President Jimmy Carter, America’s 39th president, has died at the age of 100 at his home in Plains, Ga. A lifelong Democrat, he was the longest-lived president in American history; two years ago he went into hospice care.
Carter was born Oct. 1, 1924, served as a state senator in Georgia, as governor of Georgia, and as president from 1977 to 1981, after he had narrowly defeated Republican incumbent President Gerald Ford in November of 1976.
During his time as president, Carter had a large impact on the future of Alaska when he signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) into law on Dec. 2, 1980, just weeks before the end of his presidency; he had lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide in November of 1980.
ANILCA set aside over 100 million acres of land in Alaska to create national parks, national wildlife refuges, national monuments, national wild and scenic river designations, national forests and more. It is the largest expansion of federal parks and woodlands in American history and more than doubled the size of the national park system.
ANILCA also expanded the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and created what is now known as Denali National Park and Preserve.
Carter thought of it as one of his major life achievements. Carter used the Antiquities Act to designate 56 million acres as 17 National Monuments through executive order.
“The passage of this act is one of the proudest achievements of my presidency and one that will endure through the centuries,” Carter wrote later.
“When I was president, I became thoroughly familiar with four maps. One was of Israel and the occupied territories; I knew it almost by heart. I also learned in detail about the Panama Canal Zone. Another focus was on a very small area of Iran. Finally, I learned the map of Alaska,” he wrote in an essay for the National Park Service.
“Just as memorable to me as Alaska’s map are the people who were deeply involved in the political contest over the future of her public lands. The debate really began as soon as Alaska became a state and culminated on December 2, 1980, when I signed the Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act into law.
“This was the largest and most comprehensive piece of conservation legislation ever passed, involving fierce debate and compromise. One of the gifts to the nation bequeathed to us by the act was the 54 million acres of national park lands in Alaska,” he wrote on the 25th anniversary of ANILCA’s enactment.
Many Alaska lawmakers have noted that ANILCA’s “no more takings” clause has been repeatedly violated by agencies the federal government and, thus, some are not fans of the legislation.
Born and raised in Plains, Georgia, Carter attended high school in his home town, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946, and joined the Navy’s submarine service. He then returned home to Plains after his father died and took over his family’s peanut farm. That is when he started getting involved with the Georgia Democratic Party, which led to his storied political career.
On his second day in office, Carter pardoned all of the draft dodgers from the Vietnam War. In his four years, he established the Department of Education and Department of Energy and was challenged by incidences such as the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, inflation, a recession, and the Iran hostage crisis, after Iranian revolutionaries captured the American Embassy in Tehran, after which Carter imposed an embargo on Iranian oil imports. The crisis was resolved and the 52 hostages released as soon as Reagan was sworn in.
In February of 2023, his foundation, the Carter Center, announced that he was entering hospice care, and would not be receiving any more medical interventions for brain cancer. Usually people entering hospice care are assumed to have fewer than six months to live.
His wife Rosalynn Carter died Nov. 19, 2023. Jimmy Carter was the oldest living former U.S. president in U.S. history.
Carter had many humanitarian causes he cared about, such as Habitat for Humanity, human rights, ending discrimination and segregation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 in recognition of his efforts to resolve international conflicts — efforts that at times vexed or were at odds with presidential administrations that succeeded him.
The Carters had three sons, who were grown by the time he became president, and one daughter — Amy Lynn — who lived in the White House from age 9 until the family moved back to Georgia in 1981.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter traveled to Alaska several times to enjoy the wilderness and to fish. Read an account of him fishing in Bristol Bay in 2017 at this link.
Jimmy Carter wasn’t our best President, but he was undeniably our best former President.
He didn’t have the guts to bomb Iran when Iran was overran by Attola in 1978.We were living in Germany when the Atollah took over Iran and captured our Embassy and the American military had to flee to get out..Ronald Reagon finally came to bring our Emabssy and troops home after 18(?) months..for all those who alive and remember that time, Jimmy didn’t have “guts” to stand up to Atolla Komani(msp). otherwise he was a decent guy…though a Democrat.
