nevertheless, Carter reshaped the entire federal judiciary; appointed more than 260 district and district judges and 40% federal judges by the end of his four-year term; among the new judges, about a third were women, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans.
Foreign policy successes include Senate approval of a proposal to transfer the Panama Canal to Panama by the year 2000; Carter managed to convince the Egyptian President A. Sadat and the Israeli Prime Minister M. Begin of the need to conclude a peace treaty; the process of official diplomatic recognition of communist China was also completed. In 1979, Carter signed a second treaty with the USSR on the limitation of strategic offensive arms (SALT-2). But after the invasion of Soviet military forces into Afghanistan in December of that year, decided to temporarily refrain from submitting this agreement to the Senate; he imposed a ban on the supply of American wheat to the USSR and announced a boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.
Somewhat earlier, on November 4, 1979, militant Iranian students seized the US embassy in Tehran and took its staff hostage. When the Iranian government refused to enter into negotiations for their release, saying that this was revenge for the US alliance with the deposed Shah, Carter severed diplomatic relations with Iran on April 8, 1980 and on April 25 sent a special group ("commandos") to free the hostages. However, the raid ended in a plane crash 320 km from the target. US Secretary of State S. Vance, who opposed the raid, resigned, and Carter appointed Senator E. Muskie from Maine to this post.
In the Western Hemisphere, the president supported the spread of democratic forms of government. He did not intervene when in 1979 the dictator of Nicaragua A. Somoza, a longtime ally of the United States, was overthrown. Relations with Cuba deteriorated in 1980 when the Cuban government did nothing to stop the sudden and indiscriminate exodus of more than 115,000 refugees to the United States.
The orientation toward rapprochement with the third world was successfully implemented by the American representative to the UN, E. Young, but he showed promiscuity in supporting the Palestine Liberation Organization, and was forced to resign. The administration also left its other members. Within one week of July 1979, Carter fired Minister of Health, Education and Welfare J. Califano, Minister of Transportation B. Adams and Minister of Finance M. Blumenthal. He also accepted the resignations of two other ministers who were believed to have enjoyed his sympathies - Minister of Energy J. Schlesinger and Minister of Justice G. Bell. To ensure greater loyalty, the president demanded that senior officials be periodically subjected to a polygraph test, and ordered the White House Chief of Staff H. Jordan to create a “card file” on them. Countryman and close friend of Carter, B. Lance, the first director of the Office of Management and Budget, resigned after allegations of financial impropriety. A federal jury later dropped some of the charges against him, and the rest were dismissed by the Justice Department. Second Treasury Secretary J. Miller was under investigation for taking bribes while he was chairman of a private company, but the Justice Department found the evidence inconclusive. In 1980, the president's brother Billy Carter admitted to receiving at least $200,000 as an unregistered lobbyist for the Libyan government.
Despite all these problems, Carter achieved in the first half of 1980 a kind of political resurrection, one of the most impressive in political history USA. In November 1979, when Senator E. Kennedy of Massachusetts announced that he was going to challenge Carter at the next Democratic Party convention in order to get a presidential nomination, nationwide opinion polls showed that 2/3 of Americans did not approve of Carter's activities, and a poll in Iowa, where the party "caucus" was held, showed that Kennedy would have defeated Carter there, receiving 49% of the popular vote to 26%. However, Carter not only won the caucus, but also won two-thirds of the primary.
Even after it became clear that Kennedy could not win, he did not give up the fight and won five of the last eight primaries. But Carter arrived at the Democratic convention already secured decisive support by 300 votes. After receiving the nomination, he tried to restore the unity of the party ranks, partially endorsing Kennedy's liberal economic program, but nevertheless, a serious split among the Democrats remained.
During the election campaign, Carter was opposed by Republican R. Reagan, a former governor of California, and J. Anderson, an independent presidential candidate. Carter emphasized Reagan's inexperience and reactionary nature, his focus on the use of military force to solve foreign policy problems, and during the debate among the contenders called arms control the main issue of the campaign. But it is economic difficulties, not Reagan and possible consequences his election represented main problem for the majority of voters. Reagan dealt a crushing defeat to Carter, winning 51% of the popular vote to 41% and 489 of the electoral vote to 49.