US – Monday, February 20, is Presidents day we currently have five Presidents past and current who are still alive today, Jimmy Carter 98 is the oldest.
Former President Carter, 98 was born on October 1, 1924, in a small town of Plains, Georgia his father was a farmer, and his mother a registered Nurse. He went to College before entering the Navy where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science and was an Ensign in the Navy in 1946. In 1953 he resigned his commission when his father died and he returned to the small town to run his father’s warehouse and farm supply company. That business grew and Carter like his dad had a successful business.
When Carter’s father died he was serving in the House of Representatives, and following in his father’s footsteps Jimmy felt the obligation to serve. He held several local seats, then in 1962 he entered the Georgia State Senate in 1962 as a Democrat. Carter lost his first run for Governor in 1966, but four years later he ran again and won.
During his place as Governor of Georgia and the place in time, Carter had a heavy burden on his plate, segregation issues. Announcing in 1970 his inaugural address that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” It was an unprecedented statement for a Southern governor, but Carter made good on his words. He increased the number of African American state employees by 40 percent and hung portraits of Martin Luther King Jr. and other notable black Georgians in the state capitol. A notable action is when Carter balanced the funding in the schools to make sure that the poor districts received as much funding as the rich ones.
Governor Carter was noticed by the national Democrat party, and in 1974 he announced his run for President. Jimmy Carter promised “a government as good and as competent and as compassionate as are the American people.” A Close race in 1976 with Carter being selected as the new President of the United States.
During his inauguration, Carter walked down Pennsylvania ave, instead of riding in a limousine stopping to shake hands along the way.
Carter had a successful presidency, he cleaned up Vietnam by granting amnesty to those who had evaded the military draft during the Vietnam War. Carter started diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China and made good on Returning the Panama Canal to its people.
When Carter lost reelection to actor Ronald Regan he became one of the most active ex-presidents known and founded the Carter Center to help resolve conflicts, promote democracy, protect human rights, and prevent disease around the world.
Since then Carter has worked with all of the sitting Presidents, and this week after a series of short hospital stays President Carter entered hospice care and spend his remaining time at home with his family.
The four other remaining former Presidents are 42 Former President Clinton, 43 George Bush, 44 Barack Obama, and 45 Donald Trump.