So was I! (Germany)
Remember AFN radio new hour would start off what day the Iranian hostage crisis was into?
President Lincoln inherited 7 seceded states by the time he took office from his predecessor President James Buchanan which in my view makes Buchanan the worst president and had not Lincoln forced the seceded states back to the union, then we would have mumbo jumbo multiple nations like Africa’s 3rd world, un-advanced nations.
Let’s also not forget President Herbert Hoovers prohibition (Volstead act)and continued great depression.
Summarize; Rest In Peace President Carter.
Sebastian,
The only way it’s undeniable that Carter was our best former President is if you mean because he was no longer allowed to officially screw things up. As a former president he did much damage on the world stage, he acted against American interests whether purposely or simply due to being misguided. Siding with terrorists and helping North Korea get nuclear capabilities, while brushing aside the misdeeds of ruthless tyrants and excoriating allies isn’t the mark of a good former president, let alone the best of class.
Maybe he was a kind and naive man, or maybe that was just the image he portrayed. Either way he was no saint and the attempts being made to rewrite history are bordering upon absurd. May he rest in peace.
Wow 100 years old. 100 = 74+26 and Jesus = 74 and God = 26 when Hell = 37 and Paradise = 73.
God × Jesus = 1924 and he was born 1924.
He was born 10 1 and 101 is the 26th prime
The 74th prime is 373
373+101 = 474!.
474 minus 471, leaves + 3,
which equals his IQ.
WTAF?
ANILCA sucked
The gas crisis sucked.
Iran Hostage sucked.
Carter sucked.
But. Still was not the worst president ever. Joe takes that from him.
Yeah, Carter sucked as president, but I atribute that to ignorance and naivite rather than malice. Alaskans are still living in the mess he put his signature on, but deep down I think he was a decent man. He did good things after his presidency for the good of his fellow man.
Yes now Carter is the second worst president as FJB has the number one slot all secured.
Prayers for the family. This must be a hard loss for them.
Will comment on the man at a more appropriate time.
Next to Joe Biden, Carter was the biggest idiot to ever occupy the White House. He gave away US control and ownership of the Panama Canal (which is now run by the Communist Chinese), he abandoned our ally Taiwan (in favor of the Communist Chinese), he took Alaska from Alaskans and their right to develop much of the natural resources, he produced the highest inflation rate in America since the Great Depression, and he produced vast unemployment numbers in the US. Carter was more than corrupt, like Joe Biden, ….he was a stupid peanut farmer.
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Other significant moments for Carter:
1. His brother gave us Billy Beer and a new ambassador to Communist-run African nations.
2. His mom, Miss Lillian was always there to get little Jimmy out of a pinch.
3. His 8-year old daughter, Amy, gave the US State Department and Department of Defense sage advice on nuclear weapons.
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If Joe Biden is the most corrupt president ever, Jimmy Carter is the biggest laughing stock.
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End of Report.
How nice. What will people say about you after you pass? Can’t you be civil and show some respect? How did your mother bring you up anyways?
Relax Whidbey and open a can of Billy Beer and share with your mom. It will enlighten you somewhat, and bring your mom to her senses about you.
Dog truth hurts when it’s your guy.
Live with the truth.
Dog; In time, they will remember what you wrote., Although a conservative, I always read your point of view.
Respect is earned. No obligation to respect any politician. Carter was a national embarrassment and demoralized our troops even further after Vietnam was over.
Under Carter, we unnecessarily lost US servicemen in the Iranian desert. Under Biden, we unnecessarily lost US servicemen in Afghanistan. These were horrible presidents for putting them in harms way.
Carter and Biden. The two Worst. Heros of the Left. Both idiots. Put America in ruins, but for the real patriots who rescued America from Carter and Biden’s sins:
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Ronald Reagan. Donald Trump.
President Carter lived by a modified version of the Golden Rule when it came to Alaska: Do it unto them because they might do it unto you. RIP.
