Jimmy Carter

James Earl Carter Jr. was the 39th president of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter served from 1971 to 1975 as the 76th governor of Georgia and from 1963 to 1967 in the Georgia State Senate. He was the longest-lived president in U.S. history and the first to reach the age of 100.
Born and raised in Plains, Georgia, Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 and joined the United States Navy's submarine service. He married Rosalynn Smith, and they worked closely together throughout their lives. Carter returned home after his military service and revived his family's peanut-growing business. Opposing racial segregation, he supported the growing civil rights movement and became an activist within the Democratic Party. After serving in the Georgia State Senate and then as governor of Georgia, Carter ran for president in 1976. Initially a dark horse candidate not well known outside Georgia, he secured the Democratic nomination and selected Walter Mondale as his running mate. They narrowly defeated the Republican Party's ticket of President Gerald Ford and Senator Bob Dole.