On Sunday, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter died at home in Georgia. He was 100 years old. 

His name was James Earl Carter, Jr. But he almost always went by “Jimmy.” He was born in Plains, Georgia, in 1924. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946. He also married Rosalynn Smith that year. She had grown up in Plains too. 

After seven years in the Navy, he went home to manage his family’s peanut farm. He served four years in Georgia’s Senate. He was also Georgia’s governor for four years. In 1976, he became the 39th president of the United States.

What did President Carter do during his term? He tried to make the United States less dependent on oil from other countries. He also worked to improve human rights abroad. But he couldn’t stop fuel prices from rising. Inflation was high. (Inflation happens when money loses value. It can’t buy as much as it used to. Prices go up.) 

In the 1980 election, Americans chose Ronald Reagan instead of President Carter.

President Carter did have some successes. He helped put together a 1978 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. That peace still holds.

Former President Carter was a Christian. “There’s no way I could ever separate my Christian belief from my [work] as a naval officer, as a governor, or as president, or from my work now,” he said in a 2012 Christianity Today interview.

Former President Carter attended and taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. However, some of his beliefs went against orthodox (true and accepted) Christian teachings. For example, he didn’t believe that the Bible is without error. 

In 1982, the Carters started the Carter Center in Atlanta. The center helps people around the world. Workers fight disease. They help people stop war. And they watch elections to make sure they are fair. 

Former President Carter volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. He built houses for people in need.

The former president also worked to build peace around the world. In 2002, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for this kind of work. 

Former First Lady Eleanor Rosalynn Carter died in 2023. She was 96. The Carters were married for 77 years. They had four children and 25 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden talked about former President Carter’s legacy. President Biden says that he couldn’t imagine President Carter ever walking past a person in need without trying to help.