He made it to 100. Sad for Rosalyn and their kids. That said, never, until Joe Biden, has a United States President heaped more misery on Americans and the world than Jimmy Carter. Double-digit inflation, gas lines, 68-degree mandates on thermostats, the 55 MPH national speed limit, Iran Hostage Crisis, the debacle at Desert One, giving away the Panama Canal Zone, and more all added up to a nationwide malaise. I’m truly ashamed to have worked on his Alaska campaign as a teenager. He goes to eternity having cemented his legacy as the worst president in American history. And I’m stunned to see someone even more feckless in the White House over the past four years. Never again.
Dirty Joe Biden. Most corrupt.
These scumbags always seem to come out of the Democrat Party. Why is that? But the mainstream media presents them as the most just. Why is that?
Uhhhh, Elaine…..all the reporters are Democrats.
Not to mention hamstring ing the U.S. nuclear power industry, making us MORE dependent on OPEC oil.. Funny how much he raked in later from OPEC countries for his”charities” a little quid for his quo.
I think Carter was a gentleman but he definitely was the worst president after Joe Biden. I still remember the extremely high inflation and a lot of dumb things politically during Carter’s administration.
“To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning – the good life – study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility,”
RIP Dear Sir. You did your duty and you lived your faith.
NB – You also achieved your objective of living long enough to vote against Trump. Well done.
And lived long enough to lose the crown of “worst president ever” to Biden. How sad that his stated dying wish was to experience yet another failure – voting against Trump then seeing him win again. Having lived through the painful 70’s when Ford lost to this guy, anyone who wants can pontificate on all that he did, but history has spoken on the actual good that was done.
Having been a semi- hippie in 1976, read an article in New Times interviewing Jimmie Carter I was impressed with his liberal philosophy. I liked that he went to a party at Greg Alman’s house and they stayed up all night talking. Hmm, remember this was the 70’s. So I voted for him. Spring forward several decades , no longer a hippie, no longer a liberal , no longer staying up all night. Not a day goes by I haven’t rued the consequences he left Alaska to bear. That being said, he was a good man that cared about mankind and pursued those efforts. God will welcome him.
If you’re posting that Jimmy Carter was a terrible president on the day of his death then you are a sick ….! Don’t try to tell us you attended service this morning and came out spouting this nonsense. You’re a lost soul!
A mans’s life is his epitaph. While Carter was an honest and decent man, he was the worst American president in modern American history. This is undeniable. He owns it and deserves to be known as such. Don’t preach to us. No doubt when Trump dies you’ll jump off your high horse and use your abundant self righteousness to crap on 45/47 with all the vitriol that you can muster.
Do we still have safe rooms for these beta’s? Sorry…. I think those went away with DEI.
Sorry you hate free speech. But it sure allowed you to spout off here, now didn’t it.
Thank you for your spot on analyst of 90% of Church going Evangelicals of today.
Absolutely incorrect RINO! 100% of evangelicals are morally deficient! If WE weren’t, we would not need Jesus. But God uses failed people, the Bible is filled with them, because they’re the only type of people around. Grace and peace to you through Christ. God loves you.
Excuses, excuses for bad immoral behavior, that’s all I hear.
Jimmy Carter had adultery in his heart. Remember that? Rosalyn, Ms. Lillian, and Amy were breathing fire into his wandering eyes, but all along, he’d rather hang out with his brother Billy. The Carter family sure seemed like the relatives hiding out in the woods in the movie, “Deliverance.” Banjos, peanuts, backwood hicks, family dysfunction, the whole enchilada. And America fell for it. No difference with the Biden Crime Family. Ronald Reagan had to clean-up Carter’s mess. Trump has to now clean-up Biden’s bigger mess. This stuff happens about every third of fourth cycle in presidential elections.
Democrats live in a world of dysfunctionality.
He went fishing in Alaska… showing the private playground mentality. No amount of professing Christ (and bragging about his temptation in Playboy magazine), none of the wonderful work he did for Habitat for Humanity, can ever overcome the damage he did to America, the world, and Alaska. Respect for this man is difficult for me, though one ought to show some to those who have passed on. His artificial peanut shortage driving up prices to bail out his brother Billy from bankruptcy caused me to quit buying peanut butter until Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Please don’t make a saint of this man.
