HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Georgia's own Jimmy Carter turns 99 Sunday
Former President turns 99 after 7 months in hospice
Happy birthday to Georgia’s favorite peanut farmer!
Jimmy Carter, America’s oldest-living former President, turns 99 years old on Sunday after seven months in hospice care. He will be quietly celebrating the big day with his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, and a small circle of close relatives in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
Carter was a peanut farmer and a Naval officer before he decided to take up a new calling: electoral politics. He was elected Governor of Georgia in 1970 and shocked supporters with one of his first acts: declaring the end of segregation in his inauguration speech.
“Based on this knowledge of Georgians North and South, Rural and Urban, liberal and conservative, I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over.”
“No poor, rural, weak, or black person should ever have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity of an education, a job or simple justice.”
But ultimately, Gov. Carter had his eyes on an even bigger prize: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He announced that he was seeking the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination. People laughed at the idea of this small-town peanut farmer ascending to the highest office in the land. After all, he was going up against two nationally-known Democrats: Alabama governor and staunch segregationist George Wallace and California governor Jerry Brown.
Carter’s name recognition was so low that his opponents and even some Democratic voters would ask, “Jimmy who?” He would respond simply by saying, “My name is Jimmy Carter and I’m running for President.” It turns out that Carter’s folksy, easygoing approach was what Democrats were looking for: he entered the Democratic National Convention well ahead of the field in both the popular vote and delegates — and left with the nomination.
For his part, Carter wasn’t the only nominee who was untested on the national stage. His Republican opponent, incumbent President Gerald Ford, ascended to the White House in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon’s resignation. But Carter positioned himself as an outsider at a time when Americans’ trust in Washington was at an all-time low. Ford also continued to be criticized for one of his first acts as President: his decision to pardon Nixon for the latter’s involvement in the Watergate coverup.
In the end, Carter would pull off an upset that November, narrowly defeating Ford to become the 39th President of the United States. His victory was seen as the last gasp of air for the so-called “New Deal coalition,” which had elected several Democratic presidents since World War II. It was also the last time Democrats nearly swept the “Solid South,” with Carter carrying 10 of the 11 formerly Confederate states.
As President, he and his administration championed human rights issues, both at home and around the world. One of the highlights of his presidency was the signing of the Camp David Accords, a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt that the two sides negotiated for nearly two weeks at Camp David, the President’s private retreat in Maryland.
Human rights and world peace have defined his post-presidency as well. He and Rosalynn founded the Carter Center in 1982 to help end global crises such as disease and famine. President Carter has also championed affordable housing. The former First Couple has helped find and even build homes as part of Habitat for Humanity.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his various humanitarian endeavors.
But as he grows older, he has faced health challenges and has started to limit his public appearances. He managed to beat brain cancer in 2015 but had to undergo brain surgery in 2019. He has also scaled back his famous Sunday school lessons at his church in Plains.
In February 2023 the Carter Center announced that the former President will begin receiving hospice care. Later in the year, we learned that Rosalynn was diagnosed with dementia. Though they have largely faded from the public eye, the two made a surprise appearance at Plains’ peanut festival parade last month.
The Carter Center invited the public to celebrate his birthday Saturday, as a since-averted government shutdown would have forced the closures of many national parks and historic sites.
Happy ninety-ninth birthday, Mr. Jimmy. Thank you for being such an exemplary Georgian and for championing human rights. Rest assured that we will continue to follow your example and it is my hope that future generations will too.
Here are 99 ways you can celebrate Jimmy’s big day.