Donald Trump Jr runs Alaska now, Iliamna is his favorite fishing area, sorry pebble mine 😉
I think Carter was a decent man, but very naive. I believe he was honest, but very misguided. He did a lot of humanitarian work, which is to his credit. The people calling him the second worst president have done him a disservice. Barack Obama, who divided the nation as much as possible, was far worse than Carter. Biden still takes the cake.
I don’t recall for sure, but I think Carter was the first vote for President I cast. I do remember thinking he was a good person, still do. He just didn’t put America first, and that was wrong.
Many if not most young naive humans think emotionally rather than practically. Fortunately after rebelling, I started thinking rationally and practically instead of emotionally!
I always point out to young folks that they will likely start out this way and then move conservative when they start paying the price!
God bless America and thank God we have another chance to MAGA!
Carter was the worst Commander in Chief in my lifetime. We routinely cannibalized our equipment for parts to keep at least some of our mobile assets rolling. Drug and alcohol use were prevalent and racial tensions, fights and near riots the norm. Let’s just say between this posturing, fake country boy and Vietnam, Army morale was in the bottom of the tank. Pun intended. Won’t miss you Carter.
Want to know what Jimmy did to Alaska? Simply read “coming into the country” by John McPhee.
Jimmy bent this state over an apple barrel and did what all democrats do- screw their employers.
Jay Hammond was given 30 pieces of silver from the feds. Jay received 100 acres of land on Lake Illiuma for his support on BLM locking up huge amounts of Alaskan land.
I was in Germany during carter’s regime. The US dollar bought 1 mark 18 phennings, the lowest it had ever been. He was the laughing stock of Europe. Jimmy was “terrorist Zero” (kind of like patient zero in a pandemic) in my books.
Alaska is not a sovereign nation but was purchased by U.S. through the work of William H Seward with a great city of Seward named after him. The USA is sovereign and has given Alaska certain states rights but will not allow a geographically large state be controlled by a handful of people who are not even from that state. What the USA giveth can also be taken away.
President Teddy Rosevelt reclassified more land here than Carter ever did with Senator Ted Stevens signing ANILCA and ANCSA. Trump took pebble away.
You sure about that…? Sounds like you need to read the book “Broken Promises”. But McPhee put’s it into better context of the unintended consequences of what BLM did. Since you claim to be 3d gen Alaskan, then you know the Statehood Act inside out, correct? And you know how many stipulations in the Statehood Act were broken, correct..?
I got my info from Public lands website.
Eisenhower signed the statehood act after Alaska met the requirements of establishing a Justice, Education and Transportation systems in 1959.
I do agree with you that there have been a lot of broken promises, however, the USA is allowed to break promises.
Jimmy Carter appears to be a nice man and a caring one. He had found his calling in Habitat for Humanity after leaving office and should be honored for his efforts there. As president though, his administration was a disaster. He entered it with a growing inflation problem, one that was brewing since the Johnson Administration and neither Nixon nor Ford had any answer to resolve it. Carter showed that he was even more incapable. The American voters overwhelmingly fired Carter after one term, giving Ronald Reagan the first of his two landslide victories.
As a lame duck president, Carter signed away Alaska’s sovereignty while confining our natural resources to the Carter’s loyalty to his environmental backers. (Actually, the Democrats, who lost the Senate in the 1980 elections and the Democrat House were both at fault). For this alone, Alaska should never place a Democrat in a national elected seat.
Jimmy Carter’s legacy as a president is overall a sad picture. This should not degrade the man himself. He did a lot of good outside of the office. Fortunately for Carter, he was followed by the more disastrous Obama and Biden Administrations. So, in retrospect, his poor performance as president is not considered the worst.
Jimmy Carter did some amazing and honorable things in his life. I like what he did for the draft dodgers and Habitat for Humanity. But he was a DESPOTIC TYRANT when it came to Alaska and our Constitution. ANILCA was the nail in the coffin for Alaska, and because of the oppression it caused Alaskans, it undid ALL the good things he did in his life.